Industry Trends & Analysis

Jeannine Kunz, director of professional development at ToolingU for the Society of Manufacturing Engineers, offers a walk-through of the society's Workforce 2021 Readiness Assessment tool. Unveiled at imX, the tool is intended to help manufacturers assess what steps they may need to take to help fill the gab in highly skilled workers.

Kennametal Inc. CEO Carlos Cordoso shares the company's plans to help resolve the looming shortfall in the manufacturing workforce. Plus, Cordoso discusses the industry's economic state and Kennametal's focus on helping customers find total solutions as opposed to another tool sale.

In his August 2011 Lead Angle editorial, Cutting Tool Engineering Editorial Director Alan Rooks addresses whether the plan for the latest U.S. manufacturing initiative unveiled by President Obama will provide a boost to the industry.

Cutting Tool Engineering Editorial Director Alan Rooks examines Germany's manufacturing model in his July Lead Angle commentary.

Glynn Fletcher, President of Agie Charmilles LLC, discusses the need for the company's Technology Days event held in late June at its Lincolnshire, Ill., location.

CTE Editorial Director Alan Rooks ponders the good news about U.S. manufacturing of late.

With a substantial portion of the U.S. manufacturing base in earthquake-prone California, we would be wise to study how Japan orchestrates this recovery, suggests CTE Editorial Director Alan Rooks in his April 2011 Lead Angle editorial.

Lead Angle is the editorial opinion for Cutting Tool Engineering. The editorial this month examines the myth that the U.S. doesn't manufacture anything anymore.

After a wrenching 2009, when parts manufacturers saw precipitous sales declines and orders and sales of machine tools and cutting tools also dropped sharply, the U.S. metalworking industry experienced a relatively strong recovery in 2010. Demand for manufactured products in developing markets, a rebound in the domestic auto market and inventory rebuilding by companies that had been holding off on orders helped fuel the recovery.

Read CTE's 2010 Salary Survey to learn which metalworking positions are up and which ones are down in earnings since the 2008 survey, and how benefit packages have changed.

Machining components for solar power generation systems can be a renewable source of business. Included online is a video report from the National Renewable Energy Laboratory.

Youth skills training for machinists takes place in schools with metalworking programs and in connection with competitions, such as WorldSkills.