Manufacturing & Technology News articles from February 2004

Manufacturing & Technology News archives from February 2004

Chip industry's shift overseas elicits NSA, defense dept. response; $600 million over 10 years for IBM's 'trusted foundry'.
February 3, 2004... The Department of Defense and the National Security Agency (NSA) have decided to take the first step in addressing a growing concern over the shift of semiconductor manufacturing capacity offshore. The two agencies are jointly funding a...

CSIS studies erosion of defense industrial base.
February 3, 2004... One of Washington's most respected think tanks has put together a team to address the issue of the hollowing out of the U.S. defense industrial base and what can be done to reverse the trend. The Center for Strategic and International Studies...

Mfg. program in death throes rated as one of government's most successful.
February 3, 2004... A federal manufacturing program that the Bush administration hoped to virtually eliminate has been selected as a semifinalist in Harvard University's John F. Kennedy School of Government's prestigious "Innovations in American Government Awards"...

PCB industry suffers through 2003.
February 3, 2004... It wasn't a particularly good year for the U.S. printed circuit board industry. Shipments for the year declined 17 percent, while bookings of PCBs were down 6 percent, according to the IPC--Association Connecting Electronics Industries. "The...

Congress redirects trade functions at commerce and USTR to focus on manufacturers' complaints.
February 3, 2004... Tucked deep within the massive fiscal year 2004 Consolidated Appropriations Act signed by President Bush on January 23 is substantial additional funding for the federal government's trade oversight and promotion functions. Bill language (HR...

Sen. Kerry's manufacturing package.
February 3, 2004... Three months before Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.) became the democratic presidential front-runner, he proposed a legislative package aimed at helping small- and medium-sized manufacturers. The three bills he introduced in November would...

Small aerospace suppliers tread fine political line.
February 3, 2004... Small- and medium-sized aerospace suppliers are getting squeezed by a confluence of events that show no immediate signs of abating. "A number of circumstances have turned the aerospace industry upside down," says Allen Samuel, executive...

China imposes duties on imported steel.
February 3, 2004... China's Ministry of Commerce has placed an "antidumping" tax on cold rolled steel plate imported into its country from Russia, Korea, Ukraine, Kazakhstan and Taiwan. The ministry found on Sept. 23 that these countries were dumping product into...

Author of commerce department's mfg. study reflects on what he learned.(Interview: ITA's Grant Aldonas)
February 3, 2004... When the Commerce Department started getting bombarded early last year from manufacturers suffering through their longest recession in 70 years, Commerce Secretary Don Evans turned to one of his most able lieutenants to lead a study. Grant...

Calendar of upcoming manufacturing & technology events.(Calendar)
February 3, 2004... New products, markets, ideas and contacts await you outside of your musty office. If you have a conference or seminar that can be listed in a future issue, send a notice to editor@manufacturingnews.com Feb. 9 How to Redesign Supply Chains,...

Bush's 2005 budget breaks all records for spending & borrowing.
February 3, 2004... President Bush released his 2005 budget request with much fanfare on Feb. 2. It is a controversial document due to record levels of spending and record deficits. Here are how selected programs would fare under Bush's proposal sent to Congress....

Manufacturers lead again in mass layoffs.
February 3, 2004... The number of mass layoff events involving 50 or more employees during 2003 declined slightly from 2002, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. There were 18,936 mass layoff events for the year, down from 20,277 the year before. A total...

Mfg. 'emergency' requires radical response--USBIC.
February 19, 2004... The United States faces a "manufacturing emergency" and "drastic measures" need to be taken quickly in order for the country to maintain its economic integrity, says the United States Business and Industry Council (USBIC). "Despite the...

Is surging productivity more a measure of increased outsourcing?
February 19, 2004... A debate is beginning to emerge over the underlying causes of the increased level of productivity growth in the manufacturing sector during a period in which U.S. manufacturers were laying off hundreds of thousands of workers. Traditional...

Fair trade & jobs groups create a national network.(Strange Bedfellows')
February 19, 2004... A new "Jobs and Trade Network" (JTN) is being created to bring together the growing number of grass-roots manufacturing and fair-trade coalitions that have been created in the country over the past year. Organizers are holding a kick-off event...

Generous tax incentives for capital equipment do little to spur sales of machine tools.
February 19, 2004... Tax incentives put in place over the past two years aimed at stimulating purchases of capital equipment have not led to a surge of new orders for machine tools. Sales for last year totaled $1.99 billion, down 8 percent compared to 2002, which...

Multiple trade records are set in 2003.
February 19, 2004... The trade deficit set a new record last year, increasing by $71 billion or 17 percent from 2002 to close at $489 billion for 2003. The trade deficit in goods surged by 14 percent to $549.4 billion. Exports of goods for the year increased by 4.7...

Dingell tells Detroit: prepare for a life without me.
February 19, 2004... The U.S. automobile industry needs to take the lead in pressing for universal health coverage, says Rep. John Dingell (D-Mich.), one of the auto industry's most influential supporters in Washington, D.C. Health care costs are spiraling out of...

Federal economic data agencies do not track job shifts overseas.
February 19, 2004... The United States government does not keep track of "offshore outsourcing" of information technology and service sector jobs, nor of manufacturing jobs lost due to the shift of production overseas. The federal government does not know the...

Fledgling white-collar worker rights groups are difficult to run.
February 19, 2004... It's not easy running one of the many new grass-roots organizations created to fight on behalf of displaced American white-collar workers. But the groups are gaining traction, thanks to the increasingly frenetic debate over large company plans...

Fed chairman takes center stage on jobs issue.
February 19, 2004... Federal Reserve Chairman Man Greenspan had the great misfortune of testifying before Congress on the now infamous day that the story broke concerning the White House Council of Economic Advisors chairman's remarks concerning the benefits of...

ITC says China is poised to overwhelm U.S. with textiles.
February 19, 2004... Textiles and apparel made in China are ready to explode into the U.S. market once current quotas are phased out on January 1, 2005, says the U.S. International Trade Commission. China will become the "supplier of choice for most U.S. textile...

Concern grows about physical science R&D.
February 19, 2004... The Alliance for Science and Technology Research in America (ASTRA) says it must "redouble" its efforts to achieve increases in federal funding for the physical sciences, mathematics and engineering. The lobbying group is inviting its members...

Circuit board industry struggles.
February 19, 2004... Last year wasn't a particularly good one for the U.S. printed circuit board industry. Shipments for the year declined 17 percent, while booking of PCBs were down 6 percent, according to the IPC--Association Connecting Electronics Industries....

BRAC commission seeks base data.
February 19, 2004... The Department of Defense has begun the process of determining which bases to close in its next round of consolidation. Base commanders throughout the country have been asked to submit data on their installations in preparation for the latest...

Science academy looks at software issues.
February 19, 2004... The National Academies of Sciences is holding a meeting on Feb. 20 to discuss the role of software and its importance to U.S.. productivity growth. At the symposium, called Software, Growth, Offshoring and the Future of the U.S. Economy," the...

DOD's top 100 contractors.
February 19, 2004... Last year was another good one for Lockheed Martin and its ability to win military contracts. The Bethesda, Md.-based firm received $21.9 billion in Pentagon contracts, up by almost $5 billion from 2002, when it received $17 billion. Lockheed...