Supply chain spare capacity is increasingGEP Index reveals increase supply chain spare capacity
New Jersey, United States
New data reveals spare capacity in the global supply chain has risen for the third consecutive month and is currently sitting at its highest level since July 2023, indicating intensifying global economic weakness.
This is according to GEP which produces the GEP Supply Chain Volatility Index, derived from S&P Global’s PMI surveys of 27,000 businesses in more than 40 countries.
The index also reveals North American factory purchasing activity deteriorated “quickly” in September with demand now at its weakest for the year.
Factory procurement in China fell for the third consecutive months while Europe has “an even larger increase in supplier spare capacity”.
GEP chief operating officer Jagadish Turimella says of the data: “September is the fourth straight month of declining demand and the third month running that the world’s supply chains have spare capacity, as manufacturing becomes an increasing drag on the major economies”
“With the potential of a widening war in the Middle East impacting oil, and the possibility of more tariffs and trade barriers in the new year, manufacturers should prioritise agility and resilience in their procurement and supply chains.”
Weber Hydraulik celebrates 85th birthday
Güglingen, Germany
Weber-Hydraulik founder Emil Weber
German manufacturer of hydraulic lifting equipment, Weber Hydraulik GMBH, has celebrated its 85th anniversary, a period through which the company grew from a small regional company to an international supplier.
Weber Hydraulik manufactures hydraulic control systems which can be adapted to counterbalance forklifts, pallet trucks, reach trucks, pickers and bottle jacks.
Hydraulic systems found on a counterbalance truck may include a tilting cylinder of the mast, a constant velocity steering cylinder and the steering system.
Founded by Emil Weber in Stuttgart-Untertürkheim in 1939 to manufacture hydraulic lifting equipment, Weber Hydraulik now boasts annual turnover of EUR350 million (USD381.67 million) with locations in Germany, Austria and Poland. Family members of its founder continue to serve on the board.