Month: May 2013

What are USA’s Top Ten Manufactured Exports?

Posted on by

We learned with painful social and economic clarity in the great recession of 2008-2009 that it is demand, and not supply, that drives our economy.

recession

So what are the top 10 demanded U.S. manufactured exports?

  1. Transportation Equipment
  2. Chemicals
  3. Machinery
  4. Computer and Electronic Products
  5. Petroleum and Coal Products
  6. Food
  7. Primary Metal
  8. Medical Equipment, Sporting Goods, and Miscellaneous
  9. Fabricated Metal Products
  10. Electrical Equipment 

(source:  Brookings EXPORT NATION 2012)

Here is what the report had to say about Manufacturing:

“Manufacturing comprised the majority of U.S. exports in 2010. While on a declining trend as a share of U.S. exports, manufacturing has seen a comeback in the first year of recovery. About 61 percent of U.S. exports, manufacturing industries produced three-quarters of the additional U.S. sales abroad between 2009 and 2010. The sector’s sales abroad increased by 14.5 percent and expanded faster than U.S. exports overall. Machinery, transportation equipment, and chemicals delivered one-half of manufacturing exports growth.”

“Manufacturing contributed disproportionately to export recovery in the large metros (metropolitan areas). While manufacturing accounted for 59 percent of the exports sold by industries located in the large metros in 2010, it delivered almost 76 percent of the exports growth in these metros. Midwestern metros illustrated this trend, with 85 percent of their exports growth generated by manufacturing industries.”

“Manufacturing industries delivered the majority of export sales growth in 94 out of the largest 100 metros in 2010.”

Here are the facts on US Manufactured Goods Exports. Where do you fit in?
Here are the facts on US Manufactured Goods Exports. Where do you fit in?

Precision machining companies produce components that are key to functionality of transportation equipment, machinery, computers and electronic products, medical equipment,  and electrical equipment.

Our parts are used to harvest, process, and package food, and to produce and refine petroleum and coal products.

We are a sub-industry of Fabricated Metals- number 9 on the list.

What are USA’s Top 10 Manufactured Exports?

They are all items that would not be exportable if it were not for the role of  our precision machined products.

Why does manufacturing – especially precision machined manufacturing-  matter?

Ask an economist.

Or look at exports.

Recession photo

Happy Mothers Day from Speaking of Precision Blog

Posted on by

While most of us think that giving our mothers a nice gift, flowers, card, or other sign of our gratitude and affection are appropriate, for some mothers, a job may be the real answer to their prayers.

mothers day

According to BLS

  • The labor force participation rate—the percentage of the population working or looking for work—for all mothers with children under age 18 was 70.5 percent in 2012, little different from the prior year.
  • Mothers with younger children are less likely to be in the labor force than mothers with older children. In 2012, the labor force participation rate of mothers with children under 6 years old (64.8 percent) was lower than the rate of those whose youngest child was 6 to 17 years old (75.1 percent). The participation rate of mothers with infants under a year old was 57.0 percent.
  • Among employed mothers, those with preschoolers are more likely to work part time than are mothers with children ages 6 to 17. About 29 percent of employed mothers with children under age 6 worked part time in 2012, compared with 23 percent of employed mothers with children ages 6 to 17.

The economic reality that is today means that the majority of mothers with children  under age 18 needs to work.

We salute them for the great job that they do as mothers.

And  for making a difference as the great contributors on the job that they are.

Thanks Moms!

BLS Mothers

Get Skills to Work

Posted on by

Manufacturing Institute and National Association of Manufacturers (NAM) announced May 9th   their partnership called Get Skills to Work to encourage transitioning military personnel and recent veterans to look at careers in manufacturing.

Get Skills to Work Logo

Recent veterans have a demonstrated ability to work in teams and perform under pressure.

They understand that showing up on time is important.

They have experience acquiring data and acting on it.

They have demonstrated their ability to follow directions, respond appropriately to challenges, and work well with others.

In many cases, their lives and the lives of their comrades depended on it.

Team experience is relevant experience.
Team experience is relevant experience.

I can’t think of someone more qualified to make a human safety critical component for your car’s anti-lock braking system or for the airbag system or …

If you are interested in learning more about how to tap this valuable resource of human talent for your shop, check the link here

For more info on Get Skills To Work for Employers

For more info on Get Skills To Work for Veterans

Photo credit

Highway Construction Season Is Here- Take Safety Along For The Ride

Posted on by

Getting back and forth to work may involve greater hazards than those we face on the job now that Orange Barrel Season has arrived.

Safety Awareness is just as important on the drive in to work and on the way home these days.
Safety Awareness is just as important on the drive in to work and on the way home these days.

While many of us take comfort in the fact that we can drive on autopilot- as long as we have had the first cup of coffee before inserting the ignition keys– the fact is that we need to be on the alert for changes that just might put us at greater risk than anything that we might face on the job.

Excavations, construction workers, construction equipment, and high horsepower vehicles are all hazards that might ‘ambush us’ now that Orange Barrel Season is upon us and in full swing.

I have a half mile of orange barrels after turning out of my neighborhood onto the state road- not even a quarter mile from my driveway.

“Safety First”  in Orange Barrel Season means being on the lookout for driving hazards  “Before getting to work!”

Four of every five victims in a work zone crash are motorists, not highway workers, which is why it is particularly important for drivers to remain alert while driving through work zones. The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) has taken steps in the past several years to improve work zone design, strengthen enforcement near work zones, and heighten awareness among drivers for bringing the number of work zone fatalities to record lows.

Orange Barrel season is the opposite of Hunting Season.

No points for this!
No points for this!

“It’s a bad outcome if you “bag one!”

FHWA Statistic

Orange Barrel Season

Damaged Orange Barrel

Apprenticeships For Manufacturing’s Comeback

Posted on by

Why does the U.S. continue to subsidize college degrees that are not providing any employment advantage while manufacturing suffers from a very real lack of skilled labor?

Mismatch exists between jobs and education.
Mismatch exists between jobs and education.

Stuart E. Eizenstat and Robert I. Lerman, wrote about the need for apprenticeships in The Washington Post earlier this week.

Here are 7 key reasons they say the  U.S. should be developing apprenticeship programs

  1. The United States is on the verge of a manufacturing comeback
  2. Too few workers with the skills needed
  3. The skills gap is real.
  4. U.S. unemployment remains at  7.5 percent
  5. Only one out of two African American men in their early 20s has a job
  6. Inadequate number of skilled workers for intermediate-level technical occupations
  7. There is a dearth of skilled machinists, welders, robotics programmers and those who maintain equipment.

The central answer to the mismatch between jobs and employment is a 21st-century apprenticeship program.

  1. Apprenticeships have grown rapidly in other countries, tripling in Australia since 1996 and jumping tenfold — to more than 500,000 entrants last year — in England since 1990.
  2. The Group of 20 ministers of labor, the International Labor Organization and the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development strongly recommend expanding apprenticeship programs.
  3. Apprenticeships could help reduce youth unemployment
  4. Apprenticeships could  widen opportunities for young people
  5. Apprenticeships could help eliminate the mismatch of skills that is holding manufacturing back.

Government spending on colleges and universities tops $300 billion per year; outlays to apprenticeship programs total less than $40 million annually.

That is 7500 times more spending for college- where many graduates remain unemployed without needed skills for employment that will earn the return on their eductaional ‘investment.’

If we are serious about the U.S. remaining a manufacturing leader, perhaps it is time to look at how we are spending our education/ training dollars.

The need for skilled workers in manufacturing that we can’t find and the numbers of unemployed recent college graduates suggests that we can do better.

Hey, I'm askin you a question here!
7500 times more monies spent on college than apprenticeships? Really?

Does anyone besides me think that perhaps paying 7500 times more for college education than to train folks to get valuable skills leading to employment might be out of balance?

 Punk accountant

Use of Electionic Devices in the Workplace (sample) Policy

Posted on by

 

Use of Electronic Devices

(Cell Phones, BlackBerrys, iPods, etc.)

Copyright 2013

Personal Cell Phones

Personal calls and text messaging during the workday can interfere with employee productivity and

be distracting to others. Therefore, you should limit the use of your personal cell phone to break and

meal periods. The Company will not be liable for the loss of personal cell phones brought into the

workplace. [Option: The use of personal cell phones during working time is prohibited. While

working, cell phones should be turned off and stored in your locker, purse or other area.]

Personal Use of Company-Provided Cell Phones

The Company may issue a business cell phone to an employee for work-related communications

only. If you use a business cell phone for personal calls, you are expected to reimburse the

Company for all costs incurred for the personal calls. Employees in possession of Company

equipment such as cell phones are expected to protect the equipment from loss, damage, or theft. If

a replacement is needed due to your negligence, you will have to pay for the replacement cost

of the new cell phone. Upon resignation or termination of employment, you will be asked to return

your Company cell phone. The cost to replace any phone not returned, unauthorized charges, or

any monies owed to the Company may be deducted from your final paycheck (to the extent

permitted by law).

Safety Issues for Cell Phone Use

Employees whose job responsibilities include driving and who are issued a cell phone for business

use are expected to refrain from using their phone (including text messaging) while driving. Safety

must come before all other concerns. If you are charged with traffic violations resulting from the use

of a cell phone while driving you will be solely responsible for all liabilities that result from such

actions.

Electronic Devices (BlackBerrys, MP3 players, iPods, etc.)

During work time, you are expected to have your full attention on your work and not on your

BlackBerrys, MP3s players, iPods or other electronic communication or music/gaming devices. Use

of electronic devices can interfere with your productivity, distract others and create unsafe working

conditions. You are asked to send text or email messages, or make any other personal

communications during non-work time and to advise your friends and family members of the

Company’s policy. The Company will not be liable for the loss of personal electronic devices brought

into the workplace.

 

For safety reasons, you may not, under any circumstance, use a cell phone, or other

electronic device, whether personal or Company-provided, while operating a vehicle,

machinery or equipment.

 

 

VIEW/DOWNLOAD

 

 

 

 

 

A Contrarian View of the Today’s Jobs Numbers

Posted on by

If the folks on Wall Street are so smart, why are they making happy about today’s jobs report?

As I write this post at 10:50 A.M., the DJIA is up 171 points- attributed to this “great jobs report.”

Here are some facts:

1) Nonfarm payrolls expanded 165,000 for April.

2) Headline Unemployment rate (U3) dropped 0.1 to 7.5%

3) Revisions of prior months’ reports were all positive and totalled ~114,000

On the basis of these facts, the Wall Streeters are “Making Happy.”

It's all good. Not so fast...
Making Happy!

Not so fast, Math Guys.

The average weekly hours in this report contracted from 34.6 hours to 34.4 hours.

No big deal right? A little more part-time employment, eh?

Here’s what Dr. Ken Mayland, blue chip economic forecaster has to say about this:

“The contraction of average weekly hours  from 34.6 hours to 34.4 hours  is almost a stunning reduction in the labor input into the economy. In very rough round numbers, holding workweek hours constant, this would be the equivalent of a 650,000 reduction in payrolls.”

“The labor input into the economy is down to the February level. In spite of a 0.2% pick-up of wages, average weekly earnings are down 0.4% — so the compensation portion of personal income will be weak.”

What the heck are those Wall Streeters thinking?

Despite the “jobs gains and positive revisions,” the real bottom line is that this is a – dare we say it- “dreadful” employment report.

Dreadful jobs report.
Dreadful employment report.

Photo credit A decade in the making
Photocredit Dreadful jobs report

New OSHA Temporary Worker Rules

Posted on by

On “Workers Memorial Day” OSHA sent out a memorandum regarding efforts to protect temporary workers.

“…the agency is making a concerted effort using enforcement, outreach and training to assure that temporary workers are protected from workplace hazards… Employers have a duty to provide necessary safety and health training to all workers regarding workplace hazards. In order to determine whether employers are complying with their responsibilities under the Act, please direct CSHOs in your region to determine within the scope of their inspections whether any employees are temporary workers and whether any of the identified temporary employees are exposed to a violative condition…

“To better identify this vulnerable population, we need your assistance gathering and tracking certain information during inspections and investigations ofworksites where temporary workers are employed. For the purposes of this information gathering, “temporary worker” includes those who are working under a host employer/staffing agency employment structure. To capture this information, we have created a new OIS code for temporary workers.”

If you train them they can answer the important questions
If you train them they can answer the important questions

What does this mean to you as an employer?

1) OSHA inspectors will be determining whether or not your company employs temporary personnel;

2) OSHA inspectors will be poring through training records and interviewing personnel to determine “whether those workers have in fact received required training in a language and vocabulary they understand.”

3) OSHA inspectors will “document the name of the temporary workers’ staffing agency, the agency’s location, and the supervising structure under which the temporary workers are reporting.”

4) OSHA will be tracking temporary workers employment using a new coding system.

If you use temporary employees, now would be a good time to go over this new development with your temp agency. Send them the link to this blog.

Make certain that employees are trained as required and document that training, regardless of whether it is provided by your company or the agency.

<irony> We’ll let you know if we find any evidence of OSHA actually providing any “concerted effort of outreach and training”on this issue.

 

Final thought- Who is a temporary worker?

“For the purposes of this memorandum and the new coding, temporary workers are those supplied to a host employer and paid by a staffing agency.”

New OSHA Protecting the Safety and Health of Temporary Workers memorandum

T-shirt