Industry Trends & Analysis

As reported in The Wall Street Journal, nearly 200 parents of high school students in Fort Collins, Colo., recently gathered for "Parents' Night." Their children, they were told, could have great, well-paying careers while being "the next generation of makers." The venue? Woodward Inc., an engine and equipment components plant looking for ways to line up the next generation of employees amid a dearth of manufacturing workers nationwide. "We're really trying to get after the parents—the parents are influential with their kids," said Keith Korasick, Woodward's vice president of operations, who started as a machinist there 26 years ago. "Our message to the parents was, 'There's another option.' You can't have everybody be a lawyer."

As 2017 winds down, economists and experts agree that manufacturing has had a good year and growth should continue throughout 2018 in the U.S. and globally.

The unemployment rate in the manufacturing industry for private wage and salary workers is at its lowest point in 17 years, reports the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis. November had a rate of 2.6 percent unemployment, down from a high of 13 percent in January 2010 and the lowest since 3.1 percent in June 2000.

Economic activity in the manufacturing sector expanded in November, and the overall economy grew for the 102nd consecutive month, say the nation's supply executives in the latest Manufacturing ISM Report On Business. The November PMI registered 58.2 percent, a decrease of 0.5 percentage point from the October reading of 58.7 percent. This indicates growth in manufacturing for the 15th consecutive month led by expansion in new orders and production, offset by supplier delivery improvement and declines in raw material Inventory.

Regal Cutting Tools, Roscoe, Ill., has been part of Hononegah Community High School's Workplace Readiness Program for years, including job shadowing and training workshops. The company also is very involved in Beloit Memorial High School's technical programs, providing mentorship, summer apprenticeships and internships. The success of the programs with Regal Cutting Tools and other companies has created a problem. "I never have enough students to make my level three machining class run," said a machining and welding instructor at Beloit Memorial. "The reason why is because they're pilfered off the machining two class to work for these different companies. It's an excellent sign of demand."

The McKinsey Global Institute released new research this week that outlines opportunities to boost manufacturing by up to $530 billion, or 20 percent, over current trends by 2025—and create more than 2 million jobs. The report also provides fresh details on why the US manufacturing sector has suffered steep declines.

Economic activity in the manufacturing sector expanded in October, and the overall economy grew for the 101st consecutive month, say the nation's supply executives in the latest Manufacturing ISM Report On Business. The October PMI registered 58.7 percent, a decrease of 2.1 percentage points from the September reading of 60.8 percent. This indicates growth in manufacturing for the 14th consecutive month and continues expansion consistent with pre-hurricane levels.

Similar to the parts manufacturers and equipment suppliers we reach, Cutting Tool Engineering strives for continuous improvement. This endeavor includes the feature article, columns and departments, as well as our website, with our most recent efforts focused on the news section.

In a clear echo of the 'Rosie the Riveter' campaign of WWII, manufacturing organizations in 2017 are striving to let women know that their talents are needed, the work is important and rewarding, and unlike in their grandparents' time, the jobs are permanent.

Good news about the manufacturing economy was shared with members of the United States Cutting Tool Institute who attended the trade association's fall meeting, held Oct. 7-9 in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho.

Keith Jennings, who writes the Manager's Desk column for Cutting Tool Engineering, shares his thanks for being able to work after surviving the epicenter of Hurricane Harvey in August.

The mood of MFG Day, the annual celebration of U.S. manufacturing that took place Oct. 6, doesn't cease after the plant tours and information sessions end and the participating students, parents and educators head home.