Industry Brief, July 28, 2026: Texas skills gaps, Richmond Fed capex dip, conveyor merger

By MillBrief Editorial · July 28, 2026 · Retrospective edition, published September 23, 2026

This is a retrospective edition. The brief did not run on July 28, 2026; we wrote it on September 23, 2026 using only reporting that was published on or shortly before July 28, 2026, and it makes no forecasts.

This is a retrospective edition covering July 28, 2026, using only reporting published on or up to two days before that date. Three items: Texas manufacturers growing output while finding it harder to hire people with the right skills, a flat month in the Richmond Fed’s district with equipment spending edging down, and three warehouse automation brands brought under one owner. Our own words, links to the original outlet, vendor numbers labelled as vendor numbers.

Texas factories grow output, and skilled hires get harder to find

The Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas’s Texas Manufacturing Outlook Survey for July, released July 27, showed output growth picking up: the production index rose six points to 10.1, and new orders rose to 6.4 from 2.3. The company outlook index jumped 11 points to 13.4, while the general business activity index was little changed at 1.3. The employment index dipped two points to 12.2, still above its series average. Price pressure stayed high, with raw materials prices at 41.3 and wages and benefits up five points to 30.8. One respondent said circuit board pricing had become unstable after an Iranian attack on a Saudi facility that makes a material used in PCB production. Another said it was investing in new machines to raise output and cut manufacturing cost without reducing its workforce.

The Dallas Fed’s special questions, collected July 14 to 22, asked about hiring. Among Texas manufacturers, 44.4% were trying to hire. Of those, 57.1% named a lack of technical skills as an obstacle, 53.6% a lack of applicants (up from 38.2% in January) and 50.0% a lack of experience (up from 29.4%). The manufacturing samples were small: 63 firms answered the hiring question and 28 the question on obstacles. Across all surveyed firms, 14% reported an impact from immigration policy changes.

Why it matters: A cell still needs people who can run it, clear faults and change it over, and those are the technical skills Texas firms say they cannot find. Lack of in-house ownership is one of the causes in why automation projects fail, so budget for training someone you already employ. Use your fully burdened labor cost, not the wage alone, when you test payback, as our payback guide explains.

Sources: Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas, manufacturing survey and special questions, July 27, 2026.

Richmond Fed: a flat month, longer lead times, less equipment spending

The Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond’s Fifth District manufacturing survey, released July 28, described activity as mostly flat. The composite index edged up to 5 from 4, with shipments up to 8 from 4 and employment up to 2 from minus 1, while new orders slipped to 5 from 8. The local business conditions index rose to 10 from minus 1. Average growth in prices paid over the past 12 months fell to 6.08% from 6.99%, and in prices received to 3.96% from 4.57%. The district covers Maryland, North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, most of West Virginia and the District of Columbia, and results come from 112 to 122 firms.

The detail table is where buyers should look. The vendor lead time index rose to 17 from 12, meaning more firms saw suppliers take longer. The capital expenditures index was 0, up from minus 8, but the equipment and software spending index fell to minus 5 from minus 2, and its six-month expectation dropped to minus 5 from 7. The availability of skills index stayed at minus 12, while the wages index rose to 28 from 22.

Why it matters: When lead times stretch and budgets tighten, a vague schedule becomes an expensive one. Ask bidders to quote lead time phase by phase, from design and build through acceptance testing, installation and ramp, as our RFQ guide sets out, so you can see which phase is exposed to slow suppliers before you commit.

Source: Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond, July 28, 2026.

Intelligrated, Trew and Transnorm come under one owner

In a company release dated July 27, the investment firm American Industrial Partners (AIP) said it had completed its purchase of Honeywell’s Warehouse and Workflow Solutions business, which includes Intelligrated and Transnorm, bringing the two together with Trew under common ownership. The release says the three businesses together generated more than $1 billion in revenue in 2025 and employ more than 3,700 people. Their combined portfolio covers systems integration, conveyor, sortation, robotics, automated storage and retrieval, palletizing, software, controls and lifecycle services. The chief executive is Alfred Rebello, who was part of Intelligrated from its founding in 2001 and joined Trew as president and chief operating officer in 2022.

For customers, the release says activity will continue without interruption: the three brands keep operating under their own names, and products, services, contracts, support teams and customer relationships stay in place. It also says the combined company will spend the coming months working with customers and partners to decide its long-term operating model. AIP says it manages about $17.5 billion. These are the companies’ own statements.

Why it matters: If you run conveyors, sorters or controls from one of these brands, nothing changes today, but the operating model is still to be decided. Get the support terms you depend on, such as response times, spare-part prices and lead times, and access to your control code, in writing, using our questions to ask a system integrator as a checklist.

Source: PR Newswire (American Industrial Partners), July 27, 2026.