If you ask lifelong residents about the state of manufacturing in the Delaware, many might shake their head and mutter something about the good old days when lots of manufacturers were here. Yes, gone are some of the big names that many associated with manufacturing (General Motors and Chrysler), and others may have shrunk their footprint or exited some product lines altogether. The truth is the manufacturing sector in Delaware is good and thriving.

Today the manufacturing landscape is growing with legacy firms and small, private companies—many of whom are discovering it is difficult to find available space to expand a difficult proposition. Help is on the way in the form of site readiness funds. There is also the potential of allocating substantial sums of federal money to cleanup sites with environmental issues and get those sites back into productive use.  

Manufacturers, however, are suffering from the same workforce deficits that just about every industry sector is experiencing. To learn more about what is happening to prepare young people for work in manufacturing as well as other industry sectors, tune into the Delaware Pathways Conference tomorrow. You can register here.

The State announced in October a public-private expansion of Delaware’s Pathways program, which links education and workforce development programs and allows students to gain real-world work experience while in school. Pathways 2.0 will extend to Delaware middle schools, reaching more than 6,000 students. The investment will also grow the Pathways program in Delaware high schools to reach 32,000 students, about 80 percent of all students attending Delaware public high schools. Formed in 2015, the Pathways program currently serves about 20,000 high school students. Read more >

This is a relatively light week for business economic news. We kick off the week tomorrow with October trade deficit results and consumer credit numbers from October. Wednesday is about jobs—October job openings and job quits will be reported. Thursday brings us 3rd quarter real household wealth and real domestic nonfinancial debt. We wrap up the week on Friday with consumer price index results from November, core inflation numbers from November, and a preliminary look at the University of Michigan's consumer sentiment index from December.  

SAIC and HealthEquity host earnings calls today. Tuesday’s calls include Toll Brothers, AutoZone, and Dave & Buster’s Entertainment. Game Stop, Campbell Soup, Vera Bradley, Weber, Costco, Chewy, Vail Resorts, and Lululemon Athletica are among the companies with calls later this week.    

Bay to Bay News

Delaware Public Media