MAPI — Manufacturers Alliance News and Reports — U.S. Industrial Outlook and More

Issues in the Brief

Footprint of the Future: Chasing Technology and Talent
In our latest collaboration with Deloitte, MAPI examined the factors motivating footprint decisions and analyzed how global investment trends are shifting. By 2020, we predict that talent will become a key consideration for business expansion. South Africa, Turkey and Vietnam are countries to watch.

20 Tips From Conflict Minerals Experts
At a recent Conflict Minerals Forum, our presenters shared valuable advice about surveying suppliers, preparing for an audit and designing the compliance process. One tip was to read the conflict minerals reports of your competitors and customers to improve your own.

Risk, Uncertainty, and Investment
Don discusses the distinction between normal business risk and uncertainty; the latter is one reason investment spending in the U.S. has been lagging since 2001. Government policies as well as economic events can give rise to uncertainty and manufacturers have faced heightened economic uncertainty in the past year.

Economic Update

U.S. Industrial Outlook, September 2015
Manufacturing industrial production rose at a 1.2% annual rate in the second quarter of 2015—a meager recovery from the weather-depressed 0.7% decline in the first quarter.

Manufacturing Activity: September 2015
In this video, Don notes that overall manufacturing production in the United States is bouncing up and down from month to month. In August, the automobile industry suffered the biggest drop in production and the overall sector lost 17,000 jobs — the first employment decline in two years.

European Economic Outlook: Manufacturing Recovery Stalls but Consumers Earn More, Spend More
Europe’s recovery may be slow, but production of consumer goods is accelerating. Within manufacturing, employment, hours worked and gross wages are all increasing. Meanwhile, consumer confidence is showing weakness and capital formation has stalled amid fears of instability.