Two regional surveys on manufacturing released this morning provided mixed results regarding activity in their districts.

First, the Richmond Federal Reserve Bank found that manufacturing activity picked up slightly after stabilizing last month. The index of general business conditions rose from no change in November to +3 in December. The Richmond district observed contracting activity from July to October.

There were improvements across the board in a number of areas, including shipments, new orders, finished goods inventories, the average workweek and wages. But the number of employees contracted slightly.

Looking ahead six months, manufacturers remained very positive, but their expectations eased somewhat from last month. For instance, the index for new orders fell from 37 to 21 for the month, with similar shifts seen in data for shipments, employment and capital spending.

Pricing pressures have also eased. Last month, respondents said that prices paid for raw materials rose 3.42 percent on an annual basis. This month, that increase was just 0.81 percent. Moving into 2012, prices paid for raw materials are expected to go up 2.7 percent.

Meanwhile, the Texas Manufacturing Outlook Survey from the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas found that manufacturers were contracting less than in November. Measures for production, new orders and shipments were less negative in December than the previous month, signifying some improvement in the market.

In addition, businesses had a better outlook for themselves than for the economy as a whole. The general business activity index dropped from 3.2 to -3.0 for the month, suggesting a slight increase in pessimism. Yet, the company outlook index rose from 4.7 to 6.6, reflecting improved company performance. Perhaps because of this, measures for employment were higher.

The future outlook is also rosier, with manufacturers optimistic on all of their production, employment and capital spending indicators. Most of them suggested strongly positive growth in the months ahead — a good sign.

Overall, these surveys observe some modest improvements among manufacturers in their respective districts, with the Texas indicators still showing some contractions. As we move into 2012, though, the outlook is brighter.

Jay Timmons, president and CEO of the National Association of Manufacturers (NAM), speaks at the 2011 Reuters Manufacturing and Transportation Summit. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid

NAM President and CEO Jay Timmons met with Reuters reporters to talk about the future of the U.S. manufacturing economy today.  Timmons was in New York for the Reuters Manufacturing and Transportation Summit.

“The next year is really setting the table,” [Timmons] said. “It is an election year. So there may be a few areas of progress that we can make on the regulatory side, but I think it is really going to be important for the presidential candidates and all the candidates running for federal office to be outlining their comprehensive plan for economic growth.”

For more, read this report on the Reuters event.

Click here to watch the Reuters video of NAM President and CEO Jay Timmons and NAM members from Caterpillar, Boeing, Harley Davidson and Siemens discuss the impact of Washington’s political gridlock on manufacturers.

Last week, global packaged meats company Smithfield Foods launched a brand new website about their corporate social responsibility programs, called Smithfieldcommitments.com. 

The goal of the site is to provide the company’s key stakeholders with information on the company’s products from start to finish and to begin a running dialogue on the food manufacturing process. Smithfieldcommitments.com will also make available the most recent information on Smithfield Food’s corporate social responsibility initiatives and the goals they have achieved.

If a customer has a question about the way one of Smithfield’s products is made all they have to do is log on to the site and join the running Q&A to get answers from Smithfield Foods senior officials. Some questions are even answered by video.

This is a great new use of social media and the web by a food manufacturer to provide customers with the best and most relevant information possible about the food products they are consuming.

We’re seeing a lot of “firsts” for manufacturers.

Just last week, the NAM hosted its first-ever economist forum.  Next Tuesday, the NAM will sponsor the first-ever Presidential Forum on Manufacturing.

And now comes word that the Precision Metalforming Association (PMA) is delivering a first of its own: the “Women in Manufacturing” symposium.  The event kicks off tomorrow in Cleveland and runs through Wednesday.  Review the slate of speakers here.

As the PMA puts it,

This unique networking and educational event, designed exclusively for women who have chosen a career in the manufacturing industry, will provide an opportunity for participants to share perspectives, network with colleagues and hear from leading female executives in the manufacturing sector.

And what are manufacturers saying about this inaugural event?

“The first-ever PMA Women in Manufacturing Symposium brings together women in manufacturing to focus on best practices and interaction that will provide another platform for engaging the industry.”

That’s from Kellie Johnson, the president of ACE Clearwater Enterprises and also the chair of the NAM’s Small and Medium Manufacturers Group.

The symposium looks like a great way to connect with manufacturers from around the country. For more on tomorrow’s event, click here.

President Obama travels to the second happiest place in the U.S. today—Holland, Michigan.  The President is in Holland to talk about jobs and visit Johnson Controls’ advanced battery manufacturing facility.  He’s scheduled to arrive around noon central time.  (It looks like video of the arrival will be streamed here.)

The facility manufactures lithium-ion batteries for hybrid and electric vehicles.  When it is fully up and running, it will provide 320 jobs for the community.

Did you know that lithium is the lightest metal in nature?  It is.  That’s why it’s great for batteries.  According to Johnson Controls, “Its light weight and high energy and power densities make it ideal for vehicle applications where weight affects efficiency and volume affects ease and cost of packaging.”  Enhance your knowledge about lithium-ion batteries to impress your friends here.

Today, Aric Newhouse, senior vice president for policy and government relations at the NAM, joined several industry leaders to discuss with the media the negative impacts of the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) proposed ozone standards on jobs and economic growth.

Newhouse participated along with Governor John Engler, president of the Business Roundtable (BRT); Jack Gerard, president and CEO of the American Petroleum Institute (API); Cal Dooley, president and CEO of the American Chemistry Council (ACC); and Bruce Josten, executive vice president for government affairs at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.

Aric Newhouse and industry representatives discuss the EPA Ozone Standards

Newhouse explained that manufacturers in the U.S. start each day at an 18 percent disadvantage (excluding labor costs) compared to their competitors outside the U.S. Increasing the cost of manufacturing in the U.S. to comply with burdensome and costly regulations is unacceptable and will only continue to diminish our global competitiveness. Manufacturers are looking for a common-sense, balanced approach to regulatory policy. Unfortunately, these proposed ozone standards do not present such an approach.

He urged the EPA to hold off on current action until the next statutory review is required in 18 months, allowing for an appropriate review with new data and scientific studies on ozone regulations. By moving forward now, the Administration is using stale data gathered prior to 2008 to formulate these proposed ozone standards, ignoring the real-life effects their actions will have on a wide range of industry sectors.

The cost of nonattainment will make it difficult for manufacturers to grow and lead the economic recovery because these new ozone standards are excessive and unrealistic. These standards will affect a broad spectrum of industries and will freeze the economy, preventing future investment, expanded operations and job creation. The President must put the brakes on the EPA and use his authority to stop the Agency from continuing to impose new, irrational ozone regulations.

Additionally, last Friday, NAM President and CEO Jay Timmons, along with several other trade association representatives, met with EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson to discuss these proposed new ozone standards. Timmons conveyed the business community’s concern with the new proposal and told the Administrator that these standards would stifle economic growth and job creation.

The clock is ticking. Lawmakers have less than a month before the August 2 deadline to raise the debt ceiling, and we’re just days away from the President’s July 22 target date for a deal.

What happens in the coming days will have significant impact on the country’s economic future. With the stakes so high, almost 500 business organizations today sent a letter to the White House and the Capitol urging policymakers to reach a fiscally responsible agreement.

From the letter:

[I]t is critical that the US government not default in any way on its fiscal obligations. A great nation – like a great company – has to be relied upon to pay its debts when they become due. This is a Main Street not Wall Street issue. Treasury securities influence the cost of financing not just for companies but more importantly for mortgages, auto loans, credit cards and student debt. A default would risk both disarray in those markets and a host of unintended consequences. The debt ceiling trigger does offer a needed catalyst for serious negotiations on budget discipline but avoiding even a technical default is essential. This is a risk our country must not take.

The letter also calls on lawmakers to take steps to stabilize our $14 trillion-dollar debt and rein in deficit spending.  Lawmakers will have to make difficult choices, but they should not sacrifice economic growth by raising taxes on job creators.  NAM President and CEO Jay Timmons made that point recently, saying,

Manufacturers are urging our elected officials to work together to bring down our federal deficit by taking a hard look at government programs and making difficult     decisions to cut spending, especially in the entitlement area, without increasing the tax   burden on manufacturing or any individual manufacturing sector.

Americans are concerned about the nation’s unsustainable debt and anemic job growth.  Congress and the President can address both issues in the debt ceiling negotiations by making difficult decisions to cut spending and reform government programs and rejecting tax increases that would stifle job creation.

This morning President Obama announced the formation of the Advanced Manufacturing Partnership which is an effort to bring together universities, industry and the federal government to help invest in new technologies to advance manufacturing jobs. The goal of the program is to boost our nation’s competitiveness in the global marketplace.

Dow Chemical Chairman and CEO Andrew Liveris will Co-Chair the partnership along with Susan Hockfield, president of MIT. Mr. Liveris has been a strong advocate for manufacturing in the United States and brings to the table valuable experience from a successful career in manufacturing.

From the White House press release:

“Today, I’m calling for all of us to come together- private sector industry, universities, and the government- to spark a renaissance in American manufacturing and help our manufacturers develop the cutting-edge tools they need to compete with anyone in the world,” said President Obama. “With these key investments, we can ensure that the United States remains a nation that ‘invents it here and manufactures it here’ and creates high-quality, good paying jobs for American workers.”

It is no secret other countries are racing ahead with trade agreements while the U.S. stands idly by. There are 120 free trade agreements being negotiated around the world, and the U.S. is a party to just one.

As for pending trade pacts, the U.S. free trade agreements with Panama, Colombia and South Korea have languished for four years.  (But see this post from Monday for a dose of optimism.)

Those countries aren’t waiting for the U.S.  The Wall Street Journal reports today that Colombia is seeking to increase its trade ties with China.

Colombian lawmakers passed legislation they hope will open the floodgates of trade with China, where the government plans two high-level trade missions over the next three months, as a long-delayed U.S. trade deal with the South American nation stalls in Congress.

Colombia Trade Minister Sergio Díaz-Granados said Tuesday’s passage of the “Chinese Trade Promotion and Protection” bill—which affords China certain legal guarantees on its investments in Colombia—could also propel talks with China to build a railway that would link Colombia’s Caribbean and Pacific coasts, and would serve as an alternative to the Panama Canal.

Trade officials in Bogotá expressed frustration with the slow pace of progress in Washington, which they say contrasts with Chinese eagerness to invest in Colombia, Washington’s closest ally in South America.

In an interview, Mr. Díaz-Granados said he remained hopeful a free-trade pact with the U.S. would be passed before year’s end, but that Colombia can no longer “sit with its arms crossed, waiting.”

“We’ve been talking about a U.S.-Colombia free trade deal for 20 years, and it’s certainly the trade deal we want more than any other,” Mr. Díaz-Granados said. “But in the meantime, we have to continue working in other directions. Our business leaders need to pursue other markets and diversify.”

The U.S. has been waiting for too long.  Every day that lawmakers sit on the trade agreements is a day the country is missing out on opportunities for growth and jobs.

Yesterday, NAM President and CEO Jay Timmons participated in a roundtable discussion with Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell, Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour and Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslem. The roundtable was part of the annual conference of the Southern Growth Policies Board in Roanoke, Virginia. 

The conversation focused on the state of manufacturing in the South. The governors discussed their concern with federal regulations adding additional burdens to small businesses in their states which limit their ability to create jobs and grow. 

From The Roanoke Times:

McDonnell said reducing the federal corporate income tax rate would give some relief to businesses. Haslam said businesses are looking for predictability and are concerned about things such as health insurance costs and the impacts of the federal health care reform law.