Week 42 in Manufacturing News

America’s factories are in trouble. The trade war is only part of the problem; Labour claims new tariff plan ‘risks destroying’ UK’s manufacturing sector; Netflix’s “American Factory” and the New Geography of Manufacturing.

America’s factories are in trouble. The trade war is only part of the problem

New York (CNN Business) – The trade war is hurting America’s factories, but it’s not the only culprit. The strike at General Motors and Boeing’s 737 Max crisis are taking a toll as well.

This trifecta of challenges worries analysts and economists that the manufacturing sector could contract for the third-straight month in October. Lower output from American factories could drag down US GDP growth in the third and fourth quarters.

Source: CNN Business.

U.S. Manufacturing Continues to Slow, Companies Hope New Markets and Tech Can Help

“Like a lot of industries we’ve been on an 8- to 10-year growth period,” says Charles Straface, president of the $3 billion annual sales business unit that builds the “bones” of such products as trailers, trucks, cars, windows, and doors in more than 20 factories across North America. Last year, business was at a peak it hadn’t seen since 2006. This year things began to slow by 3% through July, which was still “pretty good.”

Source: Fortune.

Labour claims new tariff plan ‘risks destroying’ UK’s manufacturing sector

The UK government’s new tariff schedule “risks destroying” the steel, ceramics and car industry, according to a Labour frontbencher.

Shadow minister for small business Bill Esterson told Yahoo Finance UK on Wednesday the adjusted tariff regime ahead of a potential no-deal Brexit could wreck Britain’s manufacturing sector.

Source: Yahoo Finance UK.

Netflix’s “American Factory” and the New Geography of Manufacturing

The first over-riding similarity between American and African factories is that no matter the geography, factory life is just plain hard. Factory jobs require manual dexterity, an overriding sense of discipline, and an incredible endurance. In American Factory, a worker named Bobby describes how “doing the same thing over and over again, that wears on you, body, mind….Sometimes you think, ‘Why am I doing this?’ You think about whether you have the stamina and the will to do this type of job.”  

Source: Harward Business Review.

From olive growers to winemakers, small firms in Europe are bracing for $7.5 billion in US tariffs

European agriculture ministers have warned that some smaller food growers across the continent will face declining revenues and a potential fight for survival, just days before the introduction of U.S. tariffs that will target $7.5 billion worth of EU goods.

Source: CNBC.