Manufacturing 2.0
Rock River Valley manufacturing experts discuss the many facets of manufacturing: technology, education, training, events, people and any other aspects of this important segment of our economy. They’ll use this blog to get the word out and solicit feedback on local and global manufacturing. They hope to better engage our employers, employees and our future work force and increase their understanding of manufacturing. |
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2 comments January 28th, 2009
Pelosi is trying to change the tax rate on our retirement funds? Currently when we retire, we get our retirement money taxed at the level of income we are at when we withdraw it. She wants to add a tax to the “gains” in our retirement accounts?
This can’t be fair, because many “middle class” folks have money in retirement funds and they would be affected…
Stay tuned
Add comment January 27th, 2009
The US claimed an “important victory” on Monday against lax Chinese enforcement of intellectual property rights, following a mixed verdict by a World Trade Organisation dispute panel.
The panel found China in breach of WTO rules on two of the three counts brought by Washington. But it rejected a key US charge that Beijing’s threshold defining “commercial-scale” piracy and counterfeiting was too high. The panel said more evidence was needed.
Under the WTO’s agreement on trade-related aspects of intellectual property (Trips), illegal copying on a “commercial” scale is subject to criminal procedures and penalties.
Peter Allgeier, acting US trade representative, said: “These findings are an important victory, because they confirm the importance of IPR protection and enforcement, and clarify key enforcement provisions of the Trips agreement.”
He admitted that the conclusion on the “commercial-scale” threshold was “disappointing”, but noted that China had lowered the bar for copyright theft just before the US filed its complaint in April 2007.
This threshold is now 500 copies of a pirated DVD or about $7,000 (€5,291, £4,986) worth of counterfeit goods.
China’s Ministry of Commerce on Tuesday said it ”regretted” the WTO’s decision to uphold US complaints over Chinese Customs’ activities and Copyright Law. It called for greater international cooperation to fight the ”global problem” of intellectual property rights protection and welcomed the WTO finding that the US had not provided enough proof that Chinese criminal deterrents were inadequate and contravened China’s WTO commitments.
Both sides have the right of appeal. But if the panel verdict is upheld, China will have to change its anti-piracy laws or face possible sanctions.
The panel said China was wrong to deny copyright protection to censored works, which the US pointed out could still be produced in China and exported.
Beijing was also criticised for allowing confiscated goods to be auctioned with only the infringing trademark removed. The US said this could further confuse consumers and facilitate rather than deter piracy.
Since China joined the WTO in December 2001, the US has brought seven cases against it, while China has brought three against the US.
The verdict in another intellectual property case, related to Chinese restrictions on distribution of US films and music, is expected in the next months.
The Obama administration has taken a tough line on China’s alleged currency “manipulation”, but has yet to make clear whether it intends to pursue this and other unfair trading practices in the WTO.
By Frances Williams in Geneva
Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2009
Add comment January 25th, 2009
The following is an announcement that will surely interest you! Maybe we just need to get on and speak about how Manufacturing is still here! While out today I ran into someone who was so sure my company must be closing as a result of the economy “Since I was in the manufacturing sector!” If you think of it tell five people you meet today that we don’t exisit without someone making what we touch and feel everyday. Like a wise manufacturing expert once said “Everything from your rattle to the handle on your casket is manufactured!” Even in a growing service economy this is still true…..I believe that Rockford is still the BEST place that those things can be made! I still love manufacturing!
NOW FYI—-
Good morning,
I’m letting all of you know that I will be hosting WREX’s long-running Sunday morning program, 13 Cares, for the foreseeable future. The show airs at 10:30 Sunday mornings. Studio taping occurs Thursday mornings.
If you or your organization have a message to the community and would like to come on the show, just give me a call. I try to book the shows several weeks in advance.
I’m especially interested in current events that affect the Rockford region. Public policy, education, the arts, the economy… pretty much anything that touches our lives. Also, if you have a special guest or well-known talent coming into town, perhaps they’d like to come on the show.
I can’t promise that everybody who asks will get on, but I’d still love to hear from each of you!
Sincerely,
Bob Schaper
WREX-13
(815) 335-2710 newsroom
(815) 335-7612 direct
10322 Auburn Road
Winnebago, IL 61103
Add comment January 18th, 2009
Now here is an approach that addresses the demand side of manufacturing from The Economist, a UK publication…
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EVERYONE knows that the financial system took a downward dive in mid-September. The failure of Lehman Brothers turned the rich world’s credit crunch into a global calamity, as the international banking system came close to collapse and even the most basic functions of finance, such as trade credit, seized up. To stop this financial breakdown sending the world economy into a tailspin, politicians scrambled with bank-rescue packages and promises of fiscal stimulus. Unfortunately, it seems increasingly clear that they failed. Just as the financial crisis went global at the end of 2008, so large chunks of the world economy went into free-fall.
Industry is in grave trouble. Around the world factory output is plunging at its fastest pace in decades as the consequences of slumping demand have rattled along the supply chain. In the three months to November American industrial production fell at an annualised rate of 16% compared with the three months before. Over the same period Japan’s fell by 21% and Germany’s by 15%. Some emerging economies have done even worse. South Korea’s factory output fell at an annualised rate of 25% in the three months to November, about as fast as in its financial crisis a decade ago.
On the basis of these figures and the gloomy state of manufacturers’ order books, economists at JPMorgan reckon that global manufacturing production is likely to have fallen at an annualised rate of almost 20% in the last three months of 2008. The car industry is seeing the most savage drop in sales in its history, but the collapse in demand is widespread. From computer chips to sophisticated machine tools, the production of goods is plunging. As a result trade flows, which had grown faster than output for decades, have recently shifted into reverse. Germany’s exports are falling at their fastest pace in many years. Taiwan’s exports fell by 42% in the year to December. After years of double-digit growth, China’s exports are now falling too, though by less than those in the rest of East Asia.
Manufacturing is highly cyclical, falling first and fast in a downturn. Firms are quick to scale back capital spending and consumers skip new cars rather than scrimp on food or healthcare. A rapid rundown in inventories and temporary distortions in credit markets have not helped. The collapse of trade finance made it all but impossible for many producers to shift their goods abroad. The plunge in trade flows is partly a result of tumbling commodity prices.
Trade finance is beginning to flow. Firms cannot run down stocks for ever: eventually, they will empty their warehouses. But the damage is done: those temporary factors triggered a collapse in global demand that has now spread way beyond the Anglo-Saxon economies at the heart of the credit crisis.
Output in the euro area probably fell as fast as in Britain and America in the last three months of 2008, even as Japan’s GDP sagged still more dramatically (see article). The drop in industrial output has hammered export-dependent economies, from Germany to Taiwan, and there is little sign that domestic demand in these countries is stepping in to compensate. In some countries with big external surpluses, notably China, the opposite may be true. China’s imports have been falling faster than its exports and in recent months its trade surplus has risen.
Add these factors together and the outlook seems grim. This sharp global drop in industrial production will itself lead to more weakness, as unemployment rises around the world and demand therefore falls. And in America, too, the outlook has grown darker. Around three-quarters of output growth over the past two years came from net exports. That prop will go. And while domestic demand in surplus economies flags, the imbalances that have contributed to the current crisis will not right themselves, and will encourage protectionism. When rich-country economies were growing, China’s surplus was a political lightning-rod; how much more dangerous will it be when unemployment is rising?
To mitigate these risks policymakers need to do more to prop up demand, especially in countries that have external surpluses. Fiscal stimulus packages that seemed sufficient two months ago may be too small, and too slow to take effect. Much of the infrastructure spending in the package that China announced in November will not kick in until later this year. This week’s decision by Germany’s government to add a second €50 billion ($66 billion) stimulus package is a step forward, though at barely more than 1% of GDP it is still far too small. For the time being, the biggest and quickest fiscal boost is likely to come from America, as the Obama team seeks speedy passage of an $800 billion package of tax cuts and spending. That sort of money may put a brake on the global industrial collapse, but it will not set the world economy on course for a sustainable recovery. Others still need to do far more.
Add comment January 17th, 2009
Here is a 13 page detail discussion of this Plan here….
American Recovery & Investment Act
I wonder how this plan will mesh with the RMAP’s submission, see it here…
Add comment January 16th, 2009
Interesting…
http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/09_04/b4117047413995.htm
Add comment January 16th, 2009
I haven’t seen the details of the latest proposal which now comes in at $850 billion, but I saw that $500 billion was targeted towards Job Creation. Let’s see, in my world, labor accounts for about 10% ($50 billion) of the cost of industrial equipment. If an average laborer makes $30,ooo per year this equates to about 1,600,000 jobs ($50 bil. divided by $30K)… IF ALL THE $500 billion is spent in one year. If it is spent over 2 years, then the annual job creation is 800,000 jobs per year; if over 5 years, the it’s 320,000 jobs per year.
Obviously, if the labor content is more than the 10%, then the jobs per year would increase. You can do the math, but I thought this might be of interest to those who wonder about Job Creation.
I’d be interested to see another approach.
2 comments January 15th, 2009
Here are highlights of the $825 billion economic recovery plan drafted by House Democrats and President-elect Barack Obama’s economic team. Most provisions are temporary.
SPENDING
Energy: $32 billion to fund a so-called “smart electricity grid” to reduce waste; $20 billion-plus in renewable energy tax cuts and a tax credit for research and development on energy conservation, energy efficiency and renewable energy, and a multiyear extension of the renewable energy production tax credit for wind, hydropower, geothermal and bioenergy; $6 billion to weatherize modest-income homes.
Science and technology: $10 billion for science facilities; $6 billion to bring high-speed Internet access to rural and underserved areas; $1 billion for the 2010 Census.
Infrastructure: $32 billion for transportation projects; $31 billion to build and repair federal buildings and other public infrastructure; $19 billion in water projects; $10 billion in rail and mass transit projects.
Aid to the poor and unemployed: $43 billion to provide extended unemployment benefits through Dec. 31, increase them by $25 a week and provide job training; $20 billion to increase food stamp benefits by 13%; $4 billion to provide a one-time additional Supplemental Security Income payment; $2.5 billion in temporary welfare payments; $1 billion for home heating subsidies; and $1 billion for community action agencies.
Education: $41 billion in grants to local school districts; $79 billion in state fiscal relief to prevent cuts in state aid; $21 billion for school modernization; $16 billion to boost the maximum Pell Grant by $500; $2 billion for Head Start.
Health care: $39 billion to subsidize health care insurance for the unemployed and provide coverage through Medicaid; $90 billion to help states with Medicaid; $20 billion to modernize health information technology systems; $4 billion for preventative care; $1.5 billion for community health centers.
Housing: $13 billion to repair and make more energy efficient public housing projects, allow communities to buy and repair foreclosed homes, and help the homeless.
Law enforcement: $4 billion in grants to state and local law enforcement.
TAXES
Individuals: $500 per worker, $1,000 per couple tax cut for two years, costing about $140 billion; greater access to the $1,000 per-child tax credit for the working poor; expanding the earned-income tax credit to include families with three children; a $2,500 college tuition tax credit; repeals a requirement that a $7,500 first-time homebuyer tax credit be paid back over time.
Businesses: An infusion of cash into money-losing companies by allowing them to claim tax credits on past profits dating back five years instead of two; bonus depreciation for businesses investing in new plants and equipment; a doubling of the amount small businesses can write off for capital investments and new equipment purchases; allows businesses to claim a tax credit for hiring disconnected youth and veterans.
Add comment January 15th, 2009
Rockford, IL- Goodwill Industries of Northern Illinois and Wisconsin Stateline Area, Inc.
is proud to partner with the U.S. Census Bureau to create jobs in the greater Rockford
area. Goodwill will be one of the locations for the 2010 U.S. Census testing. To
perform, the 2010 Census the Bureau needs to create hundreds of jobs. These
positions pay anywhere from $9.75 to $16.00 per hour and range from part time to
fulltime employment.
The upcoming 2010 Census affords the greater Rockford area hundreds of
job openings during this increasingly difficult economic time. On January 20th, 21st,
22nd, and February 3rd, 4th and 5th, the Machesney Park Goodwill store will host the
Census Bureau testing. The Machesney Park Goodwill store is located at 8010 North 2nd
Street, Machesney Park Illinois, 61115. Other testing sites are also being set up, so the
Census Bureau asks that all interested applicants please call their toll free number:
1.866.877.8339 to find the nearest testing site and register for the testing.
“We are pleased to partner with the U.S. Census Bureau in order to assist them in
finding persons to fill these vital positions, especially in these trying economic times,”
stated Sam Schmitz, President of Goodwill/Abilities Center.
Add comment January 15th, 2009
Here are the headlines….
“Sales at U.S. retailers dropped a steep 2.7 percent in December, government data showed on Wednesday, as a deteriorating economy forced consumers to cut back on spending during the key holiday period.
The dour data suggested the economy shrank even more sharply than had been thought in the fourth quarter, setting the stage for another big drop at the start of 2009 and raising chances the more than year-old U.S. recession will be the longest since the Great Depression.”
What is the reality? Did the NUMBER of things sold go up? Remember, the stores were discounting heavily AND they started the sales in November. I recall the “Black Friday” sales UP over a year ago; the Internet sale WAY UP from a year ago…so were sales pulled from December INTO November?
I think these type of announcements are very superficial and are doing nothing more than feeding on people’s psychology.
Oh, yes, I forgot, Wednesday morning will be a new world!
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