Kickstart: An increase in positive thinking for manufacturers

The good news is, the outlook among U.S. manufacturers was up in the third quarter of 2020. The bad news, of course, is that while 66 percent of those companies responding to a National Association of Manufacturers survey in mid-August saw a positive business outlook, that's still below a historical average of 74.4 percent. But it's well up from 33.9 percent in May, a number that was "the worst reading since the Great Recession."

NAM released the result of its latest Manufacturers' Outlook Survey Sept. 10.

Something else interesting in the survey? The role that efforts like the Paycheck Protection Program have played in helping companies remain stable.

"Relief funds played a significant role in helping businesses weather these challenges. Of the 82.7 percent of respondents who say COVID-19 had or will have a negative impact on their cash flow, 72.1 percent noted they had obtained funds through the Paycheck Protection Program, Main Street Lending Program or other liquidity programs," NAM reported. "More importantly, of those firms taking advantage of such programs, 91.6 percent reported that those funds helped keep their business afloat, retain their workforce or meet other necessary expenses."

Shortly after the pandemic spread to the U.S., a lot of local and state governments temporarily lifted bans on single-use plastics and bags. At the time, the reasoning was that there was little information on how the virus spread, and concerns that it could be passed unwittingly to store workers via reusable bags.

Since then, however, the focus has shifted to stopping the spread through the air, by wearing masks. And bag bans have picked up again.

The Consumer Brands Association recently surveyed 1,000 adults about their thoughts on balancing sustainability and safety.

"Though an overwhelming majority of Americans said they were concerned about the environment (82 percent), that figure is down from 90 percent in 2019," the association writes. "Similarly, 80 percent said they are concerned about single-use plastics, compared to 87 percent last year. It is a small retreat, but a retreat nonetheless — one that could slow environmental progress."

Those people surveyed also said they found investing in recycling is important. Unsurprisingly, however, only 20 percent of them thought recycling was "more critical" than finding a vaccine for COVID-19.

Vinyl albums are continuing their (relative) comeback in the music industry in comparison to CDs.

The Recording Industry Association of America's (RIAA) mid-year report, released Sept. 10, said that vinyl albums made up 62 percent of the $376 million worth of physical products sold in the first half of 2020. That continues a takeover for vinyl which has clawed its way back into prominence after nearly being completely replaced by CDs in the 1980s and 1990s.

But of course physical copies of music are a mere fraction of the record business now. (I'll note here that I am writing this while listening to Spotify via a bluetooth speaker rather than using my big stereo system and CDs).

So while shoppers spent more than $300 million on CDs and LPs, streaming music revenues grew 12 percent in the first half of the year to $4.8 billion, up from $3.4 billion two years ago.