Industrial businesses gearing up for post-pandemic rebound, sourcing stats show

North American businesses and consumers are adapting quickly to the reopening of the global economy in a post-pandemic world, according to an analysis of procurement trends released today by sourcing platform provider Thomas.

The trends indicate a continued sense of urgency among businesses nationwide to implement and adhere to Covid-19 safety measures in an effort to facilitate re-openings as consumers increasingly opt to eat at restaurants, travel, shop, and return to in-person work, New York-based Thomas said in its “2021 Q1 Industrial Sourcing Activity Report.”

"While the pandemic is still ongoing, the last year has highlighted the incredible resilience of the manufacturing sector. As Thomas' 2021 Q1 Industrial Sourcing Activity Snapshot illustrates, industrial businesses are not only rebounding from Covid-19 but are actually in a position to excel and grow substantially in the coming year," Thomas President and CEO Tony Uphoff said in a release. "We're finally seeing Covid-19-related, PPE-centric sourcing start to cautiously decline amid a resurgence of key industrial categories like steel and lumber, signaling a positive future for industry."

In addition to analyzing those first quarter figures, Thomas also forecast second quarter economic moves, predicting big jumps in orders for printed circuit boards (PCBs), aerospace engineering services, manufacturing services, and foodservice equipment.

Between March and June of this year, PCBs could see a 14% to 17% rise driven by growing global chip shortages that have spread from the automotive sector into supply chains for numerous products across the electronics industry, Thomas said.

Meanwhile, the success of broad-based vaccination campaigns could lead to a 12% to 15% rise in the category of “aerospace, aeronautical and aircraft engineering services” as travelers return to planes, a 10% to 13% rise in manufacturing as businesses resume operations, and an 8% to 11% increase in foodservice equipment as restaurants nationwide continue to reopen with post-pandemic higher capacity allowances.

Sourcing for North American suppliers continues to surge. What are the most sourced products and services for Q1 2021 on the Thomas Network?

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— Thomas (@Thomasnet) April 20, 2021