Category Archives: Manufacturing

Manufacturing Compensation Costs

Posted on December 25, 2012 by

Nice charts from the BLS.   Even though the big countries — China and India — it does give a a sense of the relative competitiveness of nations. Chart 1 – Average hourly compensation costs in U.S. manufacturing, at $35.53 in … Continue reading →

Posted in Manufacturing | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Foxconn to Teach American Engineers About Manufacturing

Posted on November 8, 2012 by

Interesting story from AP on Foxconn, the Taiwan based companies who manufactures many of the Apple products.  Two points jump out at us:  1) automated equipment;  and 2) lack of skilled workers in the United States. TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) — … Continue reading →

Posted in Manufacturing | Tagged , | Leave a comment

China manufacturing model under threat – Reuters

Posted on October 17, 2012 by

Put this on the your inflation and profit margin watch.  And start monitoring prices at Costco and WalMart, which we see already ticking higher.  Also see our past posts. Companies like Foxconn, which assembles most of the world’s iPads and … Continue reading →

Posted in Apple, China, Manufacturing | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Nonlinear Thinking: A New Kind of Industrial Robot

Posted on September 23, 2012 by

A smarter, safer new industrial robot [Rethink Robotics] could bring automation to new areas of manual work and help many U.S. manufacturers regain a competitive edge. – Technology Review (click here if video is not observable)

Posted in Manufacturing, Nonlinear Thinking, Technology | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

U.S. Economic Data Releases – June 4

Posted on June 4, 2012 by

US Factory Orders Post Surprise Fall in April – CNBC (click here if chart is not observable)

Posted in Economics, Manufacturing, US Releases | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Flash Eurozone Manufacturing PMI at 45.0, 35-month low

Posted on May 24, 2012 by

Source:  Markit (click here if charts are not observable)

Posted in Economics, Manufacturing, PMIs | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Manufacturing Employment in the U.S.

Posted on April 30, 2012 by

Here’s an interesting data series we thought you might find enlightening. Note the peak in manufacturing jobs in June 1977,  which represented 22 percent of all nonfarm payrolls,  then, to fall to less than 9 percent of total employment today.   … Continue reading →

Posted in Employment, Manufacturing | Tagged , | 2 Comments

HSBC Flash China PMI Still Contracting

Posted on April 22, 2012 by

Markit reports, Commenting on the Flash China Manufacturing PMI survey, Hongbin Qu, Chief Economist, China & Co-Head of Asian Economic Research at HSBC said: “As April flash PMI ticked higher, this suggests that the earlier easing measures have started to … Continue reading →

Posted in China, Manufacturing | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Eurozone manufacturing slump worsens in March – Markit

Posted on April 2, 2012 by

(click here if charts are not observable)

Posted in Economics, Euro, Manufacturing, PMIs | Tagged | Leave a comment

Korea PMI Expands After 7-Month Contraction

Posted on March 2, 2012 by

From Markit, Commenting on the South Korea Manufacturing PMI® survey, Ronald Man, Economist at HSBC in Asia said: “At last, manufacturing conditions in Korea have improved. More importantly for policy makers, new orders have picked up, which suggests that demand … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics, Manufacturing | Tagged , , | Leave a comment