North America Economy Faces Multiple Problems

Jim Downey
Jim Downey

SUMMARY. The United States economy is facing several serious problems that don’t have simple solutions and are not likely to be solved for several years, reaching out to the presidential elections in 2024.

Take your pick of problems: Inflation. Stock Market. Climate Changes. Interest Rates. Housing Prices. Gasoline Prices. Food Prices. Social Unrest. Political Conflicts. Worker shortages. Supply Chain Shortages. Russia-Ukraine Conflict.

The bottom line here is that consumers, investors, businesses, and governments are uncertain about what the future holds for the next several years, and this uncertainty makes it difficult to build multiple-year action plans, whether it’s for purchases, manufacturing, marketing, or investing.

Uncertainty makes people nervous, and Uncertainty is the name of the game in the U.S. for the foreseeable future.

However, we’re still optimistic about the U.S. economy and we see 2022 production growing by 11.6% but that activity is likely to fall to 2.7% next year and drop again to 1.5% in 2024.

Read More»

DATAPOINT: North America Dumpers/Tenders, 2022 Production, 1620 Units

1,620 units is the estimate by Power Systems Research of the number of Dumpers/Tenders to be produced in North America during 2022.

This information comes from industry interviews and from two proprietary databases maintained by Power Systems Research: EnginLink™ , which provides information on engines, and OE Link™, a database of equipment manufacturers.

Market Share:  With 62.5% of total units produced, Country Home Products leads in production of Dumpers/Tenders in North America. In second position is Allen Engineering with 19.5%; third, is Indy Equipment with 10.5%.    

Read More»

DATAPOINT: North America Utility Vehicles, 2022 Production: 432,700 Units

432,700 units is the estimate by Power Systems Research of the number of Utility Vehicles to be produced in North America (United States, Canada and Mexico) in 2022.

Four-wheel off-road Utility Vehicles with side-by-side seating are designed to be used in a variety of recreational, industrial and military applications. When equipped with dumpers, they are commonly used for landscaping, dumping and transporting light materials. Vehicles can be customized with enclosed cabs, tool racks, dumpers and more for use on college campuses, parks, corporate campuses and airports. Suppliers offer a wide variety of gas, electric and diesel utility vehicles.

This information comes from industry interviews and from two proprietary databases maintained by Power Systems Research: EnginLink™ , which provides information on engines, and OE Link™, a database of equipment manufacturers.

Exports: Canada, up to 90%; Mexico, up to 85% for NA markets, and US, up to 40% worldwide.

Read More»

DATAPOINT: North America Terminal Tractors

Estimated 2022 Production: 3,800 Units

3,800 units is the estimate by Power Systems Research of the number of Terminal Tractors to be produced in North America (United States) in 2022. Terminal Tractors are specialized heavy duty vehicles designed to move loads at container ports and container terminals. Generally, they are slow moving (under 30km/h) and employ a high torque diesel engine and 4×4 wheel drive which enables them to move very heavy trailer loads, sometimes up to 200 or 300 tons. PSR

DataPoint: North America Production of Scooters              

197,500 units is the estimate by Power Systems Research of the number of Scooters expected to be produced in North America in 2023.

Scooters are motorized 2-wheeled vehicles used primarily for recreational.

Production climbed sharply in 2022, increasing by 24,686 units, or 14.6%, from 2021. We expect production to climb in 2023 as well, growing by about 3,725 units or 2%.

Read More»

DATAPOINT: 2022 North America Production Estimate, Harvesters 460 Units

460 units is the estimate by Power Systems Research of the number of agricultural harvesters to be produced in the U.S. during 2022.

This information comes from industry interviews and from two proprietary databases maintained by Power Systems Research: EnginLink™ , which provides information on engines, and OE Link™, a database of equipment manufacturers.

Market Share:  With 48.5% of total units produced, Deere leads in production of Harvesters in the U.S.  In second position is Oxbo International’s combined plant totals of 24%; third, is Flory with 10.5%. 

Exports: Collectively, up to 1% worldwide.

Trends: In 2021, production of Harvesters in NA increased 13%.  Production is expected to gain another 3% in 2022.  The Ag industry has fluctuated in recent years and demand for new products declined a few years ago due to falling commodity prices.  Farmers couldn’t afford new equipment and spent years refurbishing existing units.

Currently, it appears that growers are moving from hand to machine harvesting.  They are increasingly using over-the-row mechanical harvesters to pick produce and like commodities.  Especially during COVID times, this type of machinery reduces the need for manual labor during labor shortages.  The increase in harvester production is also attributed to the desire for new machinery that increases productivity and profitability. 

Expect production to fluctuate over the next 3-5 years with an increase of 5% by 2025.   PSR

Carol Turner is Senior Analyst, Global Operations, at Power Systems Research

Edge Computing Makes America More Efficient

John Krzesicki talks with Carrie Goetz about the trends in edge computing, a movement that shifts data processing from the cloud to local data centers closer to the applications.

Transcript

Welcome to the PSR PowerTALK podcast, produced by Power Systems Research.

00:06 John Krzesicki

Hello, my name is John Krzesicki with Power Systems Research. I’m a business development manager for the US and with me today I have Carrie Goetz who is a fractional CTO for multiple companies. She’s been in the business for many years. She was also voted as being one of the most influential women in the tech industry in 2020.

Read More»