Brief rundown on how manufacturing has evolved over the past 40 years. Moving from solely Labor to less Labor at a higher value. One worker at a CNC machine can do the manufacturing of multiple workers at separate stations performing one or two functions. Lower Labor cost, faster throughput, and a promise of less inventory […]

OECD projects global GDP growth to weaken, with US facing steeper decline. Tariffs cited as a leading cause, impacting plastics industry and manufacturing. “OECD Economic Outlook: Plastics Industry Impact,” Plastics Today The plastics industry faces a challenging economic landscape as the latest Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) economic outlook reveals that while global growth proved […]

Teach them how to manufacture their ‘complex products’ — and then go back home. Would it work? Moneywise It is not a matter of whether it would work or not. The process and the technology to manufacture is already in the United States. This is in Lean Six Sigma, Just in Time, Total Quality Control, […]

 – by New Deal democrat The regional Fed August indexes, including both manufacturing and general business activity, rebounded sharply, telegraphing that a rebound was also likely in the ISM indexes. On Tuesday, the ISM manufacturing index rose slightly. This morning the ISM services index increased sharply. To wit, the headline number increased to 52.0, while the […]

 – by New Deal democrat As usual, the new month begins with important manufacturing and construction reports which give us the pulse of the goods-producing economy. The ISM manufacturing report has been a recognized leading indicator for the past 60+ years, although of diminished importance since the turn of the Millennium and China’s accession to […]

I will simplify this to a manner in which I have worked in for almost 50 years. The big issues around manufacturing are the Infrastructure (bldg., machinery, etc.), Overhead, and Labor. All of which is a part of the cost of manufacturing. Typically, you will find the infrastructure to be a onetime price. Overhead has […]

 – by New Deal democrat The former King of Coincident Indicators, industrial production, has faded ever since the “China shock” at the beginning of the Millennium. Downturns in production almost always coincided with the onset of recessions beforehand. Since then, there have been several big downturns, in 2015-16, 2019, and a smaller one in 2023-24, […]

As one commenter to this post (23 cars and trucks said) said: It is only for cars meeting the requirements of USMCA like having 75% of the parts sourced from North America. U.S. goods and services trade with USMCA totaled an estimated $1.8 trillion in 2022. Exports were $789.7 billion; imports were $974.3 billion. The […]

ISM manufacturing index returns to contraction as the front-running of tariffs has ended  – by New Deal democrat [Note: I’ll report separately on construction spending, also released this morning] Although manufacturing is of diminishing importance to the economy, (it was in deep contraction both in 2015-16 and again in 2022 without any recession), the ISM manufacturing […]

Some Background on Molds Building molding tools is a one-off event. You spend the $tens of thousands and the tool lasts a certain amount of throughput dependent upon material molded (some being more difficult or corrosive) and care. The numbers of cavities will impact costs. Too many and it increases cost of the tool and […]