Manufacturing & Technology News articles from November 2005

Manufacturing & Technology News archives from November 2005

U.S.--China Commission advises Congress to fill Bush's policy 'vacuum'.(U.S. Has No Plan On How To Deal With China)
November 14, 2005... The Bush administration does not have a coherent strategy for dealing with China. As a result, Congress must step into this policy "vacuum," according to the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission (USCC) in its latest annual report....

Currency coalition claims Treasury Department's use of 'erroneous' data is killing manufacturing.
November 14, 2005... The U.S. Department of Treasury, the Federal Reserve and the International Monetary Fund have been using "erroneous data" from the Chinese government in making the determination that China is not manipulating its currency, argues the China...

House democrats to unveil innovation agenda.
November 14, 2005... House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi of California will unveil a new "Innovation Agenda" on behalf of her colleagues on Tuesday, Nov. 15, at a 10 a.m. "Morning Newsmaker" presentation at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C. The...

Michigan Governor asks Bush to address automobile industry manufacturing crisis.
November 14, 2005... Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm has called on President Bush to convene a meeting of his economic team, manufacturing industry officials, labor leaders and members of Congress to discuss the need for a rapid federal response to problems facing...

2006 budget picture comes into focus.
November 14, 2005... The budget picture for the federal government's major civilian R&D and manufacturing programs is mixed for 2006. Some programs will take substantial cuts, while others are slated for slight increases. But final budgets for all the programs...

Jacques Gansler wonders what has happened to the defense industrial base.
November 14, 2005... Trends reaching back to the end of the Cold War have created numerous potential and actual barriers to innovation in the U.S. defense industry, according to Jacques Gansler, who held the post of Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition,...

Renewable energy is a high growth industry.
November 14, 2005... Global investment in renewable energy set a new record of $30 billion in 2004, according to the Renewable Energy Policy Network. Wind, solar, biomass, geothermal, and small hydro now provide 160 gigawatts of electricity generating capacity,...

Commerce has new IPR program.
November 14, 2005... The Department of Commerce has unveiled a new program aimed at fighting the theft of intellectual property overseas. The agency is creating a new "Global Intellectual Property Academy" that will provide training programs for federal government...

High tech creates jobs.
November 14, 2005... The U.S. high-tech industry created 190,000 new jobs between January 2004 and June 2005, a 3.4 percent increase to a total of 5.72 million. "The data confirm our suspicion that the hightech industry has recovered from the bursting of the tech...

EU outlines R&D program.
November 14, 2005... The European Union has published plans for its "Seventh Framework" (FP7) research and development program. The Europeans want to double the amount they spend on research and want the European Commission to approve a budget of 44.43 billion euro...

Meet the new director of NIST.(Interview)
November 14, 2005... The new director at the National Institute of Standards and Technology has raised hope among 3,000 people now working for him, and a bit of trepidation among others. William Jeffrey joined the agency from a post at the White House Office...

Tax reform panel's proposal to encourage U.S. production ruffles feathers of retail industry.
November 14, 2005... The President's Advisory Panel on Federal Tax Reform's final report, released on Nov. 1, landed with a thud. But contained deep within its pages was a proposal to change the way imports and exports are taxed. The idea is to remove incentives...

Inside the Commerce Department's troubled Technology Administration.
November 14, 2005... A future for the Commerce Department's Technology Administration (TA), which has twisted for months in the breezes of uncertainty, may begin to emerge soon owing to a pair of developments last week: Congressional appropriators took a major step...

Reinsch: the U.S.-China Commission 'hasn't met a sanction it didn't like'.
November 14, 2005... The United States-China Economic and Security Review Commission (USCC) has 12 members. Eleven voted in favor of submitting their 57 recommendations to Congress; one opposed. That lone nay vote belonged to William Reinsch, president of the...

New defense mfg. center receives $Ms.
November 14, 2005... The recently created National Center for Defense Manufacturing and Machining in Pennsylvania has received a $24-million "indefinite delivery/indefinite quantity" contract from the Pentagon, directed to it through Rep. John Murtha (D-Penn.). The...

Coal demand & prices are out of balance.
November 14, 2005... The price of coal for the industrial and steel sectors rose steadily in 2004, yet demand declined, according to the Energy Information Administration. Coking coal prices increased by 21.5 percent last year, even though consumption dropped by...

Semiconductor chip sales gain strength.
November 14, 2005... The Semiconductor Industry Association has revised upward its forecast for worldwide sales of semiconductors this year, due to greater than expected demand of electronic products. Chip sales should grow by 6 percent in 2005 to a record $226...

Domestic manufacturers continue to press NAM on trade issues.
November 30, 2005... The group of domestic manufacturers within the National Association of Manufacturers that has become active in trade policy deliberations has raised some fundamental questions regarding the organization's governance and the way it sets policy....

Braintrust to gather for innovation Summit.
November 30, 2005... Organizers of the National Summit on Competitiveness have announced that a trio of secretaries from President Bush's cabinet will join House members, presidents of some prominent universities, and business leaders for the Dec. 6 meeting, to...

Democrats say they are committed to making 'innovation' a budget priority.
November 30, 2005... An "Innovation Agenda" released this month by House Democrats calls for doubling spending on basic research and development in the physical sciences across the federal government over the next five years. It would also double the budgets of the...

Board members' compensation increases.
November 30, 2005... It pays a little bit more to be on the board of directors of a manufacturing company. The median total compensation for outside directors of a manufacturing company increased from $72.750 in 2004 to $91,250 in 2005, reports The Conference Board...

Commerce secretary feels good about U.S. competitive posture.
November 30, 2005... Secretary of Commerce Carlos Gutierrez has outlined his thinking on U.S. economic competitiveness in a pair of Washington, D.C., addresses over the past two months. While he had plenty to say about MBA training and macroeconomic policy on those...

A pure businessman provides a pure scientist his views on R&D.
November 30, 2005... The final question for Secretary of Commerce Carlos Gutierrez at his Nov. 16 Woodrow Wilson Center appearance came from a Nobel Prize winner: Burton Richter, who shared the 1976 physics award for his work in discovering a new elementary...

Gutierrez: don't listen to the economic 'spin'.
November 30, 2005... Commerce Secretary Carlos Gutierrez, while presenting his views on competitiveness at the Woodrow Wilson Center on Nov. 16, emphatically protested what he characterized as "spin" in "popular coverage" of U.S. economic affairs, suggesting news...

Nucor holds Grass-Roots Mfg. revival meeting.
November 30, 2005... On Nov. 1, Nucor held a pep rally in Darlington, S.C., that was meant to highlight the importance of manufacturing in the United States and the lack of support it receives politically. Here is a report from that meeting from Robert Johns, vice...

Competitiveness denial.(Guest Editorial)
November 30, 2005... The United States faces a serious competitiveness challenge as other nations seek to compete not just in traditional manufacturing, but in advanced technology and services. As a result, more than 2.8 million manufacturing jobs have been lost...

Interview: Rep. Tim Ryan on why his currency bill isn't going anywhere.(Interview)
November 30, 2005... At 32, Rep. Tim Ryan (D-Ohio) is the second youngest member of Congress, but he has already made a name for himself. Ryan has teamed up with the powerful Republican Chairman of the House Armed Services Committee Duncan Hunter to co-sponsor a...

USTR report On Japan regulation.
November 30, 2005... Japan still has a long way to go to reform its overly regulated markets, according to the United States Trade Representative. But the country is making progress in virtually ever sector of its economy including telecommunications, information...

NAM's new chairman is a leader in outsourcing.
November 30, 2005... Don't look for the new leadership at the National Association of Manufacturers to be overly sympathetic to the plight of domestic manufacturers, according to some NAM observers. NAM's new chairman, James Berges, president of St. Louis-based...