As the coronavirus infection rates begin to fall in many regions of the United States, multiple states are forming plans to reopen their economies and restarting their manufacturing sectors. For those who do business with U.S. manufacturing companies, this represents both a source of confusion and opportunity. This article provides a running list of some major manufacturing states that have opened or are planning to reopen their industrial sectors.

Manufacturers are going through significant changes as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. While some struggle to stay in businesses, others are shifting production to focus on essential products.



Proper research is more important now more than ever before when reaching out to prospects. Executive contacts might change as manufacturers restructure existing processes, and you need to understand how the current situation is affecting a prospect to identify relevant pain points and explain how your products or services can help.

New data released today by the Bureau of Labor statistics shows the U.S. recovered an astounding 2.5 million jobs, after shedding an equally astounding 20.5 million jobs at the height of the COVID-19 fallout in April.



The unemployment rate fell to 13.3% after spiking to a record high of 14.70% in April.



Manufacturing, which was among the hardest-hit sectors, losing 1.3 million jobs in April, recovered 225,000 jobs or about 17.3% of jobs lost in April. This hopeful trend is expected to continue, as more states begin to fully reopen their economies.



Though manufacturing job gains were seen across most sectors, some industries fared better than others. This article will take a closer look at the report's manufacturing job numbers, providing details on gains and losses in specific manufacturing sub-sectors.

Category searches on IndustryNet increased 42% in April 2020. This surge is connected to COVID-19 disrupting supply chains. In consequence, manufacturers have to adapt and seek new solutions to acquire the supplies they need.



The most-searched category for April 2020 was tools, with steel pipes and tubes coming in second.



The most popular searches included steel tubing, carbon steel tubing and welded steel tubing.



With the influx of searches for this industry, it is likely that these manufacturers will be looking to scale up.



As a sales and marketing professional, you can use this spike in demand as selling points to help manufacturers achieve their goals and solve problems.

Businesses are facing an increasingly intricate vendor ecosystem. Products like IT solutions, tools and machinery, and even business services are undergoing significant changes as new digital features appear, making these products more complex to research.



In fact, the process is so complex that for 80% of businesses, the B2B buying process takes more time than it used to. As a result, the B2B buying process is starting to prioritizing research.



Salespeople can help by adopting an approach known as prescriptive selling.

Our April 2020 search trends revealed that an increasing number of manufacturers are looking for domestic supplies. Compared to April 2019, category searches have increased by 42%, with tools being the most searched category.



This increase in search reflects new opportunities that exist for tool manufacturers.



Reaching out to these potential customers to promote solutions that support growth will help them keep up with this increase in demand.

During April 2020, IndustrySelect category searches for domestic supplies increased by 42%. COVID-19 is disrupting global supply chains between shutdowns and shipping delays, creating a climate of uncertainty that forces many manufacturers to rethink procurement as they reopen.



Steel tubing was the second most-searched category, indicating a surge in demand for this versatile product category that is used in machinery, hydraulic systems, conveyor belts and utility grids.



Strong demand for steel tubing means that these manufacturers might need to invest in new products and services to keep up with demand and turn this trend into an opportunity for growth.

We've all had similar experiences -- email or call a customer or prospect only to be met with a bounced email or wrong number voice message.



Obviously something has changed, and the question becomes not only where he/she went, but what else has changed?



If you were working from your company's database or an outside list, the thought might also have crossed your mind: Hmm, wonder how many of these records are also wrong?

COVID-19 has forced businesses to practice remote working and telecommuting. In many states, economies are reigniting, which means that some employees will be allowed to go back to the office for at least part-time work. However, many companies are maintaining work-from-home policies out of caution.



Remote working may be practical for some occupations, but for sales teams it is exceedingly difficult to be deprived of face-to-face interaction.

Power transmission equipment manufacturers fulfill an essential role by providing different types of parts that create motion. These parts have a wide range of applications in areas like vehicles, industrial and agricultural machinery, and assembly lines.



While COVID-19 shutdowns are affecting many manufacturers, power transmission equipment plants are still open and continue to produce these essential parts.



The following trends are representative of the power transmission equipment sector and the challenges these manufacturers are currently facing, which can help you better communicate with and appropriately sell to this industry.

As the progression of COVID-19 slows down, more than 30 states are looking into reopening their economy progressively. However, reopening will create a unique set of challenges for businesses that need to keep employees safe and keep up with official guidelines and regulations that might change in the near future.



As such, cleaning is going to be a top priority. If you offer sanitizing services or provide sanitizing products, the U.S. manufacturing sector is an industry to focus on.

Governor Gretchen Whitmer announced last week that Michigan manufacturers were allowed to reopen on Monday, May 11th, following the recent stay-at-home order that shuttered all but the most critical manufacturers in the state.



For those who are ready to get in touch with Michigan companies as they slowly get back to work, we're sharing some essential insights on the state's industrial sector and providing a list of the state's top manufacturers.

New data released today by the Bureau of Labor statistics shows the U.S. lost a staggering 20.5 million jobs in April, the height of the COVID-19 outbreak. This comes as no surprise as states effectively shut down their economies to wait out the worse of the crisis and businesses across the U.S. temporarily closed.



This article will look at manufacturing job losses for the month by sector.

Power transmission equipment manufacturers are highly-specialized businesses that produce moving parts used in machinery and vehicles.



Most of these manufacturers create parts that support critical industrial production, so they are deemed "essential" and are thus still up and running amid the COVID-19 crisis.

The coronavirus crisis has created a new status quo almost overnight. As a marketer, being reactive is more important now than ever, and there is a dire need to find a new communication style that suits your brand and audience as well as the current situation we're facing.



Email marketing is still a relevant and reliable way to connect with your audience, but you need to rethink your content strategy, find the right tone to discuss current events, connect with leads in meaningful ways and avoid cliches.

As the nation slowly begins to reopen from coronavirus lockdown, the state of Ohio is among the first to reopen its manufacturing sector. Governor Matt DeWine has laid out a structured reopening plan called "Responsible Restart Ohio," allowing manufacturing companies to reopen, provided they follow strict measures to ensure staff safety.



Having a deep understanding of your market is an essential facet of a successful sales strategy. For those looking to do business with Ohio manufacturers, IndustrySelect's database of 40,000 U.S. manufacturers contains a vast amount of hand-verified data to help users understand their market and drill down to a list of prospects.



Today, we're taking a closer look at Ohio's manufacturing sector and sharing some essential insights provided to us by the state's manufacturing companies.

In the time of coronavirus, electric motor, generator and transformer manufacturers are among the many businesses deemed "critical" by the federal government, so their plants are generally up and running. This article will take a look at the top manufacturers in this sector.

The COVID-19 outbreak is affecting every facet of life and business, forcing industries like manufacturing to upend their usual processes and adapt to this new dynamic. While some manufacturing sectors are increasing production, others are shutting down indefinitely. We're also seeing some manufacturers shifting production toward essential medical supplies.



Between shutdowns and drastic changes in demand, manufacturers are facing an uncertain situation.

As industries undergo temporary shutdowns to slow down the spread of COVID-19, iron and steel mills have been recognized as an essential industry and have remained open to provide crucial materials for manufacturing, construction, transportation and other industries.



This article will explore the leading iron and steel mills in the U.S.

In early March, we were contacted by an organization called Operation Tiny Home, a national nonprofit that addresses housing instability by providing custom high-quality tiny housing solutions and empowerment training programs. The organization was seeking data to help them find corporate contacts and forge new partnerships in their mission to address homelessness in the U.S., including the 1.4 million veterans at risk of becoming homeless.

If you're used to making your pitch on the shop floor and closing the deal with a firm handshake, social distancing may have you at a loss. You can still find effective ways to approach your prospects.



In fact, as a B2B rep, you could find yourself busier than ever.

In these trying coronavirus times, many industries are shuttered as nonessential. However, the federal government has deemed chemical manufacturers critical to fill needs from housekeeping supplies to vital medicines. Fortunately, the plants are up and running, providing jobs crucial to our nation's economy.



Of the 14,584 chemical manufacturing facilities in the United States, 11,406 are privately owned.



Over two thirds of US chemical manufacturing is carried out in the Midwest and the South, with the remaining third taking place in the Northeast and West.

Manufacturing in the age of COVID-19 means walking a tightrope. If a facility is deemed "non-essential," what happens to the workers? On the other hand, if a facility is deemed "essential," how can employers ensure the health and safety of their employees? How do they fill the critical staffing gaps between "business as usual" and "business at hyper speed"?



As a staffing agency, it's your job to provide the facts and potential solutions for both the essential and non-essential manufacturers to help stabilize operations. With the right information on their environment (challenges, needs and more), you can properly assist manufacturers and establish a partnership that is mutually beneficial.

As coronavirus continues to reshape the U.S. manufacturing sector at breakneck speed, sales and business development executives are left wondering which industries are most likely to need their goods and services. Multiple economic reports point to a contracting manufacturing sector, yet some industries are busier than ever.



This article will explore some of the potential growth industries as the nation's industrial sector transforms into a coronavirus-fighting machine, gleaning some key insights from the latest reports on manufacturing. These are the manufacturers that may potentially need services such as staffing, software, financial, transportation, janitorial/maintenance and more.

Under the threat of the coronavirus, many manufacturers have been forced to shut down. Food manufacturing companies are still up and running because the federal government has deemed this industry critical to the health and well-being of our nation.



The United States has 22,485 food processing plants. Get to know the top 10 food manufacturing companies in the U.S.

The coronavirus pandemic in the U.S. continues to accelerate, sending a shock wave through the economy at large, upending multiple industries, and shining a spotlight on the critical role U.S. manufacturers play in meeting the needs of this growing crisis.



For those looking to make contact with industrial companies, COVID-19 has been a gamechanger. This article will examine the specific manufacturing industries that are still up and running in the time of coronavirus.

If your business is going to succeed in the manufacturing market, you need to have the right business development approaches in place.



Of course, tackling business development in the manufacturing market is easier said than done. There is a variety of factors that you have to pay attention to when appealing to this market.



Business development, sales, marketing ... what's the difference, anyway?



It's important to note that today, many roles that are technically sales or marketing roles are now "business development" positions, rebranded for a variety of reasons.

The multi-billion dollar medical and surgical instrument manufacturing industry is predicted to grow substantially in the future.



Although the industry is in the midst of a mild stagnation period due to international trade instabilities, the demand for these devices is so strong that industry contraction has been mostly avoided.



Medical and surgical instruments cover a wide variety of machines, tools and equipment used in healthcare and surgery. The majority of these products must be made for compliance with sterile conditions.

For B2B salespeople in the manufacturing market, experiencing rejection from a prospect is rough. A simple "sorry, we can't move forward with this offer" from a prospect can equate to week's worth of lost time and effort for the seller.



So, how should you handle rejection from a potential prospect? In the fifth and final part of our series Common Objections in B2B Sales & How to Overcome Them we're tackling the sticky issue of rejection.



Fortunately, there are several easy steps you can take to make handling rejection in sales a more straightforward process.

Having a deep understanding of your market is essential to building relationships and nurturing leads.



For those looking to do business with Virginia manufacturers, IndustrySelect's database of 400,000 U.S. manufacturers contains a vast amount of hand-verified data to help users understand their market and create a list of prospects.



Today, we're sharing some of these key facts and insights provided by Virginia's manufacturers.