Manufacturing & Technology News articles from March 2004

Manufacturing & Technology News archives from March 2004

NIST readies for RIFs: premier standards agency confronts budget decline.
March 8, 2004... The only federal agency whose stated mission is to improve the competitiveness of U.S. industry is confronting the reality of a substantial funding shortfall this year. The National Institute of Standards and Technology's science and technical...

President's science advisory group says success in high technology is no longer guaranteed.
March 8, 2004... The United States risks losing its high technology advantage if too much manufacturing capacity leaves for overseas locations, according to President Bush's top scientific advisory panel. "The nation's high-technology dominance is not forever...

Manufacturing to be a priority for AFL/CIO in political year.
March 8, 2004... The AFL-CIO's Industrial Union Council (IUC) will push an aggressive manufacturing agenda in Washington this year. High on its list is exposing China's unfair labor and trade practices. "The violation of worker and human rights in China is...

Manufacturing job losses in Calif. take heavy toll on state GDP.
March 8, 2004... California is losing manufacturing jobs at an accelerated rate and the loss is having a negative impact on the state's finances, according to a report from the Keystone Group of Los Angeles. "The effect of the bleeding is far worse than anyone...

Bush redirects SBIR program to focus on manufacturing.
March 8, 2004... President Bush has told all federal agencies that participate in the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program to start providing R & D grants to manufacturers. In an executive order issued on Feb. 24, Bush tells the Small Business...

Bush's desire to kill program for small manufacturers has political ramifications.
March 8, 2004... Commerce Department Secretary Don Evans has spent a lot of time recently trying to rationalize the Bush administration's decision to effectively abolish the popular Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP) program. The Bush team requested...

House & Senate democrats plan manufacturing summit, R & D agency.
March 8, 2004... Democratic members of the House and Senate are planning a manufacturing "summit" for April 27 on Capitol Hill. The event, being organized by Senate Minority Leader Tom Daschle (D-S.D.) and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), will be...

Government jobs pay the best.
March 8, 2004... Local and state government workers are getting paid substantially more than most workers in the private sector, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Total compensation for all private sector employees in December 2003 was $22.92 per...

When planning a career, rule out manufacturing.
March 8, 2004... The U.S. economy will create 21.3 million new jobs between 2002 and 2012, predicts the U.S. government's Bureau of Labor Statistics. But a vast majority of the 30 career professions that are projected to have the most number of new jobs require...

Manufacturers must prepare for surge of private label products.
March 8, 2004... Sales of private label products sold by retailers under their own name now account for about $1 of every $7 in U.S. retail sales, according to the Boston Consulting Group. "Private label is a potentially crushing blow to manufacturers," says...

AIA seeks increase in Aerospace R & D.
March 8, 2004... The Aerospace Industry Association has called on the federal government to increase funding for aerospace research and development. In its new five-year R & D plan, AIA says the federal government needs to increase funding for the Federal...

Sen. Bingaman questions commitment to R & D.
March 8, 2004... The federal government is neglecting its role in fostering the development of the next generation of technologies that will generate future jobs and prosperity, claims Sen. Jeff Bingaman (D-N.M.). The Bush administration's 2005 budget request...

Engineer Association embraces political activism.
March 8, 2004... The American Engineering Association is getting more concerned about the loss of engineering jobs in the United States. "We're absolutely hemorrhaging engineering and technical people--the highest trained people in our society," says AEA...

OMB seeks industry input to overhaul burdensome regs.
March 8, 2004... The Office of Management and Budget has asked manufacturers to "nominate" federal regulations that are proving to be a heavy burden on their operations. "OMB's review of the economic literature on regulations found that the cumulative costs on...

Rumor mill: NAM presidency.
March 8, 2004... Grant Aldonas, head of the International Trade Administration at the Commerce Department and author of the Bush administration's new report "Manufacturing in America," is rumored to be a top pick for the post being vacated this year by Jerry...

Aerospace suppliers slow to adopt lean.
March 8, 2004... Most aerospace industry suppliers have not adopted lean production and management techniques despite their proven ability to improve a company's financial and operational performance, according to a new study from the Government Electronics and...

Job losses may soon be ending.
March 8, 2004... The long decline of manufacturing employment may soon be ending, according to the annual survey of manufacturers conducted by the National Association of Manufacturers. Of the 430 companies that responded to the survey sent to 3,000 members, 31...

Outsourcing patent searches worries Congress.
March 8, 2004... A House Judiciary Committee proposal that allows for the outsourcing of patent searches is drawing a stiff rebuke from two powerful members of Congress. If passed in its current form, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Fee Modernization Act (H.R....

A spirited debate over outsourcing and trade: Senate Republicans dilute proposal aimed at keeping government service jobs in U.S.
March 19, 2004... Sen. Christopher Dodd (D-Conn.) has been losing his voice lately speaking emphatically about the loss of U.S. manufacturing and service sector jobs to foreign countries. Dodd was pressing the issue with sound and fury on the floor of the Senate...

Washington cash: don't get trampled in the race for the trough.
March 19, 2004... The federal budget is setting records for deficits, but when it comes to pork barrel projects, there has never been a better time to feed at the trough. The appropriations bills passed for fiscal year 2004 are laden with congressionally...

Bio Scientists accuse bush of distorting science.
March 19, 2004... A growing number of environmental scientists are becoming more vocal in their criticism of the Bush administration's "misuse" and "distortion" of scientific research into climate change, pollution, forest management and oil exploration. "When...

U.S. tourism industry makes a strong comeback after 2001.
March 19, 2004... The U.S. tourism industry is coming back to life. Total direct and indirect tourism sales increased by 3.5 percent last year to an estimated $722 billion, up from $698 billion in 2002 and $699 billion in 2001. It was the first year of positive...

No applications for smart cards in retail sector, says analyst.
March 19, 2004... Retailers should not invest any money in developing smart card technology or applications, says an analyst with AMR Research in Boston. Smart cards using embedded computer chips are "irrelevant" and should be "ignored" because customers don't...

It's time for the government to get serious about trade enforcement, says Rep. Wolf.
March 19, 2004... A powerful member of the House of Representatives has introduced legislation to transfer the federal government's trade oversight functions from the United States Trade Representative (USTR) to the Department of Commerce. Rep. Frank Wolf...

ISO creates tamper-proof standard for freight containers.
March 19, 2004... The International Standards Organization (ISO) has developed new guidelines to protect freight containers from tampering. ISO's standard for mechanical seals will allow customs officials, manufacturers and users of freight containers to ensure...

Wisconsin legislature provides funding for manufacturing center.
March 19, 2004... The manufacturing community in Wisconsin is making waves in the state legislature. The Wisconsin Assembly on March 10 passed a bill by a vote of 97-1 to provide $1.5 million over two years to the Wisconsin Manufacturing Extension Partnership...

The manufacturing czar who Wasn't: Tony Raimondo.
March 19, 2004... The new "manufacturing czar" came to Washington to be anointed to a post at the Commerce Department created with great fanfare by President Bush on Labor Day, 2003. The press conference was scheduled. Everyone was ready to celebrate. But...

U.S. needs to get back into supercomputer competition.
March 19, 2004... The U.S. supercomputer industry needs to be "revived," says Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.), co-chairman of the Senate Science and Technology Caucus. Alexander has introduced legislation to authorize the Department of Energy to spend at least...

Budget Committee: thumbs down on MEP.
March 19, 2004... The House Budget Committee defeated an amendment offered by Rep. Denise Majette (D-Ga.) on March 17 to restore funding for the Manufacturing Extension Partnership program. The amendment, rejected on a party-line vote by the committee, would...

A talk with Senator Dodd.
March 19, 2004... Democratic Senator Christopher Dodd of Connecticut has become enmeshed in the issue of manufacturing and white collar offshore outsourcing, due in no small part to an intense amount of pressure he is receiving from small- and medium-sized...

House Science Committee expresses concern about funding for science.
March 19, 2004... The House Science Committee isn't particularly enamored with President Bush's 2005 budget request for research and development. In a 14-page document entitled "Views and Estimates," the committee urges the full Congress to invest additional...