Cutlery and Handtool Manufacturers NAICS 3322

May 18, 2025 - Bill Would Raise SBA Loan Limit

• A bipartisan group in Congress introduced legislation in May that would boost manufacturing by small US firms, Barron’s reports. As part of the Trump administration’s efforts to revive US manufacturing and create jobs, the Made in America Manufacturing Finance Act would raise the $5 million cap on Small Business Administration 7(a) and 504 loans to $10 million, but only for manufacturers. (The current $5 million limit hasn’t changed since 2010.) The 7(a) program offers flexible financing for working capital, equipment, and real estate, while the 504 program is typically used for fixed assets like land and large machinery. The 7(a) loan program, which guarantees loans issued by banks and nonbank lenders, has long been a cornerstone of small business financing. Lenders broadly support the bill, but would like to see it applied to all small business loans, according to Forbes.
• President Trump's tariffs threats, if realized, could worsen the US manufacturing sector’s current labor shortage, Inc reports. If, as Trump suggests, 25% tariffs on exports from Mexico, Canada, the European Union, and other US trading partners, result in largescale reshoring of jobs to the US, it would deepen the labor shortage that currently plagues manufacturers. According to data cited by The Wall Street Journal, the number of available manufacturing jobs that go unfilled each month remained constant at about 100,000 throughout last year. Moreover, the domestic labor pool may not be able to fill millions of new positions expected to be created in the next few years, Inc. writes. Trump’s move to deport undocumented workers and restrict immigration to the US will exacerbate the current labor shortage, some business owners say.

• Shop floor injuries needn’t be serious to be costly. In its 2024 Injury Impact Report, the insurer The Travelers Companies found the most common workplace accidents accounted for the majority of claim costs. The most frequent causes of injury identified in the report included overexertion (29% of claims analyzed); slips, trips, and falls (23%); being struck by an object (12%). Those injuries were also the top drivers of severe claims, defined as $250,000 or more. Slips, trips, and falls, which include falls from height, topped that list. Injuries related to overexertion can result in extended absences with injuries like dislocations having the highest number of average lost-time days at 142 days, followed by fractures (92 days), and inflammation (85 days). Improving shop floor ergonomics, eliminating trip/fall hazards, and material handling mishaps are three areas metal fabricators can focus on to reduce injuries and time lost.
• Employment by cutlery and handtool manufacturers was flat in March compared to a year ago, while average wages at fabricated metal manufacturers rose 4% over the same period to a new high of $27.73 per hour, according to the latest US Bureau of Labor Statistics data. Average wages have been climbing steadily amid declining industry sales. After-tax profits for fabricated metal products companies jumped 39.4% year over year in the fourth quarter, but fell 15.2% from Q3 2024, according to the latest data from the Census Bureau. Looking ahead, sales for the US cutlery and handtool manufacturers industry are forecast to grow at a -0.42% compounded annual rate from 2025 to 2029, slower than the growth of the overall economy, per the latest forecast from the Interindustry Economic Research Fund.