MAPI — Manufacturers Alliance News and Reports — Getting Ready for Industry 4.0 and More

Issues in the Brief

U.S. Trade Deficit in Manufactures Soars in 2015; Chinese Surplus Up
The U.S. trade deficit in manufactures in 2015 soared by $89 billion, or 16%, to $650 billion, which resulted in a trade-related loss of 600,000 American manufacturing jobs, up from a job loss of 400,000 in 2014. Sixty percent of the global deficit was with China, with U.S. manufactured imports from China 5.8 times larger than U.S. exports to China.

The Manufacturing Value Chain Is Much Bigger Than You Think!
In this groundbreaking new research, Dan Meckstroth discards the traditional method of calculating manufacturing’s multiplier effect, which employs a very narrow definition of manufacturing, and takes a comprehensive look at manufacturing’s total value chain. His report reveals that for every dollar of domestic manufacturing value-added, another $3.60 of value-added is generated elsewhere in the economy. He also shares updated statistics on manufacturing’s substantial share of the economy and workforce.

Getting Ready for Industry 4.0: Q&A With Kennametal’s John Jacko
Marketing Council member John Jacko talks trends in marketing, describes how Kennametal is using technology to prepare for Industry 4.0 and reveals what business buzzword he asked his team to stop using.

Durable Goods: A Murky Outlook for U.S. Manufacturing
The January data on new orders for long-lasting (durable) goods showed a sharp snapback from the plunge seen in December. Total new orders rose by 4.9% from December to January after contracting by 4.6% from November to December.

Out With the Safe Harbor and in With the Privacy Shield?
On February 2, 2016, the European Commission and the United States announced an agreement on the EU-U.S. Privacy Shield, a replacement for the struck-down Safe Harbor Agreement that will allow transatlantic data flows of personal information.

ISM Report: Still Below 50% but New Orders, Production Growing
“The Institute for Supply Management (ISM) reports that the February 2016 index was 49.5%, up from 48.2% in January,” noted Meckstroth. “With the dividing line between growth and decline at 50%, the February report indicates that manufacturing activity is declining slightly.

Economic Update

Manufacturing Update, January 2016
For last year as a whole, manufacturing output grew a very slow 2% and the trade imbalance worsened. The sector’s employment was up by 30,000 for the year, a far cry from the 2014 increase of 215,000.