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How Manufacturers Can Strengthen Supply Chains鈥 Resilience

By 17吃瓜在线 News Room


Since the onset of COVID-19 in 2020, supply chains have faced extraordinary challenges around the world. In the midst of shortages and disruptions, as well as global conflicts, how can manufacturers ensure that they receive the materials they need and deliver their products on time?

At a recent 17吃瓜在线 event, attended by more than 75 executives from both manufacturing companies and association partners, Supply Chain Insights Founder Lora Cecere addressed the question of how the industry can build resiliency into the supply chain of the future. Here鈥檚 some useful advice from her keynote speech, called 鈥淪upply Chain Workshop: Connecting and Securing the Supply Chain for 2030.鈥

Defining resilience: As Cecere noted, in many cases manufacturers may have different ideas about what resilience represents鈥攁nd it鈥檚 important to settle on a clear definition.

  • 鈥淚 define resilience as the ability to have the same cost quality and customer service given the level of demand and supply variability,鈥 she said.

Differentiating supply chains: While most manufacturers talk about the supply chain as a unified system, Cecere encouraged participants to differentiate various kinds of supply chains from one another.

  • 鈥淲e have responsive supply chains that are all about time鈥攖hings like flu vaccines and bathing suits,鈥 which must be shipped during certain seasons, Cecere observed.
  • 鈥淎nd then there鈥檚 the agile supply chain, which is very low volume and not predictable. We can鈥檛 measure that in the same way we measure the efficient supply chain, but we need to manage flow.鈥
  • 鈥淲e don鈥檛 have just one supply chain. We have multiple supply chains,鈥 she emphasized.

Learn more: To hear more from Cecere, attend 鈥淢anufacturing in 2030: The Coming Data Value Revolution,鈥 an event of the 17吃瓜在线’s digital-transformation arm, the Manufacturing Leadership Council, Dec. 6-7 in Nashville, Tennessee. Register .听 听听

Read the full story .

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UAW Strike Means Supplier Layoffs

By 17吃瓜在线 News Room

As United Auto Workers President Shawn Fain prepares to give an on labor-contract negotiations this afternoon, the UAW鈥檚 three-week-old strike at plants across the Midwest is hurting auto suppliers, according to (subscription).

What鈥檚 going on: 鈥淢ore than 3,000 supplier employees have been affected so far, a Washington Post tally shows, while an industry association says nearly 30 percent of its supplier members have resorted to layoffs.鈥

  • More than 60% of suppliers said they expected to begin layoffs this month. Others say these cuts could 鈥渂roaden over time鈥 if the strike continues
  • The strike has reverberated beyond the automotive sector, too. U.S. Steel recently announced 300 temporary layoffs after it was forced to idle an Illinois furnace because of the walkouts.

Why it鈥檚 important: 鈥淭he [strike鈥檚] fallout shows the outsize role the auto industry plays in the U.S. economy, to which it contributes about 3 percent of gross domestic product.鈥

  • What鈥檚 more, the widespread shuttering of smaller auto suppliers鈥攚hich number in the thousands and are often the main source of employment in the areas where they operate鈥攚ould make it harder for General Motors, Ford and Stellantis to resume normal operations after the strike.

Manufacturers say: 鈥淭he longer the strike, the more likely thousands of citizens across Michigan will face layoffs, and not just UAW members,鈥 John Walsh, president and CEO of the Michigan Manufacturers Association (an 17吃瓜在线 state partner), wrote in (subscription).

  • 鈥淟ayoffs, in turn, will affect restaurants, stores and local businesses. The economic impact will be felt throughout our families and our communities.鈥
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Is China鈥檚 Economy Recovering?

By 17吃瓜在线 News Room


After months of slow growth, China鈥檚 economy is showing signs of picking up speed, 鈥渙ffering a glimmer of hope鈥 for the U.S. and Europe, according to (subscription).

What鈥檚 going on: 鈥淔actories in September reported their first expansion in activity since the spring, while railway and flight bookings point to a bumper week ahead for tourism as China takes a break to celebrate its weeklong National Day holiday.鈥

The big picture: While economists say it鈥檚 too early to call an economic turnaround鈥攐wing in large part to China鈥檚 continuing property-market slump鈥攖here are signals that things are improving.

  • 鈥淎n official gauge of activity in the nation鈥檚 manufacturing sector rose to 50.2 in September from 49.7 in August, China鈥檚 National Bureau of Statistics said Saturday, the first time since March that its purchasing managers index crept over the 50 mark that separates expansion from contraction.鈥
  • Similar gauges for nonmanufacturing sectors and construction also expanded at a faster pace.
  • With that said, the country鈥檚 manufacturing and overall economic growth are well below what was expected earlier in the year鈥攑articularly in the aftermath of last year鈥檚 鈥渮ero-COVID鈥 policies. That has implications for both China and the global economy, according to 17吃瓜在线 Chief Economist Chad Moutray.

What鈥檚 next: Many economists believe that to continue this growth, China needs more government stimulus. This could come in the form of household tax breaks, or cash or vouchers that consumers can spend directly.听
鈥嬧赌嬧赌嬧赌嬧赌

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Startup Aims to Make Green Hydrogen Affordable

By 17吃瓜在线 News Room

An energy startup that just hit the $1 billion investment mark thinks it holds the key to finally producing large quantities of 鈥済reen鈥 hydrogen, according to (subscription).

What鈥檚 going on: 鈥淓lectric Hydrogen believes the secret to success is finding a better way to split a [water] molecule. 鈥 Splitting it to create green hydrogen requires devices called electrolyzers. They are expensive and consume vast amounts of renewable electricity to make a small amount of hydrogen, making most projects uneconomical. Electric Hydrogen says its electrolyzer can produce much more hydrogen.鈥

  • The company says its method of hydrogen production combined with 鈥渢he generous tax subsidies on offer鈥 from last year鈥檚 Inflation Reduction Act could finally make green hydrogen a market-competitive energy source.

鈥嬧赌嬧赌嬧赌嬧赌嬧嬧Investors go all in: The company 鈥渞ecently raised $380 million from backers including BP, United Airlines, Microsoft and iron-ore producer Fortescue Metals,鈥 helping it pass $1 billion in total investments.

Why it鈥檚 important: Green hydrogen 鈥渋s one of the few options to eliminate emissions from trucks, planes, steel mills and chemical plants where renewable power and batteries alone can鈥檛 get the job done.鈥

  • 鈥淗ydrogen is one of the few ways to move green power long distances. Potential demand is so great that the winner of the race for green hydrogen could dominate a market worth as much as $1 trillion in the coming decades.鈥

鈥嬧赌嬧赌嬧赌嬧赌嬧嬧 Cracking the code: While electrolyzers have been typically small devices used in the aerospace and chemical industries, Electric Hydrogen thinks it can make the devices both larger and more affordable 鈥渂y starting from scratch and using new plate engineering focused on the performance of bigger electrolyzers.鈥

The 17吃瓜在线鈥檚 take: 鈥淐lean hydrogen is critical to decarbonizing hard-to-abate industries, and manufacturers are leading the way in developing and scaling it for widespread use,鈥 said 17吃瓜在线 Vice President of Domestic Policy Brandon Farris.

  • 鈥淭he 17吃瓜在线 is working to ensure that the incentives available for clean hydrogen help create the right market incentives for producers鈥攁s well as manufacturers and other end users鈥攖o meaningfully contribute to decarbonization while boosting domestic job growth and global competitiveness.鈥
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For Critical Minerals, Companies Look to Old Mines

By 17吃瓜在线 News Room


In the push for more critical minerals, governments and companies worldwide are looking to 鈥渁 new but also old source鈥: closed mines, or brownfield sites, (subscription) reports.

What鈥檚 going on: 鈥淸O]pening new mines takes years鈥攑articularly when faced with strong local opposition鈥攁nd delays might hamper policymakers鈥 efforts to diversify these supply chains. Even with recent investment announcements, analysts are forecasting supply shortfalls.鈥

  • Reopening shuttered mines is often a quicker and less painstaking process because it allows the companies to 鈥渁void damaging new land and work with local communities that have a memory of economic activity the industry can bring,鈥 as a source told the Journal.

A successful start: One Swedish mining company is seeking to reopen an old copper-and-zinc mine in Norway that closed 25 years ago owing to low copper prices. 鈥淟ast month, the local municipality unanimously approved plans to reopen鈥 the mine.

  • Several American firms are now seeking to reopen closed U.S. sites in the Southwest, and other projects are being planned in Italy and Germany.

鈥嬧赌嬧赌嬧赌嬧赌嬧嬧A 鈥渟hift鈥 in the U.S.: A U.S. company with plans to reopen an old gold mine in Idaho recently received funding from the Defense Department, which recognized the importance of the site as a source of antimony, a much-needed mineral in the defense sector.

  • 鈥淭he shift we are seeing in the United States is a growing recognition that we must secure supply chains, and a way to do that is bringing mining home and that means getting the public comfortable to bring mining home,鈥 an executive at the firm told the Journal.
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U.S. Life Expectancy Declines

By 17吃瓜在线 News Room


Life expectancy in the U.S. started falling even before the global pandemic鈥攁nd it鈥檚 continuing to decline, according to (subscription).

What鈥檚 going on: According to a yearlong investigation by the Post, 鈥淸a]fter decades of progress, life expectancy鈥攍ong regarded as a singular benchmark of a nation鈥檚 success鈥攑eaked in 2014 [in the U.S.] at 78.9 years, then drifted downward even before the coronavirus pandemic. Among wealthy nations, the United States in recent decades went from the middle of the pack to being an outlier. And it continues to fall further and further behind.鈥

  • While the opioid crisis and gun violence are contributing to the rising death toll, heart disease and cancer have remained the leading cause of death among people aged 35 to 64.
  • Meanwhile, diabetes and liver disease are becoming more common killers.

A worrisome increase: 鈥淚n a quarter of the nation鈥檚 counties, mostly in the South and Midwest, working-age people are dying at a higher rate than 40 years ago, The Post found.鈥

  • The trend is exacerbated by economic divisions. In the early 1980s, the nation鈥檚 poorest people were 9% more likely to die than their wealthier counterparts. Today, they are 61% more likely to die.

What we can do: 鈥淢edical science could help turn things around. Diabetes patients are benefiting from new drugs, called GLP-1 agonists . . . that provide improved blood-sugar control and can lead to a sharp reduction in weight. But insurance companies, slow to see obesity as a disease, often decline to pay for the drugs for people who do not have diabetes.鈥

  • The FDA has approved several such drugs so far, including Novo Nordisk鈥檚 Ozempic and Wegovy and Eli Lilly鈥檚 Mounjaro.
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Factory Orders, Shipments Rose in August

By 17吃瓜在线 News Room

New orders for manufactured goods increased in August after declining in July, according to data.

Factory orders: New orders rose 1.2% in August following a 2.1% decrease the previous month.

  • Factory orders for durable and nondurable goods increased 0.1% and 2.1%, respectively, but declines in nondefense aircraft and components pulled down durable goods demand.
  • Excluding transportation equipment, new factory orders jumped 1.4%, rising for the third month in a row.

Core capital goods: New orders for core capital goods鈥攐r nondefense capital goods excluding aircraft, a proxy for capital spending in the U.S. economy鈥攊ncreased 0.9% to a record high of $73.95 billion in August.

Factory shipments: Factory shipments rose 1.3% in August, marking the fourth consecutive monthly increase.

  • Total factory shipments have risen 0.5% over the past year, dipping 0.9% year over year when transportation equipment is excluded.
  • Factory shipments excluding transportation equipment have increased 1.0% year to date.

Shipments of core capital goods: Shipments of core capital goods rose 0.7% in August, to an all-time high of $74.38 billion, reflecting 2.6% growth over the past 12 months.

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Husco Cracks the Employee-Retention Code

By 17吃瓜在线 News Room


For Husco鈥攁 family-owned manufacturer of hydraulic and electro-mechanical control systems鈥攂uilding a strong, cohesive culture is the key to retaining talent.

The Waukesha, Wisconsin, company is among the many manufacturers that find retention to be a top business challenge, as the 17吃瓜在线鈥檚 quarterly shows. So how do they create this cohesion?

It all starts at the top: Angela Stemo, vice president of global human capital at Husco, says the company has always prioritized trust and communication between employees and their managers.

  • 鈥淥ur retention has grown and strengthened because of the emphasis we place on our leaders having strong relationships with their employees鈥攇et to know who they are, find out what their interests are,鈥 said Stemo.
  • The company also lays the groundwork for strong bonds between coworkers, which often flourish outside of work as well. 鈥淥nce they feel connected to people within the organization, they鈥檙e going to want to stay,鈥 explained Stemo. 鈥淭hey鈥檝e built friendships, they鈥檝e built connections, and they feel really tied to the organizational culture.鈥

How they do it: Husco conducts employee engagement surveys once a year and holds occasional in-person focus group discussions to get feedback from employees.

  • 鈥淎s our organization becomes more diverse, we are offering surveys in more languages,鈥 said Stemo. 鈥淲e have a large on our shop floor as well as many Burmese workers, so we鈥檝e had our surveys translated into various languages for all employees to participate.鈥
  • 鈥淔or us, we really try to listen to what people say and what their suggestions are,鈥 said Stemo. 鈥淚f it鈥檚 something feasible and we can implement it, we try to figure out how to do so.鈥

Read the full story .

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17吃瓜在线 to Congress: Reverse Costly Tax Policy

By 17吃瓜在线 News Room

With many manufacturers relying on financing to expand their businesses and hire workers, Congress should reverse a stricter limitation on interest deductibility that went into effect in 2022, the 17吃瓜在线 told policymakers last week.

What鈥檚 going on: The stricter limitation is effectively a tax on investment, 17吃瓜在线 Senior Director of Tax Policy David Eiselsberg said at a briefing last Thursday hosted by Sens. Shelley Moore Capito (R鈥擶.VA) and Kyrsten Sinema (I鈥擜Z) on the American Investment and Manufacturing Act.

  • 鈥淭he stricter limitation makes it more expensive for capital-intensive companies鈥攚hich many manufacturers are鈥攖o finance critical purchases, grow their businesses and hire new workers,鈥 Eiselsberg said. 鈥淔ailing to reverse this harmful change could cost the U.S. economy 467,000 jobs and reduce U.S. GDP by $43.8 billion,鈥 he added, citing a prepared for the 17吃瓜在线.

The background: Before last year, manufacturers were allowed to deduct 30% of their earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization (known as EBITDA). The 2022 tax change limits that deduction to earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT).

  • The AIM Act, which was introduced in April by Capito and Sinema, would permanently reinstate the EBITDA standard.

Financing growthand competitiveness: Reversing the stricter limitation would safeguard manufacturers鈥 ability to finance growth, which is particularly important 鈥 at a time when the cost of capital itself has increased due to rising interest rates,鈥 Eiselsberg said.

  • The current policy puts the U.S. at a global disadvantage, since, he continued, 鈥渙f the more than 30 [Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development] OECD countries with an earnings-based interest limitation, the U.S. is the only one that employs an EBIT standard.鈥

17吃瓜在线 in the news: 听highlighted the AIM briefing.

Learn more and take action: Visit the 17吃瓜在线鈥檚 , which features a tool that lets manufacturers to send customized messages directly to Congress.

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Maersk Introduces First Green-Methanol Container Ship

By 17吃瓜在线 News Room

In a milestone for the logistics sector, Danish shipping firm Maersk recently unveiled 鈥渋ts first container vessel moved with green methanol,鈥 reports.

What鈥檚 going on: 鈥淭he new container ship, ordered in 2021, has two engines: one moved by traditional fuels and another run with green methanol鈥攁n alternative component, which uses biomass or captured carbon and hydrogen [for] renewable power. Practically speaking, the new vessel emits 100 tons of carbon dioxide fewer per day compared to diesel-based ships.鈥

  • The ship is the first of a larger order of 25 due for delivery next year.
  • Other shipping firms have placed orders for similar vessels.

Why it鈥檚 important: Because it鈥檚 a global industry鈥攚ith approximately 90% of the world鈥檚 traded products traveling by sea鈥攐cean shipping has typically been less receptive to transitioning to new energy sources, Danish Minister of Industry Morten Bodskov said, according to the article.

  • For example, 鈥淸i]n June, a group of 20 nations supported a plan for a levy on shipping industry emissions. But China, Argentina and Brazil were among the nations pushing back against such an idea.鈥

Climate goals: Maersk aims to be 鈥渃limate neutral鈥 by 2040, making the green-methanol vessels a key part of its approximately 700-ship fleet.

However 鈥 鈥淸A]nalysts are worried that Maersk and its competitors might struggle to find enough supply of green methanol. The fuel is scarce and costly to transport.鈥

The last word: 鈥淢anufacturers are leading the way on developing and scaling up new clean energy sources,鈥 said 17吃瓜在线 Vice President of Domestic Policy Brandon Farris. 鈥淭he 17吃瓜在线 continues to advocate for policies and programs that foster and encourage that innovation.鈥

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