The ongoing debate about whether the US should permit additional LNG exports to countries with which it does not have a free trade agreement (non-FTA) is far from being just a question of whether we have enough gas to remain well-supplied domestically and export to other countries. The LNG export issue touches upon prospects for… Keep reading →
China’s factories continued their expansion in December, according to a key manufacturing index released Monday. HSBC said its Chinese purchasing managers’ index, or PMI, rose to a 19-month high of 51.5 in December from 50.5 last month. The reading was above 50, meaning that manufacturing is now in a state of accelerated expansion. A preliminary reading of 50.9 was published by HSBC earlier in December. “Momentum is likely to be sustained in the coming months when infrastructure construction runs into full speed and property market conditions stabilize,” said Hongbin Qu, an economist at HSBC.
A man works on the factory floor at Quadrant, a high end plastic processor on October 19, 2011 in Reading, Pennsylvania. Quadrant, a 70 year old company, employs more than 2000 people in 20 countries and is one of the few remaining manufacturers in the area to still provide stable jobs in an uncertain economy.
Modern manufacturing is not your grandfather’s factory, and the same traditional education and immigration policies are forming barriers to keeping manufacturing in the US. Keep reading →
The US manufacturing industry is growing at its fastest pace in a decade. One reason? #natgas production http://bit.ly/ycErLi exxonmobil
As the solar market continues its dramatic growth, the future outlook for manufacturers is changing. While US photovoltaic module manufacturers were working on technology development and manufacturing strategies, their competition, mainly in Asia, was able to line up financing and build new factories more rapidly. The Chinese government also has been developing a set of subsidies to boost solar energy production in-country.
As a result, a great deal of industry buzz has been generated by the precipitous slide in solar module prices, which dropped approximately 40 percent from 2007 to 2010 and by another 40 percent in 2011. Most industry experts predict that solar module price will eventually bounce back from its lowest level of 2011 once demand catches up with supply as evidenced by steadily growing solar energy demand in the future. Keep reading →
Chinese manufacturing has hit the brakes, slowing to a 32-month low in November and raising concerns about a global economic slowdown, according to a preliminary report issued Wednesday. China’s Purchasing Managers’ Index for manufacturing slipped to 48, according to the report issued by the banking company HSBC. It was down 3 points from the October reading of 51. Any reading above 50 indicates growth in the sector, while any reading below 50 indicates a contraction in activity. This article is a linkout the full article should be seen at: http://money.cnn.com/2011/11/23/news/international/china_pmi_hsbc/index.htm?iid=HP_MPM
Although manufacturers might be slashing costs left and right amidst a weak recovery, they readily acknowledge that’s not much of a long-term solution. Ninety percent of manufacturing executives say that innovation, not cost-cutting, is the key to long-term growth in the manufacturing industry, according to a new report. The report, which surveyed 360 manufacturing executives and was released on Tuesday by its sponsor General Electric, found that although 62 percent of manufacturing executives say that cost-cutting would help in the near term, nearly all of them say innovation is crucial to long-term success. Overall, 61 percent of manufacturing executives said that ensuring a higher quality of production was the strongest safeguard against competition from emerging markets such as China. This article is a linkout, to see the original go to: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/10/18/manufacturing-innovation_n_1018086.html
Jared Anderson
Conway Irwin
Peter Gardett