Business

Knock on Wood for a 2012 Rebound

By Mike Botta

January 12, 2012 – As we enter 2012, it’s looking a lot like 2011, 2010, 2009 and, dare we say, 2008. It’s tough to tell these days whether the news is good or bad. One day the word is that auto sales are healthy and the housing slump is easing, heartening indicators for manufacturing and woodworking.

The next day we’re hit like a cold shower with the fact that real estate might not recover in our lifetimes and threats of rising gas prices may stall auto sales. Then we hear that retail sales at Christmas were encouraging and people seem to be spending again. Then the unemployment update comes in. Sometimes the numbers are encouraging, other times they are downright discouraging.

Bottom line: It’s business—and politics—as usual. While we haven’t quite witnessed such a financial mess since the Great Depression, things may or may not be as desperate as they appear to be. 



The Truth and Nothing But …

That’s the problem for this new year. With all the political rhetoric and posturing, word is that we’re either on our way to recovery or about to enter into a long period of ‘haves’ and ‘have nots’—with no one in between. 



Oh, there’s also talk of double- and triple-dips. It’s tough to be positive, but some positives seem to exist. Conventional wisdom says that political rhetoric shades the truth either this way or that way, but eventually the truth will surface. 



Regardless of which way the political system is headed in 2012, let’s hope that some clearer pictures soon emerge in terms of the state of the economy. The sooner we know the truth the better. Until then, the industrial and woodworking communities likely will be mired in uncertain business strategies, difficult-to-get loans, and a justifiably nervous, wait-and-see buying community. 



A Perfect Storm

Politicians, of course, may continue to be the major part of the problem rather than the key to a solution, especially in this Presidential election year.

Key will be if jobs bounce back, the banks start lending again to the people who bailed them out and housing stabilizes.

Those are huge ‘ifs,’ but America is resilient despite all the political saber rattling.

Wouldn’t it be great to see the nation’s recovery firmly on-track in 2012? Hopefully we’ll all be pleasantly surprised and greatly relieved at how quickly business bounces back over the next 12 months.

Knock on wood!

Mark Devlin of Industrial Equipment News contributed to this column.