Manufacturing 2023 economic forecast: An industry in transition
Photo | Edd Cote
Bob Patton, owner of Green Meadows cannabis dispensary in Southbridge
The manufacturing industry is 14.9% of the Central Massachusetts economy. It’s a $6.5-billion industry and employs thousands in various roles. It’s also a diverse and broad category covering multiple subsets of industries, and some have been hit hard by supply chain issues while others are flourishing with new and emerging technologies. Here is what we’re looking out for in 2023.
The cannabis boom is over
After the first legal adult-use businesses in the cannabis industry opened in 2018, there have been attempts by the state government to make it easier for small growers to get into the marijuana industry. Expect more microbusiness licenses to crop up. A microlicense lets a business owner cultivate, manufacture, and deliver as long as they do not own another cannabis business in the state. With so much market saturation and with growers being able to use pesticides, buyers have begun to become selective and more in tune with what they’re buying and from who.
A cannabis dispensary in Northampton became the first to close in Massachusetts since the first legal adult-use dispensaries opened in 2018. It won’t be the last. Northampton had 12 dispensaries until the closure, and the market is now saturated. It’s only a matter of time before the booming business sees a slowdown and a market shake-up. Cannabis sales this year were north of $1.3 billion, and total sales since November 2018 have almost hit the $4-billion mark; but prices continue to drop.
More local hard seltzer
Redemption Rock Brewing Co. is the latest local brewery to join the trend and create its own hard seltzer. According to research from Grand View Research, Inc., the national market for hard seltzer will grow and could reach north of $57 billion by 2030. Even as sales of big brands like Truly Hard Seltzer slow, breweries in the area like Greater Good Imperial Brewing Co., Lost Shoe Brewing and Roasting Co., Bay State Brewing Co., and Wachusett Brewing Co. all have seltzers, and the trend of breweries making something for everyone will continue with more and more places offering seltzers or something similar, like Penny Pinchers Brewing Co.’s Hard Water.
More workers will unionize
Workers at a GM electric vehicle battering factory plant in Ohio announced plans to unionize on Dec. 9, and they won’t be the last workers to start a union. Earlier this year, workers at an Amazon facility in Staten Island voted to start a union, and Starbucks workers across the country have gained steam and power by working together. For years, workers were told they didn’t need unions, and they listened. Now, that tide has turned, and the developments don’t seem to be slowing.
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