Five Strategies to Maintain Your Focus

While it is easy for managers to start out with the best of intentions, many can be detoured by the uncontrollable events impacting their professional lives and company. When a crisis occurs, there is a tendency to immediately confront the challenge. While well-intentioned and often necessary, managers should not allow this thinking to cause them to lose focus on their goals and development.

Maintaining a results-oriented focus takes discipline and perseverance in the face of constant interruptions that demand both the manager’s time and attention. If managers are focused in their thinking, it must be strategic in nature, focusing on the long-term growth of the business rather than on the problem or crisis demanding their immediate attention. The ultimate solution to every problem must fit into the long-term goals of the manager.

It is important for managers to grasp that maintaining a focus on long-term goals and objectives and attaining a desired outcome is the result of doing the right things, at the right time, and in the right sequence. Often managers allow uncontrollable events and problems to make them lose sight of or even abandon their long-term plan and goals.

Managers who want to successfully maintain a results-oriented focus that allows them to consistently achieve their goals and desired outcomes must:

Develop Mental Discipline

Successful managers have developed the mental discipline that keeps them focused on their goals regardless of the problems and uncontrollable events they may encounter. Such hurdles must be overcome on the path to the successful accomplishment of their objectives.

Mental discipline allows managers to always keep an eye on their goals. They consistently keep the summit of the mountain in view, and do not allow daily problems to impede their progress. While daily problems may cause a setback, managers always make sure they are moving forward one step at a time.

Managers should understand that the attainment of mental discipline takes a conscious effort and perseverance. While not an easy road, it is achievable.

Adopt Strategic Thinking

To achieve and maintain a results-oriented focus, managers must learn to take a protracted view of their business, which means acquiring and polishing strategic thinking skills. These skills allow managers to create their focus and form part of their personal vision—the top of the mountain—in the first place.

The long view is opposed to tactical thinking that focuses only on short-term day-to-day activities. As companies evolve, many are empowering their employees and delegating the tactical activities lower in the organization. Employees assume much of the day-to-day decision making that directly impacts their performance and relationships with customers.

Plan

While strategic thinking was considered passé and outmoded during the heyday of the dot coms, it is now clear that a lack of planning contributed mightily to their downfall. Successful managers develop a realistic plan, work the plan and stick to it. It is a simple concept, yet does require discipline.

A great deal of a plan’s success lies in its execution. Many managers develop excellent plans, but, because they have not properly executed and held to them, fail to see their fruits. The best plans are not complex instruments, but simple and designed to be easily and effectively carried out.

Question Activities

Many managers have a natural tendency to want to control everything within their sphere of influence. Yet it is this desire that causes many to lose focus on their long-range plan as they attempt to personally put out every fire and handle every issue.

As leaders, managers must empower their employees and delegate the tasks, assignments and responsibilities that do not advance them toward the attainment of their desired outcomes. In this light, every activity on their to-do list and calendar must be questioned on a consistent basis; if a particular pursuit does not advance the manager toward the accomplishment of their goals, it should either be delegated or eliminated.

Monitor Results

Successful managers tie the metrics that measure their unit’s progress directly to their plans. They then determine the frequency and content of the report that allows them to actively monitor progress toward their own and the organization’s goals.

Additionally, managers have flags built into their metrics that immediately signal potential problems when the numbers reported to them are outside normal ranges. The report allows them to quickly act and resolve the problem before it gets out of hand.

Excerpt: Professional Development: Pinpoint Management Skill Development Training Series (Majorium Business Press, 2011) $ 17.95 USD

If you would like to learn more about how to become a more effective manager, refer to Professional Development: Pinpoint Management Skill Development Training Series. This training skill-pack features eight key interrelated concepts, each with their own discussion points and training activity. It is ideal as an informal training tool for coaching or personal development. It can also be used as a handbook and guide for group training discussions. Click here to learn more.
_____________________________________________________________________________________
Timothy F. Bednarz, Ph.D.
Author
Publisher
Majorium Business Press
Author of Great! What Makes Leaders Great: What They Did, How They Did It and What You Can Learn From It. Copyright © 2012 Timothy F. Bednarz, All Rights Reserved

NIST Funding Opportunities

Funding Opportunities

NIST funds industrial and academic research in a variety of ways. The Small Business Innovation Research Program funds R and D proposals from small businesses. We also offer other grants to encourage work in specific fields: precision measurement, fire research, and materials science.


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State of the Union 2012: The Manufacturing Perspective

January 26, 2012



State of the Union 2012: The Manufacturing Perspective


By David R. Butcher


In his State of the Union address this week, President Obama proposed a blueprint for an economy that's built to last — one that begins with American manufacturing.

In his State of the Union address on Tuesday, President Obama proposed dramatically shifting the United States economy back to a manufacturing base after decades of ceding industry jobs to countries such as China, saying manufacturers must be rewarded for bringing jobs back to the U.S. from overseas and expanding at home to set a foundation for job creation and growth.

"Think about the America within our reach: A country that leads the world in educating its people. An America that attracts a new generation of high-tech manufacturing and high-paying jobs. A future where we're in control of our own energy, and our security and prosperity aren't so tied to unstable parts of the world. An economy built to last, where hard work pays off and responsibility is rewarded," the president said.

To that end, Obama has laid out a blueprint for an economy that's built to last — an economy built on American manufacturing, energy and job skills.

The president's plan relies largely on changing the tax code to discourage American companies from offshoring in search of cheaper costs and to encourage reshoring.

"Companies get all kinds of tax breaks when they move jobs and profits overseas," Obama said yesterday, speaking to employees of Conveyor Engineering & Manufacturing in Iowa. "A company that chooses to stay in America gets hit with one of the highest tax rates in the world."

Obama proposed doing away with deductions available to companies that close plants in the U.S., and he called for a minimum tax for companies' profits earned overseas, "a step that may offset the lure of low tax rates offered by some foreign countries," Bloomberg News says.

"Companies would be banned from taking a deduction on taxes and would be offered a 20 percent tax credit, an amount subtracted directly from taxes owed, if they brought jobs home," according to Bloomberg. "Obama also is proposing $6 billion in new credits over three years for companies that invest in facilities or production in communities that have had major job losses. He also again is calling for reauthorizing a measure that lets businesses expense the full cost of investments in equipment and making permanent a research and experimentation tax credit."

The policy proposals also include getting tougher on trade enforcement, expanding domestic energy production, supporting education and research that fosters the manufacturing sector, bolstering job training, aiding homeowners with mortgages and streamlining government operations.

While the administration is keeping many details of the plan close to the chest until February, when Obama sends the fiscal 2013 budget to Congress, this week's proposals were met with resistance from industry representatives, who said that such restrictions would make American companies less competitive globally.

"The point of companies locating overseas is to get close to their customers," Dorothy Coleman, VP of tax and domestic economic policy at the National Association of Manufacturers (NAM), said in a Washington Post report (subscription required). "Now you're putting these artificial handcuffs on companies."

"We agree with the President on one point. Manufacturers are poised for a renaissance," NAM President and CEO Jay Timmons said in a statement. "However, it is 20 percent more expensive to manufacture in the U.S. compared to our largest trading partners. This cost gap is a barrier that must be eliminated."

Manufacturing was an early bright spot in the ongoing economic recovery, acting as one of the main drivers of growth for the U.S. economy since the official end of the 2007-2009 recession. Factories helped lift overall growth in 2009 and 2010, and output last month made its biggest gain since December 2010. Nevertheless, the sector continues to face many challenges that have been rising over a long period.

"Obama becomes the latest president to promise to breathe new life into a sector of the U.S. economy that has been declining for decades," the Los Angeles Times states. "Thirty years ago, nearly one-fifth of U.S. jobs were in manufacturing. Today, less than 10 percent are, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Like his predecessors, Obama will find that challenge formidable and complex, with little consensus on how to reverse the trend."
 
Source: http://news.thomasnet.com/IMT/archives/2012/01/state-of-the-union-2012-the-manufacturing-perspective.html

America’s Dirty War Against Manufacturing (Part 1): Carl Pope

“I’d love to make this product in America. But I’m afraid I won’t be able to.”
My host, a NASA engineer turned Silicon Valley entrepreneur, has just conducted a fascinating tour of his new clean-energy bench-scale test facility. It’s one of the Valley’s hottest clean-technology startups. And he’s already thinking of going abroad.
“Wages?” I ask.
His dark eyebrows arch as if I were clueless, then he explains the reality of running a fab -- an electronics fabrication factory. “Wages have nothing to do with it. The total wage burden in a fab is 10 percent. When I move a fab to Asia, I might lose 10 percent of my product just in theft.”

I’m startled. “So what is it?”

“Everything else. Taxes, infrastructure, workforce training, permits, health care. The last company that proposed a fab on Long Island went to Taiwan because they were told that in a drought their water supply would be in the queue after the golf courses.”

So begins my education on the hollowing-out of the American economy, which might be titled: “It’s not the wages, stupid.”

Manufacturing’s share of U.S. employment peaked in 1979 and has since fallen by almost half. Although manufacturing has been a relative bright spot in the dismal economy of the past couple of years, in the last decade, the U.S. lost a third of its manufacturing jobs, with the damage rippling far beyond that base to erode millions of jobs that are dependent on it.

Tomorrow’s Losses

The loss of textile, shoe and toy production to low-wage competitors such as China, and now Cambodia, has devastated a few regions, particularly South Carolina. But the loss of yesterday’s manufacturing isn’t the really painful part: It’s losing tomorrow’s manufacturing: automobiles, electronics, metal fabrication, specialty chemicals, appliances and consumer electronics.

Those industries left the U.S. in search not of cheaper workers, but of more supportive governments. If the U.S. lost manufacturing due to high wages (or unions, labor laws, regulation -- the other commonly cited villains), how do you explain the manufacturing success of Germany and Japan? Germany, the world’s pre-eminent high-end manufacturing economy, has higher wages, stronger unions and stricter labor laws than the U.S. Japan, too, is a high-wage competitor, yet Toyota Motor Corp. still makes 60 percent of its vehicles there. General Motors Co. makes only about 30 percent in North America.

So if wages aren’t to blame, what is?

Policy. But is U.S. government policy really hostile to manufacturing?

Sadly, yes. Take tax policy. Historically, manufacturing was the high-wage sector of the economy -- manufacturing jobs still pay about 30 percent more than service jobs in education and health care -- so tax policy milked it. Manufacturing companies, in the old days, actually paid the corporate income taxes that many others avoided. Commodity producers (oil, timber, agribusiness) lobbied for, and received, federal subsidies, with investors in oil and gas wells simply voiding corporate income taxes on the profits they earned. Banking, retail and services found their own ways around taxes, often by offshoring intellectual property or shifting profit to tax havens. Eventually, manufacturers figured out how to duck taxes as well -- by going overseas.

Varying Regulations.

Yet it isn’t just taxes. Wind turbines, for example, are enormous, heavy and expensive to transport -- so there is a big advantage to fabricating them close to the installation point. But consider the predicament of the Spanish wind manufacturer Gamesa Corporacion Tecnologica SA after it began operations in Pennsylvania. Because the George W. Bush administration’s Department of Transportation wouldn’t establish uniform standards for transporting the enormous turbine blades, each state followed its own rules. Whenever a blade crossed a state line it had to be unloaded by a construction crane and then reloaded to conform to the next state’s specifications.

Similar policy failures explain why Minnesota’s Port of Duluth exports iron ore to China and imports wind turbines from Europe. On the way to China, the ore freighters pass Chicago; Gary, Indiana; Cleveland; and Buffalo, New York -- cities where steel could be made and turned into turbine towers. But the U.S. wind market is too small, and the government too focused elsewhere, to make it profitable.

And that Long Island golf-course story? Not unique to New York. During the 1991 California drought, Silicon Valley’s electronics manufacturers were warned by Governor Pete Wilson that the state might have to shut off their water supply. Agriculture, Wilson said, came first. When I asked a Silicon Valley lobbyist in Sacramento if he had quietly received assurances that California would prioritize 21st-century computer chips over 19th-century alfalfa, he said he hadn’t. In fact, he said, some plant expansions initially planned for Silicon Valley were being diverted to Oregon to secure access to water.

In 1991, it was Oregon. Today, it’s Asia. Conventional wisdom blames globalization for the exodus of factories and jobs. Because other countries pay lower wages, the thinking goes, there is nothing we can, or even should, do about it. But the evidence of Germany and Japan -- and the experience of manufacturers in the U.S. -- tells a very different story.

We are not victims of an impersonal Leviathan called “globalization.” We’re the suckers who allowed our government to sacrifice the manufacturing sector while protecting the real winners: commodities, intellectual property, finance and agribusiness. The U.S. didn’t lose its manufacturing leadership; it threw it away.

In the next two parts of this series, I’ll discuss how that happened and what we can do about it.

(Carl Pope is a former chairman of the Sierra Club. The opinions expressed are his own. Read Part 2 and 3 of the series.)

To contact the writer on this story: Carl Pope at carl.pope@sierraclub.org.
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Francis Wilkinson at fwilkinson1@bloomberg.net.

Obama: State of the Union: Manufacturing

:Obama: State of the Union: Manufacturing
“What's happening in Detroit can happen in other industries. It can happen in Cleveland and Pittsburgh and Raleigh. We can't bring every job back that's left our shores. But right now, it's getting more expensive to do business in places like China. Meanwhile, America is more productive. A few weeks ago, the CEO of Master Lock told me that it now makes business sense for him to bring jobs back home. Today, for the first time in fifteen years, Master Lock's unionized plant in Milwaukee is running at full capacity.


So we have a huge opportunity, at this moment, to bring manufacturing back. But we have to seize it. Tonight, my message to business leaders is simple: Ask yourselves what you can do to bring jobs back to your country, and your country will do everything we can to help you succeed.


We should start with our tax code. Right now, companies get tax breaks for moving jobs and profits overseas. Meanwhile, companies that choose to stay in America get hit with one of the highest tax rates in the world. It makes no sense, and everyone knows it.


So let's change it. First, if you're a business that wants to outsource jobs, you shouldn't get a tax deduction for doing it. That money should be used to cover moving expenses for companies like Master Lock that decide to bring jobs home.


Second, no American company should be able to avoid paying its fair share of taxes by moving jobs and profits overseas. From now on, every multinational company should have to pay a basic minimum tax. And every penny should go towards lowering taxes for companies that choose to stay here and hire here – in America.


Third, if you're an American manufacturer, you should get a bigger tax cut. If you're a high-tech manufacturer, we should double the tax deduction you get for making your products here. And if you want to relocate in a community that was hit hard when a factory left town, you should get help financing a new plant, equipment, or training for new workers.


So, my message, my message is simple. It's time to stop rewarding businesses that ship jobs overseas, and start rewarding companies that create jobs right here in America. Send me these tax reforms, and I will sign them right away.


We're also making it easier for American businesses to sell products all over the world. Two years ago, I set a goal of doubling U.S. exports over five years. With the bipartisan trade agreements we signed into law, we are on track to meet that goal – ahead of schedule. Soon, there will be millions of new customers for American goods in Panama, Colombia, and South Korea. Soon, there will be new cars on the streets of Seoul imported from Detroit, and Toledo, and Chicago.


Now, I will go anywhere in the world to open new markets for American products. And I will not stand by when our competitors don't play by the rules. We've brought trade cases against China at nearly twice the rate as the last administration – and it's made a difference. Over a thousand Americans are working today because we stopped a surge in Chinese tires. But we need to do more. It's not right when another country lets our movies, music, and software be pirated. It's not fair when foreign manufacturers have a leg up on ours only because they're heavily subsidized.


Tonight, I'm announcing the creation of a Trade Enforcement Unit that will be charged with investigating unfair trading practices in countries like China. There will be more inspections, more inspections to prevent counterfeit or unsafe goods from crossing our borders. And this Congress should make sure that no foreign company has an advantage over American manufacturing when it comes to accessing financing or new markets like Russia. Our workers are the most productive on Earth, and if the playing field is level, I promise you – America will always win.

http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/video/state-union-obama-manufacturing-15434414?tab=9482931§ion=4765066

http://www.cnn.com/2012/01/23/politics/state-of-the-union/index.html

Industrial Output Rebounds at Year's End

January 19, 2012
Industrial Output Rebounds at Year's End

By Ilya Leybovich

After a brief period of contraction, U.S. industrial production rebounded strongly at the end of the year, largely due to increases in manufacturing output, which posted its highest gains in a year.

Industrial production in the United States increased 0.4 percent in December, following a 0.3 percent decline in November, according to the U.S. Federal Reserve on Wednesday. For the fourth quarter of 2011 as a whole, industrial output rose at a 3.1 percent annual rate, marking the 10th consecutive quarter of growth and ending the year on a positive note for the industrial sector.

The Fed's latest industry report indicates that much of the December production gain resulted from strong performance in manufacturing production, which constitutes the largest portion of overall industrial output. Manufacturing production increased 0.9 percent last month, representing the largest single-month increase since December 2010. This came on the heels of a 0.4 percent decline in November.

"The report indicated the production side of the economy ended the year on a firmer footing," Reuters reports. "Manufacturing has been one of the main drivers of growth in the U.S. economy since the end of the 2007-09 recession. The economy is expected to have expanded at an annual pace of at least 3 percent in the fourth quarter."

Although last month's manufacturing output was 3.7 percent above the total for December 2010, manufacturing activity remains roughly 8 percent below its pre-recession peak reached in July 2007.

Mining production also increased in December, climbing 0.3 percent after a 0.5 percent gain in November. Meanwhile, utilities output fell 2.7 percent as unseasonably warm weather cut demand for heating.

At 95.3 percent of its 2007 average, overall industrial production in December remained 2.9 percent above the prior-year level. Industrial production is now less than 5 percent below its pre-recession peak reached in September 2007.

The largest production gains last month were in durable goods manufacturing, which rose 0.9 percent, with increases of more than 2 percent for wood products, primary metals and machinery. The only industries reporting contraction were nonmetallic mineral products, aerospace and miscellaneous transportation equipment. In Q4 2011, durable goods output grew at an annual rate of 6.3 percent. Non-durable goods production rose 0.8 percent in December, led by textile and product mills and petroleum and coal products.

"Gains in consumer and business spending, combined with lean inventories, may prompt factories to continue to boost payrolls and hours, bolstering economic growth," Bloomberg News reports. "Additionally, more demand from emerging markets may help shield American industry from a slowdown in exports to Europe as the region's financial crisis and a weaker euro threaten to restrain sales."

Capacity utilization, a measure of how much of the industrial sector's production capabilities are being used, grew to 78.1 percent in December, up from 77.8 percent in November and 1.2 percent above the utilization rate for December 2010.

The upswing in industrial production, particularly in the manufacturing industry, has had a positive effect on the broader economy, and the trend is expected to continue for the near-term future.

"MAPI [the Manufacturers' Alliance for Productivity and Innovation] believes that the U.S. economy will grow at a modest 2.1 percent pace in 2012 and manufacturing production will increase at a faster 3.4 percent growth rate," Daniel J. Meckstroth, chief economist for MAPI, wrote in an analysis of the Fed report. "The superior growth in manufacturing comes from pent up demand for motor vehicles, the need to upgrade business equipment and more investment in energy and mineral exploration."

While the outlook for industrial production remains strong, numerous concerns remain, including fears that an increase in demand for U.S. goods in emerging markets may not be enough to offset expected losses from the Eurozone's deteriorating financial situation.

"Factories benefited in the second half of 2011 from a number of trends. Consumers bought more cars. Businesses boosted spending on industrial machinery and computers. And companies are restocking their warehouses again after cutting inventories over the summer," the Associated Press explains. "Still, Europe's debt crisis has already started to dampen demand for American exports. That could slow manufacturing and threaten growth in 2012."

Source: http://news.thomasnet.com/IMT/archives/2012/01/industrial-output-rebounds-at-years-end.html

Funding Analyst are solution providers, not sales people.

Funding Analysts are solution providers….not sales people.

Unlike typical purchase orders companies, we take a more sterile view of your business. This requires an analysis of your data history, funding strategies and a comparison of your peer companies. Although this analysis is, and must be devoid of emotion, we always make decisions that are in the best interest of our clients.
AIF Funding Analysts are Business Development Advisor….not sales people.

When you request a free, no obligation “funding evaluation” our underwriters become involved as an integral part of the decision making at the very outset. Sometimes we will deviate from stated guidelines depending upon the need, the opportunity and the true growth potential of your company.
Underwriting applications in this current economic environment is an art form which requires all of us to become artists. We are now looking at transactions more closely and our funding policies and guidelines are more fluid than ever before.
In short, the best way to get your working capital request approved is to work with a professional that is passionate and qualified. We are Andice Integrated Funding. We’ve learned to tailor our inquiries to match each individual circumstance within each specific industry.

We understand the risks within specific industries. We’re proud that we posses the ability to create solutions which are specific to our clients’ needs and together we will work hard to help you be the champion you were meant to be!

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Manufacturing Technology Orders for 2011 Up 73.9% from 2010

Manufacturing Technology Orders for 2011 Up 73.9% from 2010U.S. manufacturing technology orders in November totaled $430.17 million according to AMTDA, the American Machine Tool Distributors' Association and AMT -- The Association For Manufacturing Technology. The total was down 6.9% from October but up 26.6% when compared with the total of $339.68 million reported for November 2010.With a year-to-date total of $4,956.51 million, 2011 is up 73.9% compared with 2010.

"Manufacturing technology orders slowed slightly in November, but maintained their sprint toward the 2011 finish line thanks to the bonus depreciation tax incentive,” said Peter Borden, AMTDA president. "The order slowdown in metal cutting equipment was countered by acceleration in the fabricating sector and contributed to an increase over 2010 of nearly 75%. Backlogs for 2012 are very healthy at this point and growing longer.”In the Northeast Region at $64.88 million, orders in the Northeast Region were down 1.8% when compared with the $66.09 million total for October and down 1.4% when compared with November a year ago. The year-to-date total of $743.95 million is 38.9% more than the comparable figure for 2010.

November manufacturing technology orders in the Southern Region totaled $51.77 million, 4.0% less than October’s $53.91 million but 17.3% more than the November 2010 total. With a year-to-date total of $619.34 million, 2011 is up 55.5% when compared with 2010 at the same time.


Midwest Region manufacturing technology orders in November stood at $141.29 million, 5.0% less than the October total of $148.77 million but up 22.1% when compared with last November. At $1,663.63 million, the 2011 year-to-date total is 94.0% more than the comparable figure for 2010.

Orders in the Central Region in November totaled $125.10 million, down 9.6% from October’s $138.31 million but up 56.4% when compared with the November 2010 figure. The $1,354.89 million year-to-date total is 81.9% higher than the total for the same period in 2010.Western Region manufacturing technology orders totaled $47.14 million in November, 14.6% less than the $55.17 million total for October but 34.3% higher than the tally for November 2010. At $574.70 million, 2011 year-to-date is up 83.5% when compared with last year at the same time.

Source: http://www.industryweek.com/articles/manufacturing_technology_orders_for_2011_up_73-9_from_2010_26312.aspx


However November total was down 6.9% from October.

By . IW Staff

Regulatory Update: SEC Adopts Final Rules Defining "Accredited Investor" Consistent with Dodd-Frank

Regulatory Update: SEC Adopts Final Rules Defining "Accredited Investor" Consistent with Dodd-Frank

Just before 2011 year-end, the SEC adopted final rules first proposed in January 2011 to exclude the value of an investor's home when determining if an investor meets the net worth test for an accredited investor. Regulatory Update:

Bank of America severing some small-business credit lines

By E. Scott Reckard, Los Angeles Times

Bank of America Corp. under pressure to raise capital and cut risks, is severing lines of credit to some small-business owners who have used them to stay afloat.The Charlotte, N.C., bank is demanding that these customers pay off their credit line balances all at once instead of making monthly payments. If they can't pay in full, they are being offered new repayment plans for as long as five years, but with far higher interest rates than their original credit lines had.Business owners complain that BofA's credit squeeze is abrupt and could strain their small companies and even put them out of business. The credit cutoff is coming at a time when the California economy can't seem to catch a break, and bucks what the financial industry says is a new trend of easing standards on business loans.Bank of America severing some small-business credit lines.

Source: January 3, 2012 www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-credit-cutoff-20120103,0,3538902.story

Manufacturing Tech Demand Increases Year-over-Year

January 10, 2012



Manufacturing Tech Demand Increases Year-over-Year


By Ilya Leybovich


Although orders for manufacturing technology decreased in every major U.S. region in November, demand for machine tools and related equipment remained above the prior-year level in most regional markets.

The total value of United States manufacturers' machine tool and related equipment consumption fell to $430.17 million in November, down 6.9 percent from October, according to the latest U.S. Manufacturing Technology Orders (USMTO) report. While the number of orders declined on a month-over-month basis, the November total remained 26.6 percent above the $339.68 million reported for November 2010.


With a year-to-date total of $4.96 billion, the value of machine tech orders in the first 11 months of 2011 was up 73.9 percent from the same period in 2010.

 Based on data from member companies of the American Machine Tool Distributors' Association (AMTDA) and the Association for Manufacturing Technology, the USMTO report provides national and regional consumption data for manufacturing technology.



On a month-over-month basis, machine tool and related equipment orders declined in all five of the major U.S. regions tracked by the USMTO.



The largest consumption decrease was in the Western states, where manufacturing tech orders fell 14.6 percent to $47.14 million in November. However, orders in the region remained 34.3 percent higher than the total for November 2010. Year-to-date, manufacturers in the Western region purchased $574.7 million worth of machine tools, 83.5 percent more than in the same period in 2010.



In the Central region, manufacturing tech orders declined 9.6 percent to $125.1 million in November, but were up 56.4 percent compared with the November 2010 total. At $1.35 billion, the year-to-date total was 81.9 percent above the level for the first 11 months of 2010.



In the Midwest, manufacturing tech orders fell 5 percent in November, down to a total of $141.29 million for the month, but remained 22.1 percent above the total for November 2010. In the first 11 months of 2011, Midwestern manufacturing tech consumption reached $1.66 billion, 94 percent higher than in the same period the prior year.

 In the Southern states, manufacturing tech consumption dropped 4 percent to $51.77 million in November, but was 17.3 percent higher than the total for the same month in 2010. The year-to-date total of $619.34 million was 55.5 percent above the total for the comparable prior-year period.



In the Northeast, machine tool orders were down 1.8 percent from October, falling to a total of $64.88 million in November. Consumption was also 1.4 percent lower than in November 2010, but the year-to-date total of $743.95 million stood 38.9 percent higher than the total for the same period in 2010.



"Manufacturing technology orders slowed slightly in November, but maintained their sprint toward the 2011 finish line thanks to the bonus depreciation tax incentive," AMTDA President Peter Borden said. "The order slowdown in metal cutting equipment was countered by acceleration in the fabricating sector and contributed to an increase over 2010 of nearly 75 percent. Backlogs for 2012 are very healthy at this point and growing longer."



According to the latest data from the U.S. Department of Commerce, new machinery orders increased 0.4 percent in November to a total of $31.8 billion. While industrial machinery orders rose 11.7 percent to $3.1 billion, construction machinery orders plunged 8.1 percent down to $4.4 billion. For the first 11 months of 2011, overall machinery orders were valued at $344.6 billion, 14.3 percent more than in the same period in 2010.


Meanwhile, machinery shipments increased 0.6 percent in November, reaching $30.5 billion. Year-to-date machinery shipments climbed to $321.6 billion in November, a 12.5 percent rise over the same period in 2010.


"The factors that are fueling this tremendous surge are the traditional reasons that drive growth in investment, but what is unusual about the current rebound is that all factors have come together at one time. This is something that's never been seen before and as a result we are seeing a true renaissance for manufacturing in the U.S.," AMT President Douglas K. Woods said in a recent forecast for 2012. "American manufacturers rushed to beat the end-of-year bonus depreciation deadline. Inventories were low — something we've never experienced going into a recession — and that accounts for the quick rebound."

JEFFERIES: The Decline Of American Manufacturing Is Over

Investment bank Jefferies takes a non-consensus bullish view on U.S. competitiveness in a new report.


Chief Equity Strategist Sean Darby predicts a U.S. industrial renaissance "through a combination of higher wage inflation overseas, a weaker U.S. dollar and better productivity gains."


The most important factor in U.S. competitiveness may be a decline in Chinese competitiveness:


The labour comparative gap that China has had has disappeared because the total costs of production for certain products have moved towards US costs. This is particular where labour costs are a smaller proportion of the total costs. Although readers may be feel that it is an exaggeration to claim that ‘off-shoring’ will immediately be reversed back to ‘on-shoring’, perhaps it is better to suggest that the ‘hollowing out’ of US manufacturing has reached its nadir. The worst of the transition is behind the US all other factors of production being equal. The important driver will be speed of productivity gains between the two countries that encourages CEOs to open and close plants in one or the other, not just the labour cost.


Industries like agriculture, coal and mining, oil, aerospace and autos have already shown better growth than people realize.



Jefferies is bullish on the U.S. economy too, expecting 2.5% GDP growth next year, strong enough to save the world from a Europe-led Armageddon.




Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/jefferies-american-competitiveness-2012-1?utm_source=twbutton&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=moneygame#ixzz1j4mP9B7G

What Manufacturers Expect in 2012

January 4, 2012



What Manufacturers Expect in 2012


By Ilya Leybovich


The manufacturing sector posted steady growth through most of 2011, both on a global level and in the U.S. While there are serious concerns about economic instability from the European debt crisis and a still-weak housing sector, the outlook for manufacturing in the new year is largely positive.



According to a December report from the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO), global manufacturing output increased in the third quarter of 2011, rising 5.5 percent above Q3 2010. The majority of the growth was attributed to developing economies, which posted an average output gain of 13 percent. China's manufacturing industry, which accounts for nearly half that of all developing countries combined, increased 14.5 percent in the third quarter.

Manufacturing production in industrialized nations grew an average of 3.3 percent in the third quarter, with the United States manufacturing sector — still the largest in the world — outpacing the average at 4.1 percent growth. Although developing markets outpaced industrialized nations in year-over-year output growth, industrialized economies posted a 1.1 percent manufacturing production gain between the second and third quarters, compared to a 0.6 percent decline among the developing world.


"During the first months of 2011, the level of world manufacturing output reached the pre-crisis manufacturing level and there are clear indications that the yearly growth is also returning to pre-crisis levels," the UNIDO notes. "If the current trend prevails, it would be fair to make an optimistic projection that world industrial production is likely to stabilize in 2012."



According to MAPI's latest quarterly industrial outlook, U.S. manufacturing production growth will outpace growth in the overall economy over the next few years, climbing 4 percent in 2011, 3 percent in 2012 and 4 percent in 2013. By comparison, gross domestic product (GDP) is forecast to grow 2.1 percent in 2012 and 3.3 percent in 2013.



MAPI forecasts that 18 of the 24 industries surveyed will expand in 2012, led by housing starts with 20 percent growth. In 2013, 23 industries are expected to grow, again led by housing starts with a 32 percent increase. Over the next five years, high-tech manufacturing is forecast to grow at an average annual rate of 14 percent, while non-high-tech manufacturing will grow at 3 percent.



"The growth is being led by the energy, transportation and industrial equipment industries. We believe the continuing pickup in domestic auto production will also be a major driver of overall economic growth next year," Daniel J. Meckstroth, chief economist at MAPI, said. "In addition, firms are profitable and have the need to spend more for both traditional and high-tech business equipment, and reasonably strong growth in emerging economies is still driving U.S. exports."



U.S. manufacturers remain optimistic about their business prospects for the new year. At the recessionary low point in 2009, 46.3 percent of respondents to the National Association of Manufacturers/IndustryWeek Survey of Manufacturers had a positive business outlook, but by Q4 2011 the proportion of optimistic manufacturers had risen to 80.2 percent, comparable to pre-recessionary figures.

Moreover, approximately 72 percent of manufacturers expect sales to increase over the next 12 months, with an average expected sales gain of 4.4 percent. Roughly half forecast sales to grow by at least 5 percent, while one-in-five expect sales to climb by more than 10 percent.



Revenues are also on an upswing. The Institute for Supply Management's (ISM) latest semiannual economic forecast found that 69 percent of manufacturers expect revenues to be greater in 2012 than in 2011, with a 5.5 percent net increase in overall revenues forecast for 2012, compared to a 7 percent increase in 2011.



"[Manufacturing executives] are optimistic about their overall business prospects for the first half of 2012, and are even more optimistic about the second half of 2012," Bradley J. Holcomb, chair of the ISM Manufacturing Business Survey Committee, said. "Manufacturing has demonstrated its resilience throughout this challenging economic recovery period with consistent growth dating back to August of 2009...and our forecast calls for a continuation of that growth in 2012."



Purchasing and supply executives expect capital expenditures to increase 1.9 percent in 2012, while employment will grow 1.3 percent and labor and benefit costs are expected to increase an average of 2.4 percent. Purchasers forecast increases in both exports and imports in the next twelve months, and the U.S. dollar is expected to weaken "very slightly" against major foreign trading partners' currencies.



Despite the generally positive outlook, there are some challenges ahead. Respondents to the ISM survey cited their top concerns for 2012 as: poor sales (43.9 percent); government regulations (22 percent); inflation (17.4 percent); cost of labor (4.5 percent); quality of labor (4.5 percent); taxes (4.5 percent); and interest rates and finance (3 percent).

Workforce issues are also likely to be problematic in the new year. In a recent survey from the American Society for Quality, 44 percent of manufacturing professionals said they are worried about finding qualified applicants to fill vacant positions, and 27 percent said budget constraints will be a major hurdle to meeting staffing needs.



Meanwhile, mounting financial difficulties in European economies may cause significant instability in global markets, which could impede business activity among U.S. manufacturers and aggravate existing domestic problems.



"The main risk is that the European sovereign debt crisis may cascade from European banks to the U.S. banking system and interfere with interbank lending and, ultimately, credit availability. Another concern is that job growth will stop. U.S. economic growth is already at a 'stall speed' of 2 percent or less, and if we had a major shock it could precipitate a major crisis," Meckstroth explained in a separate MAPI report. "Additionally, there is already a shift from fiscal government stimulus to austerity that we expect to last the next five years or more, as U.S. politicians attempt to get control of our unwieldy public debt."

It remains to be seen how U.S. policymaking or the European debt crisis will affect domestic manufacturing industries in 2012, but for the time being, most indicators for the near-term future are relatively positive and manufacturing continues to be resilient in the face of a rapidly changing economic landscape.Despite fears of another recessionary dip, worldwide manufacturing production continues to perform well, recently posting strong quarterly gains in major economies. This continued resilience and growth in manufacturing indicates that a global downturn in industrial production is not imminent and that the factory sector will retain its position at the forefront of the rebound.

December 12, 2011 - USMTO News Release for October Manufacturing Technology Orders

December 12, 2011 - USMTO News Release for October Manufacturing Technology Orders

Manufacturing technology orders up 80.5% from 2010October U.S. manufacturing technology orders totaled $463.32 million according to AMT-The Association For Manufacturing Technology and AMTDA, the American Machine Tool Distributors’ Association. This total, as reported by companies participating in the USMTO program, was down 22.4% from September but up 20.3% when compared with the total of $385.21 million reported for October 2010. With a year-to-date total of $4,529.11 million, 2011 is up 80.5% compared with 2010.