Thomas News Highlights

Forbes: Why Is Everyone Talking About The Supply Chain?

Getting a physical product manufactured and into the hands of the customer is as complex as it has ever been, particularly in an era of increased and shifting demand and the aforementioned growing supply chain disruptions.

Press-Telegram: El Camino College, business partnerships key to developing South Bay workforce, experts say

During the campus’ fourth annual State of the College address, Superintendent Brenda Thames explored how El Camino College will help revitalize the South Bay’s economy and workforce. Thames was joined by Tony Uphoff, president and CEO at ThomasNet, an online platform for supplier discovery and product sourcing, to explore industries that suffered during the pandemic — and those that adapted and blossomed.

Quality Digest: Growing Housing Demands Will Drive Q4 Industrial Sourcing Trends

Thomas unveils quarterly trends report which reveals insights into the top products and services sourced by North American manufacturers and offers predictions about sourcing trends this business quarter. 

Cloud Wars Podcast: Supply Chain Needs Human Brains - Episode 31

In this episode of Uphoff on Industry, Tony Uphoff and Bob Evans discuss the major challenges that supply chains are facing, including a lack of skilled workers across many verticals.

CBC: Canadian supply delays come as a warning that future interruptions could be worse

Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) reports economic and security concerns prompt calls for increased Canadian supply chain resilience.

According to a report from Thomas Insights, a firm that helps companies track down suppliers of the components they need, 83 percent of North American manufacturers are looking for ways to source their inputs from closer to home, compared to 54 percent in 2020. 

WSJ: The Great Champagne Drought of 2021 - Potentially

The supply chain for countless products is or has been disrupted—and that includes wine. There are ships languishing in ports and undelivered cases cramming warehouses to capacity, not to mention winemakers awaiting shipments of labels and bottles. The result: empty shelves at wine shops as well as the aforementioned rationing.

Demand for items key to wine production and purveying—bottles, corks, labels—has spiked as well. According to Shawn Fitzgerald, chief marketing officer of Thomas (formerly known as the Thomas Register of American Manufacturers), there was a 77% increase in demand for wine boxes and a 172% increase in demand for wine bottles in September 2021 over the previous month. The situation has even led to “a rationing of sorts,” said Mr. Fitzgerald.

EPS News: Reshoring Success Stories in a Challenging Environment

The last two years have touched almost every supply chain imaginable.
According to Thomasnet.com, PCBs topped Q3 2021 product sourcing.  Growing demand for new cars, medical devices, and consumer electronics have skyrocketed the need for printed circuit boards.  Even the residential construction market now relies on PCBs to run many integrated smart devices and has contributed to product sourcing.

Supply Chain Dive: Steel prices soar as businesses rush to rebuild supply chains

Steel remained one of the most in-demand products among manufacturers in Q3, according to a new Thomas report, in part a reflection of how companies are furiously rebuilding their supply chains post-pandemic. 

The Globe and Mail: Labour shortage plaguing tech industry in Western U.S. amid fierce competition for workers

Labor shortfalls hold special importance for the high-tech sector as corporate America stages a made in the USA push, with encouragement from the White House as rivalry with China grows more intense. Companies are expected to announce the return to the US of some 220,000 jobs over the course of this year, according to tracing by the Reshoring Initiative, while a survey by Thomas, and industrial sourcing platform, has found that 83% of manufacturers said they expect to bring back work to North America, up from 54% last year. 

According to Tony Uphoff, president and CEO of Thomas, "It comes at a time when companies, spurred in part by the cost and confusion of shipping during the pandemic, have started to determine that maybe we don't need to manufacture in Vietnam when our core consumer is in Arkansas."

Automotive News Daily Drive Podcast: Emerging trends in the automotive supply chain

Tony Uphoff speaks with Steve Schmith, the host of the Daily Drive podcast about emerging trends in the automotive supply chain.  Topics include dual sourcing, reshoring, vertical integration, and what this means to the NA manufacturing sector.