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Most Manufacturers Have Experienced No Business Change Due to COVID-19

According to a survey conducted the week of March 2, 53% of discrete parts manufacturers have seen no change to their business because of COVID-19. A smaller percent, 39%, have made no adjustments to their business because of the virus.

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During the week of March 2, Gardner Intelligence conducted a short survey to gauge the effect of COVID-19 on discrete parts manufacturers across all the industries that Gardner Business Media covers. The survey asked two basic questions:

  1. What changes has your business experienced as a result of COVID-19?
  2. What adjustments has your business made as a result of COVID-19?

For each of those questions, respondents were asked to rank the severity of the change or adjustment from minimal to moderate to major.

Before commenting on the results, you can go here to peruse the results for yourself.  The count gives the number of respondents that selected the change or adjustment out of the total number of respondents. The bar chart shows the percent of respondents that selected the change or adjustment. When you hover over the bar chart, a second bar chart will display showing the percent of respondents for that change or adjustment that indicated it had a minimal, moderate, or major impact to the business. You can toggle between the two questions with the drop down list in the upper right hand corner.

According to the survey, 53% of respondents indicated that they have experienced no changes at their business as a result of COVID-19. Of the remaining respondents, 24% indicated there have been various ripple effects that could not be directly tied to COVID-19. Nearly 75% of these respondents stated the ripple effects were minimal or moderate. The most significant change discrete parts manufacturers have experienced is a change in supplier lead times, which was experienced by 24% of the respondents. These changes were moderate to major according to 90% of respondents.

Through the end of last week, a smaller percent of respondents (39%) stated their business had made no adjustments as result of COVID-19. Travel was the number one adjustment made by businesses with 34% of respondents indicating their business had adjusted travel plans as a result of the virus. More than two-thirds of respondents indicated that the change in travel plans was major. Also, businesses made notable adjustments by adding contingency or backup plans (26%) and changing tradeshow attendance/particpation (23%).

Gardner Business Media - Strategic Business Solutions