Manufacturing labor productivity rose 5.5% at the annual rate in Q2, coming back strongly after three straight months of decline, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. The data: Sector output increased 4.3%, building on the 3.9% gain in Q1. The number of hours worked declined 1.1%, but hourly compensation increased 4.9%.  In durable [...]

China’s increasing strengths and weaknesses should sound alarms for companies producing and sourcing there. Military strength is up; economic growth is near zero and uncertain; and foreign companies are less welcome. The possibility of voluntary decoupling by China or a military incident over Taiwan are increasing. Additional considerations include the ongoing labor shortage; rising wages; [...]

Manufacturing employment increased by 30,000 in July. The labor market remains a bright spot in an economy that has seen softening in other areas. Through the first seven months of 2022, the sector has hired 271,000 employees, building on the 365,000 workers added in calendar year 2021, the most since 1994. Currently, the manufacturing sector [...]

The looming threat of strike “strikes” again, but this time with over 100,000 US railroaders which some are saying is inevitable since workers have been without a contract for nearly 3 years. We are already experiencing many challenges with inland terminals such as equipment deficits, stacked containers, schedule reliability, and out of control accruing cost; [...]

Manufacturing job openings contracted in June for the second straight month, according to the Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey. NAM Chief Economist Chad Moutray broke it down for us. The manufacturing outlook: “There were 790,000 manufacturing job openings in June, pulling back for the second straight month from April’s record 1,017,000 postings in the [...]

The proposed “book tax” or “corporate minimum tax” in the Senate’s reconciliation bill “would overwhelmingly hit U.S. manufacturers,” according to a new analysis by the Joint Committee on Taxation, Congress’ nonpartisan tax scorekeeper. What’s going on: The reconciliation bill, the outline of which was released Wednesday by Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and Sen. [...]

As supply chain disruptions ease and consumer demand cools, freight and charter rates are trending downwards, despite remaining elevated by historical standards. This has prompted liners to enact blank sailings to cut back on effective capacity and keep rates up. Inland disruptions have proven to be the largest bottlenecks in slowing down the processing of [...]

Meanwhile, manufacturing production contracted slightly for the first time since June 2020, pulling the S&P Global Flash U.S. Manufacturing PMI somewhat lower and down to the weakest growth rate in two years. New orders and exports also declined at faster rates in July, and hiring softened. Manufacturers continue to grapple with geopolitical challenges, supply chain [...]

Amid reports that Senate leaders could soon try to revitalize taxes on manufacturers, the NAM launched a new ad campaign highlighting the negative impacts of tax increases on manufacturers and small businesses amid rising prices for producers and consumers. View the ad here.

Amid reports that Congress could soon come to terms on China competition legislation, manufacturers are keeping up the pressure on lawmakers to finish this top priority. As Congress works to hash out details between their competing bills, now is the time to activate your members. Share these resources to your members to have them send [...]