Economy

The national conversation about the "skills gap" and its role in manufacturing continues to simmer, writes Alan Rooks of Cutting Tool Engineering magazine, in his Lead Angle column for the July 2013 issue.

The Lead Angle editorial in the May 2013 issue of Cutting Tool Engineering ponders some major developments that are remaking the energy market and, with it, manufacturing.

When I read about The Brookings Institution's proposal to develop 20 U.S. manufacturing universities, my first thought was “what will the mascots be for the football teams?” Purdue already has the time-honored “Boilermakers” moniker but what about the others? Would they be the Michigan Machinists, the Caltech CAD/CAMs, the Lehigh Lasers or, maybe, the Fightin' Facemills?

In early December, two companies announced plans to make substantial investments in U.S. manufacturing. One was Apple Inc. and the other was Detroit Diesel Co. Guess which one got more coverage in the media. I'll help you. Even though Detroit Diesel's investment was more than Apple's and despite President Obama showing up at Detroit Diesel's announcement ceremony, my casual Web review showed Apple beat Detroit Diesel in news references by about 7 to 1.

AMT's latest Global Forecasting & Manufacturing Conference found reasons for both caution and optimism.