Episode 30

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Published on:

12th Oct 2026

Manufacturing Economic Outlook: Recession Risk, Tariffs, Labor, AI, and Supply Chains with Bill Conerly

What should manufacturers prepare for as tariffs, labor shortages, AI, supply chain risks, and economic uncertainty reshape the industry?

Economist Dr. Bill Conerly joins Lisa Ryan on The Manufacturers Network Podcast to break down the manufacturing economic outlook and the practical decisions manufacturing leaders should be making now.

Bill does not currently see a recession ahead under his base-case assumptions, but that doesn't mean manufacturers shouldn't prepare for one. He explains how to build a recession contingency plan that goes beyond cutting costs and considers opportunities to gain customers, hire hard-to-find talent, acquire capabilities, and strengthen the business when competitors pull back.

Lisa and Bill also explore how tariffs are changing supply chain decisions. The lowest-cost supplier isn't always the best choice when reliability is uncertain. Manufacturers need to understand where critical components come from, identify alternative suppliers, and consider where reshoring or domestic production may make economic sense.

The labor conversation goes deeper than hiring. An aging workforce means manufacturers risk losing decades of knowledge as experienced employees retire. Bill and Lisa discuss the "silver tsunami," skilled labor shortages, stay interviews, employee retention, and why manufacturers need to preserve the knowledge experienced workers carry before it disappears.

They also tackle AI in manufacturing. Bill suggests starting with individual processes where AI can remove repetitive work or improve information flow. Then, as the organization gains experience, ask a bigger question: If we designed this process from scratch with AI available, would we build it the same way?

In this episode:

• How manufacturers can prepare for recession risk without assuming one is coming

• Why tariffs are changing the economics of supply chain resilience

• Where reshoring opportunities may emerge

• How workforce demographics are affecting manufacturing labor shortages

• Why retiring workers create a critical knowledge-transfer challenge

• How stay interviews can help manufacturers retain skilled employees

• A two-step approach to evaluating AI investments in manufacturing

• How an economic downturn can create opportunities to hire, acquire, and gain market share

• Why manufacturing executives should focus on the economic indicators that actually affect their businesses instead of reacting to every headline

• How aging business owners may create acquisition opportunities for manufacturers looking to grow

The future can't be forecast perfectly. The better question is whether your manufacturing operation is prepared to respond when conditions change.

#Manufacturing #ManufacturingLeadership #ManufacturingIndustry #Economy #AIinManufacturing #SupplyChain #Tariffs #Reshoring #Workforce #ManufacturersNetwork

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About the Podcast

The Manufacturers Network
Real conversations with leaders in manufacturing, automation, and workforce retention.
The Manufacturers’ Network is where manufacturing leaders, plant managers, and industry innovators come to talk straight about what’s working and what’s not, on the shop floor and beyond.

Each week, host Lisa Ryan sits down with people who live and breathe this business: operations executives, HR directors, engineers, and founders who are building stronger teams and smarter systems in the face of nonstop change.

Listeners gain real-world insights on:
• Employee retention and workforce engagement
• Automation, AI, and the future of skilled trades
• Supply chain and operations leadership
• Safety, sustainability, and company culture that lasts

If you’re tired of generic “leadership talk” and want practical conversations from people who get it, this podcast is for you.

New episodes drop every Monday and are short enough for your commute, sharp enough to shape your week.

Subscribe and be part of the conversation that’s connecting manufacturers across industries, one story at a time.

About your host

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Lisa Ryan

As a Certified Speaking Professional (CSP), an award-winning speaker and author of ten books, Lisa Ryan, CSP, works with her clients to develop employee and client engagement initiatives and strategies that keep their top talent and best clients from becoming someone else’s.
Lisa’s expertise includes: strengthening workplace culture, improving employee engagement, increasing customer retention, and initiating gratitude strategies (“Grategies”) for personal and professional benefit. Lisa’s participants enjoy her high energy, enthusiastic delivery and quick wit and they leave the session with ideas they are committed to acting on immediately to make positive workplace culture changes.
Lisa costars in two films with other experts including Jack Canfield of “Chicken Soup for the Soul.” She is the Past-President of the National Speakers Association, Ohio Chapter and holds an MBA from Cleveland State University.

Relevant Experience

• Keynote, breakout or workshop speaker at more than 100 national and international conferences
• Thirteen years of industrial marketing and sales experience, including seven years in the welding industry – and yes, she does weld
• Host of “Elevate Your Engagement Levels: What You Need to Know” on the Elite Expert Network and the C-Suite Network
• Creator of “The Seven Mistakes Managers Make to Crush Company Culture” video series
• Best-selling author of ten books, including “Manufacturing Engagement: 98 Proven Strategies to Attract and Retain Your Industry’s Top Talent”
• Award-winning speaker