The current labor shortage is hardly a unique talking point in manufacturing circles. In fact, it’s something of a tired one; not because it doesn’t matter, but because years have gone by without meaningful progress, despite the issue being addressed by industry leaders, politicians, and countless media outlets. Unfortunately, manufacturers might face even leaner times…
After weathering tumultuous tides of volatility over the past few years, 2020 is shaping up to be a better year for supply chain managers, thanks to increased market predictability, especially for sourcing materials. Still, The best defense—and greatest offense—for managing dynamic markets, product complexity and unpredictable supply conditions is an Intelligent Digital Supply Chain that…
If you’re concerned about tariffs and the ongoing trade war with China, you’re not alone. Almost every U.S. OEM is feeling the same pressure, wondering if China is a viable manufacturing location for the future, while stressing over how to quickly select and qualify new suppliers in the U.S. and still get competitive pricing. That’s…
Editor’s note: As China’s labor costs increase and tariffs disrupt the supply chain, other nations are lobbying for manufacturers’ attention. Recently, a Vietnam-based manufacturer announced it could help U.S. electronics companies avoid tariffs on Chinese imports. EPSNews reached out to a number of sources for input on this topic, and heard from Maxine Gordon, Regional…
Foreign direct investment (FDI) is often viewed through the same lens as on-shoring or re-shoring. From a nation’s perspective, these activities retain or add jobs. FDI is becoming more important – and more global – to businesses, according to The 2019 A.T. Kearney Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) Confidence Index. Almost four-fifths of respondents expect to increase…
The pace of reshoring among U.S.-based manufacturers dropped significantly in 2017, according to management consultancy A.T. Kearney, which has been tracking the trend since 2013. 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 —…
Even as a pro-business tax reform bill awaits its fate, U.S. manufacturers are investing toward growth. Capital expenditures by U.S. factories outpaced expectations in 2017 and will increase further next year. U.S. manufacturers experienced 11 straight months of growth from January through November, driving the nation’s 2017 purchasing index to 57.4 percent from 51.5 last year.…
Although the pace of U.S. reshoring decelerated in 2015, one manufacturing expert says the trend is far from standing still. A recent report released by consultancy A.T. Kearney concluded that the U.S. reshoring train “has yet to leave the station.” The Reshoring Initiative (www.ReshoreNow) disagrees. “Repeated surveys by Boston Consulting Group, Plastics News/Nexant, Alix Partners…
The electronics industry has literally spent decades improving its supply chain. It only takes one glitch, however, to disrupt the entire process. The manufacturing industry was reminded of this fact in December as a work slowdown in U.S. ports impacted several key manufacturing indices. “The West Coast ports slow-down is really affecting deliveries of our Asian purchases,” said…
Although the pace of growth in the U.S. manufacturing sector cooled down a bit in September, the industry topped off its third consecutive quarter of expansion that month. One of the nation’s leading indexes, the Institute for Supply Management’s PMI, decreased in September by 2.4 percentage points to 56.6 percent. Nevertheless, said Bradley J. Holcomb,…