Weβre safely into 2013, and with the election long-since settled and the Mayansβ predictions assigned to the trashcan of history, manufacturing news is hot. In fact, the Institute for Supply Management recently reported its index of manufacturing activity rose to 50.7 last month, up from 49.5 in November. Some highlights from the last couple of weeks:
Everyone is postulating about what is going to βchangeβ manufacturing. Maybe itβs shale gas , by luring chemical producers back to the U.S. in droves. Or maybe itβs 3D printing, . Or maybe itβs even , which has been blamed for new data that reveal manufacturing has been cut by a third here in the U.S. Certainly, the re-shoring trends we have seen will continue to make news, and it will be interesting to see how much it continues or grows in 2013.
On the regional level …Β
California seems to be struggling with putting together a coherent plan for their stateβs manufacturing development initiatives. The L.A. Times the stateβs losing a company like ΊΪΑΟ³ΤΉΟ Scale Angelus to Ohio over tax credits is a good example of the state and local governments not working together or communicating well.
Ήσ±τ΄Η°ωΎ±»ε²Ήβs governor Rick Scott is his stateβs manufacturing economyΒ by removing taxes on all new manufacturing equipment. A budget surplus in the state seems likely to smooth over the idea with legislators.
In New York state, manufacturing activity for six months in a row, according to the Empire State Manufacturing Survey.
