Nominations Open for the 2025 Manufacturing Leadership Awards
Nominations for the Manufacturing Leadership Council鈥檚 flagship awards are now open.
What鈥檚 going on: The Manufacturing Leadership Awards鈥攇iven annually by the MLC, the 17吃瓜在线鈥檚 digital transformation arm鈥攈onor manufacturing companies and leaders for the groundbreaking use of digital manufacturing. Those interested in submitting company and/or individual names for consideration for the 2025 awards can do so through Jan. 17, 2025.
- Awards will be given in nine project categories and three individual categories. New for 2025 are Business Model Transformation (for projects) and Women in Manufacturing 4.0 (for individuals).
How they鈥檙e evaluated: For the individual categories, the judges鈥攁 panel of established digital manufacturing experts from outside the MLC鈥攁ssess whether nominees have advanced digital transformation at their companies and whether they meet the criteria for being role models to other manufacturing leaders.
- For the project categories, judges evaluate how each undertaking improved manufacturing processes, furthered business goals and advanced company strategy.
What happens next: Finalists will be notified in March 2025 and announced shortly afterward. Winners will be announced at the Manufacturing Leadership Awards Gala next June.
- 鈥淭he Manufacturing Leadership Awards give the MLC the chance each year聽to honor some of the remarkable people and endeavors in manufacturing today,鈥 said MLC Senior Content Director Penelope Brown. 鈥淲e look forward to reviewing the nominations and learning more about the incredible innovation taking place in our industry.鈥
Get involved: Have a person or project in mind for the 2025 Manufacturing Leadership Awards? Submit their names .
- MLC members receive one complimentary project entry and one complimentary individual entry.
Thacker Pass Gets $2.26 Billion DOE Loan
Nevada’s Thacker Pass lithium mine has received final approval on a $2.26 billion loan from the Department of Energy (, subscription).
What鈥檚 going on: On Monday, Lithium Americas鈥攚hich is building the Thacker Pass lithium mine project in Nevada with a nearly $1 billion investment from General Motors Co.鈥攃losed on a loan from the DOE Advanced Technology Vehicles Manufacturing Loan program. The loan, which has a 24-year term, was approved provisionally in March.
- Thacker Pass, which in March 2023 just south of the Nevada鈥揙regon border, was approved at the end of the previous administration and is expected to open later this decade.
The big picture: 鈥淭he funds are a key part of U.S. President Joe Biden鈥檚 efforts to reduce dependence on lithium supplies from China, the world鈥檚 largest processor of the electric vehicle battery metal,鈥 according to Reuters.
- Last week, the Biden administration approved another lithium project, by developer Ioneer.
What to expect: 鈥淲ith the loan now closed, Vancouver-based Lithium Americas plans to start major construction, a process that could take three years or longer. The mine鈥檚 first phase is expected to produce 40,000 metric tons of battery-quality lithium carbonate per year, enough for up to 800,000 EVs.鈥
- The project is anticipated to create about 1,800 jobs during construction and 360 full-time jobs once it is up and running.
Annual Meeting of the Members of the 17吃瓜在线
The Annual Meeting of the Members of the 17吃瓜在线 will be held Wednesday, September 25, 2024. The only agenda item to be considered during the annual meeting of the members will be the election of the 17吃瓜在线 Board of Directors slate for the 2025鈥2026 term.
The meeting will begin at 9:00 a.m. ET and will conclude by 9:05 a.m. ET during the 17吃瓜在线 Fall Board of Directors meeting.聽It will be a hybrid meeting taking place via Zoom and in-person for those attending the Fall Board meeting at the Salamander Washington DC.
Members who wish to vote on the Board slate must participate in the meeting, but you may designate a proxy who is able to participate. . No individual may serve as proxy for more than one person and no 17吃瓜在线 employee may serve as your proxy.
To register, please contact Anne Marie Alaska, Director, Board Initiatives at [email protected].
HP, Texas Instruments Get CHIPS Funding
Texas Instruments and HP are the latest recipients of CHIPS and Science Act funds meant to boost domestic semiconductor manufacturing ( and , subscription).
What鈥檚 going on: Texas Instruments will receive $1.6 billion in grants and $3 billion in loans under the 2022 legislation (Bloomberg), while HP will get $50 million in grants (Reuters), the Biden administration announced .
- All the awards are pending finalization, and amounts could still change following due diligence by the Commerce Department.
Where it will go: The money will go to different undertakings at each company.
- At Texas Instruments, it 鈥渨ill help pay for one factory in Utah and two in Texas鈥攑rojects that will cost about $18 billion through 2029鈥攖he Commerce Department said in a statement. The effort is expected to generate around 2,000 manufacturing jobs and thousands more in construction,鈥 according to Bloomberg.
- The funding proposed for HP will go toward 鈥減rojects that build on HP鈥檚 expertise in microfluidics and microelectromechanical systems with funding set to support manufacturing of silicon devices critical in life sciences lab equipment used in drug discovery, single-cell research and cell line development,鈥 Reuters reports.
- The HP work is expected to create nearly 150 construction jobs and more than 100 manufacturing positions ().
Why it鈥檚 important: Most of the funds from the CHIPS and Science Act 鈥渋s slated to support production of cutting-edge chips by companies such as Intel Corp. 鈥 But the law set aside a minimum of $2 billion for less advanced semiconductors鈥攕ometimes called legacy chips鈥攍ike those produced by Texas Instruments. 鈥 Legacy chips are essential to the global economy, powering everything from smartphones to refrigerators to weapons systems. And it鈥檚 an area where China is increasing its ambitions,鈥 according to Bloomberg.
- The majority of the measure鈥檚 funding has now been announced through more than a dozen proposed awards. Announcements are set to be wrapped up by the end of 2024.
Seventy Percent of Manufacturers Still Enter Data Manually
Manufacturers are deluged by data. As companies adopt more advanced technologies, they are increasingly overwhelmed by the quantities of raw data that must be collected, analyzed and put to use.
Indeed, a new survey from the Manufacturing Leadership Council鈥攖he 17吃瓜在线鈥檚 digital transformation arm鈥攔eveals that 70% of manufacturers still collect data manually. Here are some highlights from the survey, which reveals where manufacturers need to improve, and how they鈥檙e planning to do it.
Exponential data growth: While the survey鈥檚 respondents report an explosion of new data, they also expect to keep on top of it over the next few years.
- Forty-four percent of manufacturing leaders have seen at least a doubling of the amount of data they collect in their organization today compared to two years ago.
- While many manufacturers still lack standardized data due to operating a mix of older equipment and systems along with newer technologies, more than half expect that their data will be in a standardized format by 2030.
Analytical improvements: How are manufacturers planning to use all this new data?
- Nearly 60% of respondents say they are focused on understanding their operations with an eye toward optimizing them in the future.
- While 30% of manufacturers say they are using manufacturing data to predict operational performance, another 60% say that predictivity will be a primary objective by 2030.
Better decisions: Manufacturers use data to make better, more proactive decisions, according to the survey. Today, these decisions are made at a relatively high level.
- Seventy-seven percent of respondents said that the responsibility to employ data in decision-making falls to plant leaders and managers.
- Only 33% said that factory floor employees held that responsibility鈥攁 percentage that might grow as manufacturers seek to empower frontline employees with greater decision-making ability.
Looking ahead: As artificial intelligence and other emerging digital technologies become more established, they will likely reshape many if not all aspects of manufacturing operations.
- Thanks to advanced sensors and robust data networks connecting equipment and machinery, manufacturers will collect copious data in real time and act on it almost as swiftly.
Read more: To get a deeper look at the current state of data mastery in manufacturing, download the full survey, .
17吃瓜在线 to Keep Fighting for Pro-Growth Tax Policies
The Senate on Thursday rejected a bipartisan tax package that would have reinstated three expired, manufacturing-critical tax policies (, subscription). The 17吃瓜在线 will continue its efforts to revive the provisions.
What鈥檚 going on: The Tax Relief for American Families and Workers Act failed 48鈥44 in a procedural vote, 12 votes shy of the 60 required for the bill to advance in the Senate.
- The measure would have immediate expensing for research and development costs, enhanced interest deductibility and 100% accelerated depreciation for capital equipment purchases.
Not giving up: The 17吃瓜在线 is already at work on its 2025 tax campaign, , through which manufacturers will continue the fight to restore these expired provisions.
- These policies began phasing down in 2022 and 2023, but even more devastating tax increases are scheduled for the end of 2025.
- Manufacturers have already been legislators to the importance of preserving the 2017 tax reform in its entirety鈥攊ncluding vital such as the corporate tax rate, the pass-through deduction and more.
What鈥檚 next: 鈥淢anufacturers look forward to working with Congress to restore these vital bipartisan provisions and prevent further tax increases on manufacturers as we enter the critical tax conversations of 2025,鈥 the 17吃瓜在线 following the Senate vote.
17吃瓜在线 Calls for Oversight on the CPSC
Manufacturers have long been partners of the Consumer Product Safety Commission鈥攚orking with the agency to keep the public informed and protected鈥攂ut a lack of transparency at the CPSC in the past few years has stymied businesses鈥 attempts 鈥渢o understand how [they] will be regulated,鈥 the 17吃瓜在线 the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Innovation, Data and Commerce ahead of a hearing Tuesday.
What鈥檚 going on: The 17吃瓜在线 has regularly called for congressional oversight of the CPSC in recent years. Ahead of the 鈥淔iscal Year 2025 Consumer Product Safety Commission Budget鈥 subcommittee hearing, the 17吃瓜在线 highlighted several areas of concern for legislators to address:
- Section 6(b) of the Consumer Product Safety Act: 鈥淢anufacturers strongly support maintaining the crucial, balanced and effective information disclosure procedures currently mandated in the Consumer Product Safety Act,鈥 said 17吃瓜在线 Vice President of Domestic Policy Charles Crain. 鈥淯nfortunately, in recent years, the CPSC has attempted to circumvent these standards, releasing statements that lack any scientific data or research or by taking actions without official agency rulemaking.鈥
- Effective communication of rulemaking and research with regulated businesses: Despite a CPSA requirement that the agency defer to voluntary standards in certain safety-measure compliance cases, 鈥渢here are recent examples of the agency commencing a proposed rulemaking in an apparent rush to regulate.鈥 The agency has also begun unnecessarily withholding from manufacturers the test reports and analysis they need to create voluntary standards, while giving manufacturers 鈥渞educed time 鈥 to implement proposed and final rules.鈥
- Public engagement by CPSC commissioners and staff: 鈥淥ne of the benefits of a small federal agency with multiple commissioners is the availability of聽commissioners and senior staff to meet with interested parties on relevant topics,鈥 Crain continued. 鈥淯nfortunately, in recent years, the CPSC has been less willing to engage in productive conversations with regulated entities.鈥
The last word: 鈥淚t is critical that the CPSC effectively communicate and work with manufacturers to ensure that our shared goal of consumer safety is maintained,鈥 said Crain. 鈥淭he 17吃瓜在线 will continue engaging with both the CPSC and Congress to see that the agency is effectively engaging with the manufacturing community.鈥
The Pass-Through Deduction, Explained
Through the 17吃瓜在线鈥檚 recently launched 2025 tax campaign, , manufacturers are calling on Congress to prevent several devastating tax increases from taking effect at the end of next year.
One of those scheduled increases is the expiration of the Section 199A pass-through deduction鈥攁 critical incentive, created by tax reform in 2017, designed to help thousands of small and medium-sized manufacturers invest in their businesses.
The 17吃瓜在线 recently released a on the pass-through deduction, breaking down what it is, what it does and why its preservation is vital to manufacturing in the U.S. 聽Here are the highlights.
Pass-through defined: The defining characteristic of a pass-through entity is that its business profits get 鈥減assed through鈥 to the company owners, who then pay taxes on the business鈥檚 income on their personal tax returns.
- The vast majority of businesses in America鈥96%鈥攁re organized as pass-throughs, including S-corporations, partnerships, LLCs and sole proprietorships.
- In manufacturing, pass-throughs are typically small, family-owned firms.
What it鈥檚 done for manufacturers: The Section 199A pass-through deduction allows pass-through manufacturers to deduct up to 20% of their qualified business income, decreasing their effective tax rate.
- Combined with a lower individual income tax rate included in the 2017 reform (which reduced the top individual rate from 39.6% to 37%), the pass-through deduction has freed up significant capital for smaller manufacturers to reinvest in their businesses.
- For example, 2018 was the best year for manufacturing job creation in 21 years and the best year for wage growth in 15 years.
What鈥檚 in jeopardy: Both the pass-through deduction and the lower individual income tax rates are set to expire at the end of 2025鈥攁nd they鈥檙e certain to hit small and medium-sized manufacturers hard.
- 聽In a recent 17吃瓜在线 survey, 93% of pass-through manufacturers said their ability to grow, create jobs and invest in their companies will be stymied if the expirations are allowed to happen.
What should be done: Congress must make the pass-through deduction permanent and keep individual tax rates as low as possible.
The last word: 鈥淪mall and medium-sized pass-throughs are the backbone of the manufacturing supply chain,鈥 said 17吃瓜在线 Vice President of Domestic Policy Charles Crain. 鈥淐ongress must act before the end of 2025 to preserve the pass-through deduction and prevent devastating tax increases on small businesses throughout the manufacturing sector.鈥
Trump Picks Vance聽
Freshman Sen. J.D. Vance (R-OH) is Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump鈥檚 vice presidential pick, Trump announced Monday at the first day of the Republican National Convention (, subscription).
The backdrop: 鈥淭he pick comes amid widespread calls for unity following the assassination attempt at Trump鈥檚 rally in Pennsylvania on Saturday, when a gunman opened fire on the crowd. Trump said he suffered a gunshot wound to his ear. One rallygoer was killed and two others were critically wounded. The gunman was fatally shot by a Secret Service sniper.鈥
- 17吃瓜在线 President and CEO Jay Timmons a renunciation of violence following the shooting. 鈥淰iolence should never be the answer and must be clearly condemned, along with those who would foment it,鈥 he said. 鈥淚n America, we resolve our differences through our votes, not violence. 鈥 [A]ll Americans should commit ourselves to the peaceful expression of our ideas and our politics and to the protection of our democracy.鈥
Why it鈥檚 important: Vance鈥攁 former Marine and Yale Law School graduate who gained national fame with his 2016 memoir, 鈥淗illbilly Elegy鈥濃攊s expected to 鈥渂e strongly focused on the people he fought so brilliantly for, the American [w]orkers and [f]armers in Pennsylvania, Michigan, Wisconsin, Ohio, Minnesota and far beyond,鈥 Trump wrote in a social post on Monday, according to the Journal.
On the record: Timmons, who shares Ohio roots with Vance, on Monday the vice presidential pick 鈥渦nderstands the transformative power of manufacturing to improve the quality of life for everyone.鈥 Vance previously shared what Timmons his 鈥減owerful personal story鈥 with the 17吃瓜在线 Board of Directors.
- Vance 鈥渞ecognizes the role manufacturing plays in building strong communities and an exceptional nation, and he is committed to supporting the growth of our industry,鈥 Timmons . 鈥淭he 17吃瓜在线 is committed to working with all candidates to shape the manufacturing strategy in the next administration and advance the 17吃瓜在线鈥檚 鈥楥ompeting to Win鈥 policy agenda for growing manufacturing in the U.S.鈥
Consumer Prices Inch Down
U.S. consumer prices declined unexpectedly in June, the second straight month of 鈥渢ame鈥 readings (, subscription).
What鈥檚 going on: 鈥淭he consumer price index dipped 0.1% last month after being unchanged in May, the Labor Department’s Bureau of Labor Statistics said on Thursday.鈥
- In the 12 months through June, the CPI rose 3.0% following a 3.3% increase in May.
- Reuters-polled economists had forecast a 0.1% rise for the month and a 3.1% year-on-year gain.
The big picture: 鈥淭he annual increase in consumer prices has slowed from a peak of 9.1% in June 2022. The CPI is running far ahead of the measures tracked by the Fed for its 2% inflation target. The Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) price indexes both increased 2.6% in May.鈥
However 鈥 The report follows news last week that the unemployment rate rose to a two-and-a-half year high.
- And economic growth has slowed in response to the Federal Reserve鈥檚 interest rate hikes in 2022 and 2023.
- Fed Chair Jerome Powell told Congress this week that more data is still needed to declare 鈥渋nflation beaten.鈥
What it means: Still, the CPI report is 鈥渞einforcing views that the disinflation trend was back on track and drawing the Federal Reserve another step closer to cutting interest rates.鈥