Archive for September 11th, 2008
September 11th, 2008
Soaring energy costs, the falling dollar and inflation are cutting into what U.S. manufacturers call the “China price”– the 40 to 50 percent cost advantage once offered by Chinese producers.
The export model that has powered China and other Asian countries for three decades will be compromised if fuel prices continue to rise, said Stephen Jen, a managing director for Morgan Stanley.
“Globalization has gone a little bit too far. It has overshot,” Jen said. “We’re not saying Asia is going to crumble, but we are saying Asia enjoyed extraordinary conditions in the past. Now the conditions are changing very quickly because of the energy shock, and Asia is coming under pressure.”
The ripple effects have been far-reaching. The trade imbalance between the United States and China — a source of political tension for years — is beginning to right itself as Chinese exports fall and U.S. exports rise. Global trade routes are being transformed, suggesting a possible return to a less integrated world economy.
Read the rest of the story in the Washington Post….
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/09/07/AR2008090702262.html?sub=new
September 11th, 2008
Guilford High School teacher Mike Lantz writes regarding the experience his vocational education students had last week at Goodwill Industries….
“My name is Mike Lantz, and I am a teacher and coordinator of the vocational education program at Guilford High School in Rockford, Il. I took my class to the Goodwill Abilities Center on September 5th for a tour of the facility, to learn about the many jobs, services, and programs that they offer to the community. As a way to introduce the students to the new Shop Goodwill program, the program director, Courtney Geiger, planned a great activity for the kids. She had the kids team up and shop through the Good Will store for an outfit that one of the students would model. Students were encouraged to accessorize with hats, purses, shoes, belts, and anything else they could find in the store. The kids dressed up and we had a photo session which was tons of fun for everyone. After the photo shoot, the kids wrote up a description of the outfit that was modeled, and now our kids, or models, can see themselves on the Shop Goodwill website. They can even purchase the outfit that they modeled. They should like it since they picked it out.
The activity with Shop Good Will was so much fun for all of us. The bus ride home was a lot of fun and you could tell all of the kids had a great time learning about Good Will and participating in the activity Courtney had planned for us. Good Will in Rockford has been a great partner with the schools here in Rockford. I look forward to working with the good people at Good Will for many years. I also look forward to doing some shopping online with shopgoodwill.com.”
Special thanks to Courtney Geiger and Craig Grugel for making this happen.
September 11th, 2008
As reported earlier, a collaborative effort between several Rockford Organizations resulted in us hosting a reception at the Chicago International Machine Tool Show on September 10th. This was the first event of this kind and we wanted to take advantage of the International exposure and increase Rockford’s presence internationally.
Judging from the attendance and many positive comments from invitees and sponsors, we’d have to say it was a success. Our mission was to attract potential customers and spend some time showing them the strengths of Rockford manufacturing. Nineteen organizations were sponsors and we each extended invitations attendees of IMTS. Networking in a face to face environment is surely a good method. After walking and standing all day, it also makes for a leisurely way to network and allows for some “downtime”.
Yes, we had a good turnout. We were able to engage in introductory discussions with representatives from Canada and the Czech Republic. The Czech representatives freely admitted that their export strategy is changing. They want to establish assembly and manufacturing operations in the U. S. and we’ve invited them to visit Rockford. The Canadians too, want to increase trade between our countries. They will be hosting a trade mission into the U.S. later this year, so we will get connected to see how we could participate.
Events such as this at a trade show creates a good environment to begin to establish new business relationships. One discussion leads to another and new doors get opened. I was introduced to the VP of a new Manufacturing Succcess magazine and he was very interested in how we did this event. He says he’ll try to introduce the ideas to his colleagues. He was very interested in the various happenings in Rockford Manufacturing.
We learned a good deal about this first event and we’ve already begun to think about the next time we do this. When it happens, I’m sure we’ll have more sponsors as well as more invitees.
September 11th, 2008
The latest cheap manufacturing site for European companies is not in Asia or eastern Europe but the U.S.
As summarized in the SME newsletter on September 8, 2008:
The Financial Times (9/8, Milne) reports, “The latest cheap manufacturing site for European companies is not in Asia or eastern Europe but the U.S.,” according to “top executives from some of the continent’s biggest companies.” They say that “the reason is less the level of the dollar, which remains relatively low in spite of the euro’s recent plunge, but rather the huge level of incentives some U.S. states are offering companies to set up factories in their region.” For example, Tennessee “has just disclosed that it agreed to give German carmaker Volkswagen $577 million in incentives for its $1 billion plant in Chattanooga.” Also, the German steelmaker ThyssenKrupp “is receiving more than $811 million to build a new steel mill in Alabama.” The industrial group “turned down even more from Louisiana, which reportedly offered as much as $2 billion, as well as an additional $900 million in cheap debt from Alabama, which it declined as it wished to remain debt-free.” Additionally, a Volkswagen “official suggested the U.S. also had a competitive advantage because European Union state aid rules made support for factories difficult.”
Read the full article here
http://mfgsuccess.com/cl/news.php?category=News&Index=319
