Glass & Glass Product Manufacturers NAICS 3272

Sep 30, 2025 - New SBA Loan Program

• Small glass and glazing companies will soon have additional help obtaining federal loans through the US Small Business Administration, USGlass Magazine reports. The SBA has launched what it calls its first-ever loan program dedicated to supporting America’s small manufacturers by providing additional credit for working capital needs. Effective Oct. 1, the Manufacturers’ Access to Revolving Credit (MARC) Loan Program will provide a maximum of $5 million to borrowers engaged in manufacturing, according to SBA. The money must be used for working capital needs, such as inventory purchases or new projects. MARC capital can be structured as a term loan for up to 10 years or a revolving line of credit for up to 20 years. The loan can be used in combination with other SBA and conventional commercial loans. The MARC loan program is part of the Trump administration’s broad effort to strengthen US manufacturing.
• Installing bird-friendly film on the glass facade of Chicago’s McCormick Place has greatly reduced bird deaths from collisions, Glass Magazine reports. Pressure to act increased after about 1,000 migrating birds died in one night after colliding with the low-lying glass building. Following the deaths, McCormick Place installed bird-safe film produced by Canada-based Feather Friendly and retrofitted by National Glazing Solutions on the building’s windows in 2024. The film breaks up reflective or transparent hazards without affecting solar load or interior aesthetics. Deaths from collisions fell more than 95% last summer following the addition of the film, retired field museum bird division collections manager Dave Willard told the Chicago Tribune. According to the Tribune, when bird collision monitors conducted daily inspections last fall, they found just 18 dead birds. Willard says the deaths compared with 1,280 in fall 2023 and 771 in fall 2022.

• Manufacturers of glass and glass products are facing an acute labor shortage, which only looks to get worse, Glass Magazine reported recently. “Labor is the number one challenge for fabricators, glaziers, and full-service glass companies," says Jenni Chase, VP of Workforce Development for the National Glass Association, adding, "It is the biggest pain point for the glass industry,” Moreover, the construction and manufacturing industries are also facing a chronic labor shortage. Construction will need half a million workers on top of the normal hiring rate to keep up with labor demand in 2024 and again in 2025, per the Associated Builders and Contractors. A study by Deloitte and the National Association of Manufacturing reports that the ongoing shortage of skilled labor could lead to 2.1 million unfilled jobs by 2030. Recognizing the severity of the labor shortage, the NGA has added Workforce Development to its organizational goals.
• Producer prices for glass and glass product manufacturers climbed to a new high in August, up 3.6% compared to a year ago, after rising 2.8% in the previous August-versus-August annual comparison, according to the latest US Bureau of Labor Statistics data. Rising costs, tariffs, and other factors have contributed to companies increasing prices on products. Employment by the industry was flat year over year in July, while average wages at nonmetallic mineral product manufacturers, which includes makers of glass and glass products, rose 6.6% YoY in August to a new high of $28.87 per hour, BLS data show. New residential construction activity – a driver of demand for windows and glass doors – slowed in August, with housing starts and building permits falling both month over month and year over year, according to the Census Bureau.