A new analysis from industry research firm BMR finds that the heavy manufacturing sector has been a boon to the global economy in recent years.
But the analysis found that some sectors are still vulnerable to the downturn and are likely to see even greater declines in economic output.BMR is a non-profit organization whose members provide economic and regulatory analysis to the industry and government agencies around the world.
Brent Jones.
The company’s founder.
REUTERS/Brent Stocks BMR CEO Brent Jones said on Thursday that the impact of the global downturn has been muted in the past year, even though the economy was still recovering from the financial crisis.
Jones said in a statement that while some sectors have seen stronger growth since the global financial crisis, most have been unable to sustain it, adding that some industries were in “catastrophic” condition.
“There is no doubt that the downturn has impacted some sectors and many more are at risk,” he said.
“The impact is subtle and has been small in the short-term, but will grow in the long term.”
Jones said that in 2017, the heavy metals and plastics industry experienced the worst global recession in the last 30 years, with the industry’s share falling from a peak of more than 30 percent of GDP in the early 2000s to less than 10 percent today.
Jones said that the decline in the industry was due to the continued weakness of global markets and the ongoing impact of global trade restrictions.
In the U.S., the metals industry suffered from the worst downturn since the Great Depression and has suffered a $1.9 trillion decline in annual sales in the first half of 2018, BMR said.
Jones noted that while the metals and plastic industries have been resilient, the energy and chemical industries have suffered a huge decline in business due to climate change.
The energy industry has seen an estimated loss of $3.7 trillion in 2019, according to BMR.
Bjarke Ingels/Reuters”The metals and chemical industry is still suffering from the impacts of climate change, but this is offset by a decline in demand for metals and a resurgence of the renewable energy sector,” Jones said.
Barry J. Katz, a BMR vice president, said that it’s hard to pinpoint exactly how the downturn impacted the metals, plastics and energy industries, but said that he thinks that they all had a positive impact.
“The overall economy has been doing very well, so there is no question that the sector was able to recover,” Katz said.
“However, the industries have all experienced significant declines in employment, which may have resulted in a decrease in output and increased unemployment.
The industries have also experienced substantial declines in sales and business activity.
Overall, it is not clear that the industry is immune to the effects of this downturn.”BMR said that despite the economic downturn, it was still hopeful for the metals market and for other industries, such as the pharmaceuticals, food processing and the energy sector.
The report comes at a time when the metals sector is still struggling to recover from the global economic crisis, and it is expected to see a major drop in the price of metals and other materials in the coming months.
The metals industry is also grappling with another major problem: The decline in its supply of natural gas and the increasing competition from shale gas extraction has led to an increase in gas prices and reduced the supply of raw materials for metals production.
Barrick said that while there were still some opportunities for growth in the metals manufacturing sector, the downturn would likely make it difficult to get there.