Economy

CTE Editorial Director Alan Rooks addresses reshoring in the final Lead Angle column of his 9-year career at Cutting Tool Engineering magazine.

Horst Engineering shifts production from Mexico to Connecticut.

INOVA Geophysical rethinks machining process, saves close to $1 million by reshoring production from China.

When you consider the future of U.S. manufacturing, it's important to distinguish long term from short term.

I don't like bringing this up, but two key metalworking markets -- defense and energy -- are in a bit of trouble.

It goes without saying that the heart of manufacturing is innovation. From the cotton gin to the steam engine to the assembly line to the CNC, the manufacturing process is always being reinvented, refined and reimagined. Today, a lot of the talk is about additive manufacturing, and justifiably so. Since its dawn in the 1980s, AM has moved from a “that's neat” tool for hobbyists to a valued tool for prototypers to making fixtures and long part runs.

Pundits have long said that U.S. machine shops and parts manufacturers need skilled candidates to fill thousands, if not hundreds of thousands, of available jobs. The problem, it's alleged, is getting people interested in manufacturing in the first place.

Growing U.S. auto market needs supply flexibility and more lightweight parts.