This morning the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Commerce, Manufacturing, and Trade held a manufacturing showcase before the first subcommittee hearing of the new Congress on manufacturing titled, “Our Nation of Builders: Manufacturing in America.” The showcase featured a variety of manufactured products from Congressional districts of different members on the subcommittee ranging from medical devices to high-tech electronics and 3D printers.

Corning Senior Vice President of Specialty Materials James Steiner shows Subcommittee Chairman Lee Terry a few of Corning's products.

Manufacturer Corning featured optical fiber that is produced in Congressman Brett Guthrie’s district in Harrodsburg, Kentucky. Corning invented the world’s first low-loss optical fiber for communications more than 40 years ago and today produces a wide range of fibers for different use.

Other products included a 5 gallon safety can and F-15 funnel made by Eagle Manufacturing in Wellsburgh, West Virginia in Congressman McKinley’s district.

Chairman Lee Terry’s district featured a City of Omaha manhole cover made by Neenah Foundry in Omaha, Nebraska. Other products featured from his district included respirators, earmuffs and safety eyewear produced by 3M who have 300 employees in his district.

One of the most popular items at the showcase was the 3D printer from Direct Dimensions in Owings Mill, Maryland. New 3D printers can produces 3D images of scanned products or even people. It’ is truly amazing technology.

Today’s event was a fantastic way to show members of Congress the great products that are being manufactured right in their own backyards.

Today NAM President and CEO Jay Timmons was interviewed by WWJ AM radio about the State of the Union address and his speech today at the Detroit Economic Club. Please click below to listen to the interview.

NAM President and CEO on WWJ AM Radio

Yesterday, the NAM co-hosted an Economic Forum at the Boeing Company headquarters in Chicago. This forum was part an ongoing effort to hold discussions with senior-level executives and economists around the country to listen and discuss the current state of the economic and political landscape.

The Economic Forum in Chicago was hosted by Greg Smith, the Chief Financial Officer of Boeing, who highlighted the importance of manufacturing and exports for Boeing. Business at Boeing continues to grow and the company currently has a record order backlog.

Economists discuss manufacturing and the economy during a forum at the Boeing Company

Boeing is the largest commercial airplane manufacturer by plane output. Yet, aerospace is becoming increasingly more competitive globally and the largest challenges in the short-term stem from shrinking spending levels on defense and the prospects of devastating across-the-board federal spending cuts – including cuts to civil government agencies which will affect manufacturers from every sector.

The issue of the automatic spending cuts came up at multiple points during the discussion today. William Strauss, a senior economist with the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago, noted the slow pace of growth in the economy that we have experienced since the end of the Great Recession. He anticipates growth of around 2.5 percent this year. While this is better than in 2012, it is modest at best.  He said repeatedly we are missing a significant opportunity to grow faster based on the “slack” in the economy created from the 2008-09 downturn – opportunities that could be realized through more agile and manufacturing-friendly policy implementation.

The other experts on the economic panel made up of Peter Hamilton, Chief Financial Officer, Brunswick; Hui Jiang, Business Analytics and Strategy Director, Navistar; and Chad Moutray, NAM Chief Economist tended to concur with this assessment.  Moutray presented compelling data that showed rapid expansion in manufacturing in the first quarter of 2012, but a serious decline for the remainder of the year.  Much of the cooling of manufacturing growth, Moutray said, was attributable to the uncertainty about the direction of economic and tax policies in Washington. (continue reading…)

Following President Obama’s State of the Union address Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL) delivered the Republican address. Senator Rubio talked about the importance of the free enterprise economy to our nation’s prosperity and to the middle class. His remarks also addressed the concern that growing the size of government will increase taxes on many small businesses that will cost jobs and hurt economic growth.

Senator Rubio raised the concerns shared by many manufacturers of the need for reforms to our nation’s entitlement programs. The deal to avert the fiscal cliff in January failed to address these costly programs. If we are going to get our fiscal house in order these programs must be addressed.

Our nation’s growing energy sector represents a tremendous opportunity for manufacturers. According to Senator Rubio’s remarks, “One of the best ways to encourage growth is through our energy industry. Of course solar and wind energy should be a part of our energy portfolio. But God also blessed America with abundant coal, oil and natural gas.” Manufacturers use one-third of our nation’s energy supply and access to low cost sources of energy is critically important to our nation’s competitiveness. The continued development of shale gas can create one million manufacturing jobs by 2025.

Manufacturers throughout the country continue to struggle to find qualified and skilled workers. Senator Rubio addressed the need for a 21^st century workforce. We must also tackle comprehensive immigration reform. Manufacturers must have access to the best workers at all skill levels in order to compete.

Finally, Senator Rubio called on Republicans and Democrats to come together to for the health of the nation and our economy. Manufacturers agree that we need bipartisan solutions. In fact, earlier today we released A Growth Agenda: Four Goals of a Manufacturing Resurgence in America which outlines the right policies that will transform our economy and help manufacturers create jobs. Manufacturing makes America strong, and we are committed to reducing the 20 percent cost differential to manufacture in the U.S. We hope to see concrete action from the Administration and Congress, the futures of the 12 million men and women in manufacturing are depending on it.

Tonight Bradley Henning, a 23 year old journeyman machinist at NAM member Atlas Machine and Supply, Inc., was a guest of the First Lady at the State of the Union address. Mr. Henning has been training since high school for his job at Atlas and is a graduate of the company’s apprenticeship program. In July of last year he completed all of his necessary training and coursework to receive his journeyman’s card.

Bradley Henning of Atlas Machine and Supply, Inc.

Mr. Henning represents the thousands of students in apprentice programs and schools throughout the country gaining the necessary skills for long-term careers in today’s manufacturing. This isn’t your grandfather’s manufacturing, the jobs of today and tomorrow require advanced skills and job training.

Manufacturers throughout the country are struggling to find workers with the necessary skills for today’s jobs. Today, approximately 600,000 manufacturing jobs are unfilled due to the skills gap.

In order for manufacturers to compete in the growing global marketplace the workforce must have the necessary skills in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). We must continue to work to promote STEM education so students like Bradley can benefit from great careers in manufacturing and greatly enhance our nation’s competitiveness.

This morning Politico reported that former Clinton EPA Administrator and former Obama Director of the Office of Energy and Climate Change Policy Carol Browner said that the EPA should regulate fracking.

It’s a highly technical, complicated issue and I actually believe that EPA should be the one regulating it,” she said today at a BGov-NEI event in downtown Washington, noting that that step would require legislation from Congress. “I think that some states may be up to the task, [but] at the end of the day, if history is any guide, not all states will be up to the task.”

Manufacturers believe that states should be the primary regulators of hydraulic fracturing and the federal government should not be regulating fracking, unless it can prove that a compelling need exists for federal intervention. Fracking has already changed the manufacturing landscape and helped us become more competitive and it will continue to change the landscape in terms of our ability to be more energy self-sufficient. The access to affordable natural gas can create a million manufacturing jobs by 2025.

If the EPA were to get involved in regulating fracking it could drive up compliance costs, damage a strategic advantage and provide very little value added. The Bureau of Land Management is already trying to get involved in the regulation of fracking at the state level and they are essentially putting forth a solution without a problem that is completely unnecessary. EPA regulations would only duplicate existing state regulations and create confusion and additional red tape. The costs would significantly outweigh the benefits.

As we mentioned earlier today the first annual STEP Awards will be held tonight in Washington to honor 122 women in who have made significant contributions to manufacturing. One of tonight’s honorees is Kellie Johnson, president of ACE Clearwater Enterprises and a member of the NAM’s Executive Committee.

Under Kellie’s leadership, ACE Clearwater has grown to 210 employees with projected revenue of $35 million. The company has earned the coveted Boeing Supplier of the Year Award. Kellie is also a trustee of The Manufacturing Institute and served on the Department of Commerce Manufacturing Council in both the Bush and Obama Administrations. She is a third generation manufacturer who has made great contributions to the industry.

“Manufacturing fulfills me on so many levels.  I’ve had the opportunity to continue my family legacy as a third generation manufacturer servicing the aerospace industry where the US remains a global leader.  I am proud to offer amazing career paths to the women and men who are the American workforce.” Kellie Johnson

National Association of Manufacturers (NAM) Senior Vice President of Government Relations and Policy Aric Newhouse participated in a roundtable discussion today as part of the 2013 kick-off event for the House Manufacturing Caucus. The caucus is chaired by Reps. Tom Reed (R-NY) and Tim Ryan (D-OH) and today’s event also featured Emily Foster of Cummins Inc. and Ralph Resnick of the National Additive Manufacturing Innovation Institute (NAMII) to discuss the critical role of manufacturing to our economy in 2013 and beyond.

NAM's Aric Newhouse discusses the challenges facing manufacturers at today's kick-off event.

The NAM’s Aric Newhouse began the discussion talking about the 20 percent cost differential manufacturers face in the United States compared to our largest trading partners. As part of that cost differential the U.S. actually has an advantage when it comes to energy. According to Newhouse, we need to implement policies which will allow us to “run up the score on energy.” Access to affordable sources of energy will help manufacturers in the United States better compete against growing global competition and create more jobs.

The panel also discussed the growing need for skilled workers in manufacturing. Each of the panelists discussed the need for policies to help address the skills gap, and what manufacturers are doing to help train workers for the jobs of today and tomorrow. Emily Foster of Cummins talked about the various programs and partnerships at Cummins to help provide students with the necessary skills for successful careers in manufacturing. Ralph Resnick of (NAMII) talked about how manufacturing has changed over the decades. “Manufacturing is not dark, dirty and dangerous, but it can be exciting,” said Resnick. (continue reading…)

Tonight the Manufacturing Institute in partnership with the Society of Manufacturing Engineers, University of Phoenix and Deloitte will host the first annual Women in Manufacturing STEP (Science, Technology, Engineering and Production) Awards. The awards are part of the larger STEP Ahead initiative launched to examine and promote the role of women in the manufacturing industry through recognition, research and best practices for attacking, advancing and retaining strong female talent.

The recipients represent a diverse group of 122 women recognized for their outstanding contributions to the manufacturing industry. These honorees are the faces of exciting careers in manufacturing and have made a positive impact on their company and the industry. They have extremely inspiring stories that truly demonstrate leadership and will inspire the next generation of women leaders in manufacturing. Throughout the day we will post on Shopfloor a few of the stories of tonight’s 122 honorees.

Late last night the Federal Mediation & Conciliation Service announced that the ILA and USMX have reached a tentative agreement that would avoid a looming port strike beginning Feb 6. Manufacturers are hopeful that both sides will ratify the deal swiftly.

The threat of a strike has added significant costs to manufacturers operations as they were forced to make costly contingency plans to avoid supply chain disruptions. The result of a strike would likely cost our economy $1 billion a day. The tentative agreement is a positive step forward, and a signed agreement will give manufacturers certainty that their supply chains will not be disrupted on the East and Gulf Coasts.