Week 13 in Manufacturing News

US factories retool from hoodies to face masks to fight coronavirus; U.S. Manufacturing In Deep Recession For Foreseeable Future; Coronavirus: Manufacturing sector enters hibernation; IBM: the potential of smart manufacturing

US factories retool from hoodies to face masks to fight coronavirus

US factories that usually mass produce hoodies and T-shirts are being retooled to make face masks as chief executives in the clothing industry try to alleviate shortages of equipment to combat coronavirus.

A group of nine American apparel companies began producing the masks on Monday, saying they aimed to dispatch their first shipments to users by the middle of the week and produce 5m-10m masks a week by mid-April.

Source: Financial Times.

U.S. Manufacturing In Deep Recession For Foreseeable Future, Warns New Congressional Democratic Study

U.S. manufacturers are facing a severe downturn for the present and beyond, warns a new Congressional Democrat study.

“Manufacturers are currently facing an unprecedented drop in demand and supply chain disruptions and it seems likely that the sector will be in a deep recession for the foreseeable future,” predicts the report from the staff of Joint (House and Senate) Economic Committee Vice Chair Don Beyer (D-VA).

Link to study: Forbes.

Coronavirus: Manufacturing sector enters hibernation

Significant parts of Northern Ireland’s manufacturing sector are entering a type of hibernation. Bombardier is suspending production at its aerospace plants until 20 April. In Ballymena, Wrightbus is also closing until 20 April. Smaller firms are also starting temporary shutdowns in response to the coronavirus crisis.

McAuley Engineering in Ballymoney will have temporarily laid off most of its staff by the end of the week. All three of these firms intend to use the government’s job retention scheme. That means the government will pay 80% of the salary of each affected worker up to £2,500 a month.

Source: BBC.

IBM: the potential of smart manufacturing 

As the world rapidly evolves as industry 4.0 continues to innovate the business world, companies are experiencing an unprecedented amount of information and insights.

In today’s manufacturing, many challenges can be categorized as disruption, the core of this disruption is the sectors shift from an aligned value chain of few suppliers and geographical restrictions to one that is fragmented, dynamic, uncertain and global.

More information: Manufacturing Global.