Manufacturing & Technology News articles from July 2004

Manufacturing & Technology News archives from July 2004

Korea increases investment in manufacturing R&D to combat China's growth.
July 7, 2004... The growth of Chinese industry is forcing South Korea to respond with more aggressive industrial strategies aimed at retaining and promoting high-value-added manufacturing. "There are many difficulties in our industrial sector [similar] to...

Textile associations from around globe unite against a common foe: China.
July 7, 2004... Textile and apparel industry trade associations from around the world are galvanizing behind a proposal to request that the World Trade Organization postpone the planned January 1, 2005, phase-out of textile and apparel quotas from developing...

'Buy American' raises its head once again; this time in a battle over defense 'offsets'.
July 7, 2004... The simmering debate over the complicated issue of defense offsets--when foreign countries require U.S. companies to transfer technology or manufacturing capacity to their country in order to receive a contract--is reaching the highest levels...

Wal-Mart makes progress on RFID pilot project.
July 7, 2004... Wal-Mart is expanding its plans to require suppliers to implement a new radio frequency identification (RFID) tagging system. In a meeting held in mid-June with its 300 largest suppliers, Wal-Mart chief information officer Linda Dillman said...

Manufacturers in Ohio form political action group to change trade policies.
July 7, 2004... The City Council of Cleveland has passed a resolution supporting American manufacturing and has called on Congress to take immediate action to help restore the health of U.S. industry. Members of the newly formed Northeast Ohio Campaign for...

Fewer workers being sent overseas.
July 7, 2004... Companies in the United States are having a more difficult time relocating employees overseas, according to the National Foreign Trade Council. The U.S. is among the "most challenging" countries, along with China and Japan, for moving workers...

Bullet industry is on the rise due to wars and increased training needs.(Production Capacity Will Increase To Two Billion Rounds)
July 7, 2004... The federal government is in a dash to increase U.S. production capacity of small caliber ammunition. Surging use of ammo due to training requirements and wars in Iraq and Afghanistan has caused demand for small caliber ammo to skyrocket by...

Manufacturing employment takes unexpected dip in June.
July 7, 2004... The long trend of lost manufacturing jobs reared its head again in June. The U.S. lost 11,000 manufacturing jobs during the month, after three months of gains totaling 75,000 new manufacturing jobs. The job loss number for manufacturing caught...

Foreign investment in U.S. outstrips investment overseas.
July 7, 2004... Foreigners are investing a lot more in the United States than Americans are investing overseas. The U.S. net international investment position at the end of 2003 was a negative $2.431 trillion, reports the Commerce Department. The net...

NIST opens Advanced Measurement Laboratory.
July 7, 2004... The National Institute of Standards and Technology has opened a new Advanced Measurement Laboratory, "the most technically advanced research facility of its kind in the world," it says. The 536,507-square-foot facility has been under...

Another consultancy tells its clients to quickly abandon U.S. production.
July 7, 2004... Large industrial companies must become more aggressive in moving their production to low-cost countries (LCCs), according to the Boston Consulting Group. The biggest problem companies face in the era of globalization is "being overly cautious...

China accused of fabricating trade data.
July 7, 2004... China is producing misleading trade data that is distorting the degree to which it is manipulating its currency, according to the Fair Currency Alliance. China estimated its trade surplus with the United States last year at $60.3 billion, while...

Demographics: Hispanic population reaches 40 million.
July 7, 2004... The nation's Hispanic and Asian populations continued to grow at much faster rates than the population as a whole, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. The population of Hispanics reached 40 million on July 1, 2003, accounting for about...

Companies are not taking advantage of economic development incentive programs.
July 7, 2004... Manufacturers are not taking advantage of millions of dollars of tax credits, grants, incentives and other economic development programs being offered by federal, state and local governments. "Given all the different [business incentive]...

Rep. English wants a 'revolution' in United States trade policy.
July 7, 2004... The U.S. manufacturing base is "reaching a meltdown" and must be protected through a "revolution in U.S. trade policy," says Rep. Phil English (R-Penn.). The U.S. government "can no longer stand on the sidelines advocating a free-trade status...

Paper recycling reaches record high; more needed.
July 7, 2004... For the first time in history, more than half of the paper consumed in the United States is being recycled, according to the American Forest & Paper Association. During 2003, 49.3 million tons of paper was recycled, an increase of 69 percent...

Redesigning the space industrial base: reflections on the Aldrige commission.(News Analysis)
July 7, 2004... President Bush created a commission headed by Edward Aldrige, former Undersecretary of Defense for Acquisition and a former astronaut, to assess how his vision of space exploration could best be implemented. At the heart of the requirements...

Fact-finding tour planned for Mfg. Extension program.
July 7, 2004... The Commerce Department's National Institute of Standards and Technology is planning a cross-country series of workshops to gather input on what it should do with its Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP) program. The agency has been...

DOE seeks contractor for Los Alamos.
July 7, 2004... The Department of Energy (DOE) has initiated a process to compete the management and operating contract for Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) in New Mexico. It is the first time since the lab's creation in 1943 that its operator will be...

Letter to the editor.(Letter to the Editor)
July 7, 2004... The headline about Wal-Mart importing more than manufacturers export is wildly inaccurate (MTN, June 18, 2004). About half of manufactured imports come here in containers, but only about one quarter of our manufactured exports leave here in...

Ex-marine tells it like it is: U.S. is losing its strategic electronics industries and the U.S. government encourages their departure.
July 21, 2004... The United States will soon lose an industry that forms the basic underpinnings of all electronics. Isola Laminate Systems Corp., the last domestic producer of rigid laminate, the basic building block of the printed circuit board industry, has...

A more highly trained workforce won't revive U.S. aerospace industry, says Boeing labor leader.
July 21, 2004... The U.S. aerospace industry is in the midst of a monumental meltdown, says Stanley Sorscher, a staff member of the Society of Professional Engineering Employees in Aerospace (SPEEA), a union representing 20,000 engineers, scientists, technical...

'I'll probably overplay my hand': in an oblique message, Ways & Means chairman tells manufacturers they don't need tax help.
July 21, 2004... A "very sharp" surgeon's saw should be taken to the targeted tax cuts for U.S. manufacturers that are contained in the Senate version of the Foreign Sales Corp. (FSC) tax bill soon to be hammered out by Senate and House conferees, Rep. Bill...

Heritage joins outsourcing-is-good brigade.
July 21, 2004... The Heritage Foundation is the latest conservative think tank to jump on the outsourcing-is-good bandwagon. "Outsourcing opponents routinely focus on only one side of the issue, while ignoring the gains in lower prices, higher efficiency and...

Manufacturing job losses in China far surpass those in the United States.
July 21, 2004... China is losing millions of manufacturing jobs due to automation and the adoption of new business systems and production techniques, according to The Conference Board in New York. Between 1995 and 2002, 15 million manufacturing jobs were lost...

Republican big-wig will take over at NAM.
July 21, 2004... Employees at the National Association of Manufacturers are preparing for the arrival of a political celebrity to take over operations in October. Retired Republican Gov. John Engler from Michigan is expected to elevate NAM to a new level in...

Senators tell government's new Mfg. czar to concentrate on China and unfair trade.
July 21, 2004... A Washington neophyte with no policy experience and few political connections has been asked by the Bush administration to help solve some of the thorniest economic issues facing the United States. Albert Allen Frink, the Bush administration's...

Summer reading: Fritz Hollings vs. the Chamber of Commerce.
July 21, 2004... The U.S. Senate won't be the same when Sen. Fritz Hollings (R-S.C.) retires this year. In this Senate Floor speech on July 7, Hollings gleefully challenges Chamber of Commerce President Tom Donohue over his criticism of John Edwards as John...