Barbara Jorgensen has more than 28 years' experience as a journalist, working for leading electronics industry publications such as Electronic Business, Electronic Buyers' News and EDN. As a freelance writer, Barb wrote and managed an award-winning custom publication for Sager Electronics; was a leading contributor to Avnet Global Perspectives magazine; was a regular columnist for the National Electronics Distributors Association monthly newsletter and wrote for industry associations such as IPC. Barb was also a featured blogger on the b2b Website Allbusiness.com and helped launch Electronics Sourcing North America, a start-up magazine serving purchasing professionals in the Americas.
Prior to her freelance career, Barb was a senior editor at Electronic Business, the pre-eminent management magazine for the electronics industry, featuring world-class manufacturing companies such as Dell, Hewlett-Packard, Cisco and Flextronics International. Before joining EB for the second time, Barb spent 6 years with Electronic Buyers' News as managing editor, distribution, winning several awards for coverage of the distribution beat. A graduate of Binghamton University (formerly the State University of New York (SUNY) at Binghamton), Barb began her journalism career with the Gannett newspaper chain. She has worked for a number of local newspapers in the Greater Boston area and trade journal publishers Reed Business Information and UBM.
Even before U.S. tariffs muddied the global trade picture, the pace of reshoring to the Americas declined in 2017. After rising to a five-year high in 2016 — in the wake of a U.S. presidential election that paid a lot of attention to manufacturing, job losses and China — the A.T. Kearney Reshoring Index declined…
The pace of U.S. manufacturing expansion exceeded expectations in June, according to the Institute for Supply Management. The ISM’s production index, the PMI, increased 1.5% from the prior month to reach 60.2. However, U.S. manufacturers are not able to get enough electronic components, some raw materials, and now, transportation to meet demand. Image courtesy: Pixabay…
Public companies that manufacture and distribute electronic components are, understandably, reluctant to put too much emphasis on how dire the current shortage is and how extensively prices have increased. But their OEM customers are not. OEMs and electronic manufacturing services providers (EMS) are concerned their growth for 2018 could be hindered by their ability to…
Purchasing managers for the United States’ manufacturing industries are expecting growth through the remainder of 2018, but potential for some supply chain disruptions exist as well. In the Institute For Supply Management’s Semiannual Economic Forecast, 62% of manufacturing respondents expect their revenue in 2018 will be 11.6% higher than in 2017. Overall, the industry forecasts…
Even before the Trump Administration imposed tariffs on imported steel and aluminum, U.S. manufacturers were beginning to worry about a trade war. As the Institute for Supply Management polled its manufacturing members for its March report on business, fully one-third of respondents expressed concern over the possible impact of tariffs. “[There’s] much concern in the…
The on-demand economy has wrought changes in the way consumers and businesses both buy and sell. Digital marketplaces have reset users’ expectations for pricing and fulfillment. Yet some of the biggest industries in the world fail to take advantage of the promises made by digital business. One of those markets is freight, which moves trillions…
One of the strongest brands in electronics distribution, Newark, is re-claiming its name. Beginning March 1, Newark element14 has changed its name to Newark, an Avnet Company. Customers have known the business as Newark since it was established in the 1930s, and this name change acknowledges its strong relationship with its customers and its role…