Oakland Park, FL -- (SBWire) -- 03/01/2017 --Top-of-mind issues among manufacturing leaders across the country are revealed in the results of the Future of Manufacturing Outlook Survey, released today by the marketing research division of TR Cutler, Inc.

The survey, fielded between the election and the inauguration of the new administration, is part of firm's Future of Manufacturing initiative, which helps employers navigate exponential change in manufacturing enterprises.

While most manufacturers are "hopeful" about changes related to the tax structure and reduced regulatory compliance, many of the survey's more than 400 respondents expressed ambivalence about the road ahead particularly cultivating new sources of talent, the growing complexity of the U.S. regulatory landscape, and an ever-increasing global workforce.

The survey's key findings include:

- 70% of respondents are hopeful about future changes to the manufacturing workplace.

- Slightly more than half the respondents (51%) do not expect demand for independent contractors to grow.

- The Department of Labor (35%) leads the group of U.S. agencies as the most aggressive employer "watchdog" for the next five years.

"Our survey provides a window into manufacturers hopes and fears regarding the future of the workplace," said Thomas R. Cutler, CEO of TR Cutler, Inc. "Manufacturers are not sure how to navigate a shifting landscape with a new presidential administration, evolving skill sets, talent management, and the ways to manage new issues from Big data, IIoT (Industrial Internet of Things), and Industry 4.0."

About TR Cutler, Inc.
TR Cutler, Inc. was founded seventeen years ago by Thomas R. Cutler. Cutler is the President and CEO of Fort Lauderdale, Florida-based, TR Cutler, Inc., (http://www.trcutlerinc.com), the largest manufacturing communication firm worldwide with four dozen industry experts and thought leaders on staff. Cutler maintains extraordinary relationships with clients, journalists, editors, economists, trendsetters, and key business leaders worldwide and has become a key resource for those writing about the manufacturing sector. Cutler founded the Manufacturing Media Consortium in 1999, which now has more than 6,000 global members including journalists, editors, publishers, and economists, worldwide writing about trends, industrial data, manufacturing case studies, material handling profiles, and robotics feature articles. Cutler works with thousands of media outlets to expand the coverage and importance of the manufacturing media coverage.

Cutler has authored more than 6,000 articles for a wide range of manufacturing periodicals, industrial publications, and business journals each published in leading monthly trade magazines, B2B periodicals, blogs, and marquis publications globally. Cutler is the most published freelance industrial journalist worldwide, and more than 3500 industry leaders follow Cutler on Twitter daily at @ThomasRCutler.