Brandy Auterson:
It’s now time for 4 Your Money. We’re joined by David Nelson, CEO of Nelson Corp Wealth management. Welcome back, David.
David Nelson:
Thank you, Brandy.
Brandy Auterson:
So a lot has been discussed this year with regard to supply chains and shortages, and it seems like we’re still dealing with that. What is the latest you are seeing in the data on this front?
David Nelson:
Yeah, this is a major topic and I think most people that have done any shopping whatsoever have come across some of the shortages. And we’ve seen on the news many stories as far as talking about supply chain issues. Demands snap back much quicker than what people anticipated and subsequently corporations were kind of blindsided, and everybody out there, all corporations, are trying to rethink and rework the supply chain issues, trying to keep the speed there, while having instead of their supplies sitting on boats out in the Atlantic or the Pacific, have those items that they’re in stores today.
David Nelson:
The chart I brought along today I think will give people a real nice visual here. It’s looking at manufacturing inventories. Basically it’s a survey of manufacturers, and what it shows is the percentage of those responding that are reporting improvements or deterioration in inventories. And it looks at it month to month. A number over 50, on balance, is showing that the things are improving as far as manufacturing sector, while a number under 50, under 50 is deteriorating.
David Nelson:
So currently the reading is 57, which is basically the highest we’ve seen in over 20 years. So this is actually pretty good news. What’s kind of interesting about it is that would imply that the supplies are there. Well, the supplies are up, but also demand is up. And so that’s kind of been an offset as far as during this particular period of time.
Brandy Auterson:
So what do you think this could mean for the economy in general?
David Nelson:
Well, the recent rise in inventories basically is making some people out there, as far as nervous, as far as if the spending were to be cut back as far as by the consumer. Now that can be viewed that way. I guess I take a little different approach to it. I’m looking at it potentially as a positive. This might allow many of the manufacturers out there to be able to get caught up as far as what they’re supplying to the corporations that are putting together the products and trying to get them on the shelf. And again, this could actually come out to be a very, very good thing, allowing these corporations as far as to recover.
David Nelson:
We’re telling folks as far as in this as a whole, that when we look at, as far as the issues that have taken place in the past, this is maybe going to help us onshore some of the supply making, as far as going forward, which would also be very good news for us as Americans.
Brandy Auterson:
All right, David, as always, thanks for joining us.