Commentary: The Financialization of Nature

Power Plant Money

Financialization: “A pattern of accumulation in which profit making occurs increasingly through financial channels rather than through trade and commodity production.”
– Greta Krippner, Economic Sociologist, University of Michigan

There are plenty of examples of how America’s economy shifted from a production-based economy to a financially-based economy over the past forty years. Starting around 1980, with the economies of post-World War II Europe and Japan fully rebuilt and roaring, and emerging Asian economies turning into powerhouses of manufacturing as well, America chose financialization as an alternative to rising up to meet the competition.

Read More

United Airlines CEO Says They Are Making Plans Without Boeing After Manufacturing Issues

United Boeing

United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby said Tuesday that the company is making a plan to move forward without Boeing after the manufacturing company grounded its MAX 9 planes, according to CNBC.

Boeing has suffered a series of problems in the last several weeks after multiple planes had major mechanical and structural errors, forcing the company to ground all Max 9 aircraft with door plugs. Kirby told CNBC that the decision to ground the aircraft was the “straw that broke the camel’s back” for United.

Read More

New York Manufacturing Sees Biggest Plunge Since Pandemic Lockdowns

Blue Collar

The index for New York state’s general business conditions fell by 29 points to -43.7 for January, with a negative number indicating a contraction, declining to the lowest point since May 2020 when the state was struggling with the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a new survey from the Federal Reserve of New York.

Accompanying the decline and contraction in general business conditions, shipments fell 25 index points, the number of unfilled orders remained high at -24.2 index points and the amount of inventory held shrank to -7.4 index points, according to the Empire State Manufacturing Survey conducted between Jan. 3 and 10. Despite poor current conditions, optimism about future activity levels by businesses increased, with the index rising 7 points but still remaining relatively low at 18.8 points, indicating that businesses expect an economic expansion in the coming months.

Read More

China’s Latest Data Dump Shows Economy Is Still Struggling to Regain Momentum

New state economic data released Thursday shows that China is facing headwinds in its effort to revive its struggling economy, according to The Wall Street Journal.

China struggled in August with low manufacturing activity, exports and consumer spending, adding more negative factors to the Chinese economy, which is already facing a fumbling real estate market, according to the WSJ. The new data from China follows disappointing economic growth for the country in the second quarter of 2023, with the Chinese economy only growing 0.8% for the quarter as opposed to 2.2% in the first, totaling 6.3% for the year.

Read More

Commentary: Boosting Manufacturing in North America

The world paid little attention when the leaders of North America met in a summit in Mexico City last month, but what they decided was momentous. President Biden, Mexican President Lopez-Obrador and Canadian Prime Minister Trudeau agreed to build on  President Trump’s 2020 trade agreement to find new ways to integrate their economies, boosting manufacturing and significantly reducing reliance on Asia.

Read More

Coalition Backs Universal License Recognition in Ohio

A coalition of free-market associations sent an open letter on Tuesday to Ohio’s state lawmakers encouraging them to enact universal occupational license recognition, meaning the Buckeye State would honor professional certifications issued in other states. 

Message signers included leaders of Americans for Prosperity-Ohio, the Buckeye Institute, the Goldwater Institute, the National Taxpayers Union and Americans for Tax Reform. The organizations observed that the state’s population is declining and that it will continue to do so if pro-market reforms aren’t made to attract new workers, including universal license recognition. Numerous states, including Arizona and North Carolina, generally accept credentials obtained elsewhere by people moving into those states. 

Read More

Businesses Add Fewest Jobs in Two Years as Manufacturing Craters

Private companies added 127,000 jobs in November, missing investor expectations by more than 70,000 to post the worst result since January 2021, according to private payroll firm ADP and CNBC Monday.

The addition represented a sharp decline from the 239,000 new jobs reported by the firm in October. Industries that were most directly impacted by higher interest rates, such as construction, were hit the hardest by job cuts, while consumer-facing industries, such as hospitality, largely weathered the storm, according to ADP.

Read More

Ohio Senate Candidates Divided on Electric Vehicle Subsidies

Electric vehicle (EV) creation is among the latest policy fissures to open up between Republican Ohio Senate candidate J.D. Vance and his Democratic opponent U.S. Representative Tim Ryan (D-OH-13). 

Vance emphasizes the disadvantage many auto workers could suffer if EV manufacturing — less labor-intensive than traditional car making — expands.

Read More

Manufacturing Leaders: American Businesses Face Major Issues Due to Inflationary Pressure

Several manufacturing and business leaders are concerned about how inflationary pressures are hurting businesses through heightened input and transportation costs.

Participants at a round table event on Capitol Hill Thursday said that inflation has increased the cost of raw materials, making it harder for manufacturers to obtain what they need to do business.

Read More

Ryan Faces Backlash from Democrats over Anti-China Ad

A congressman running for U.S. Senate in Ohio is facing friendly fire from his own party over an April ad that Democrats say is fueling anti-Asian hatred. 

“Tim Ryan should know better. His ‘us versus China’ ad promotes hatred of Asian Americans,” says a headline in Monday’s Akron Beacon Journal. 

Read More

Intel Officially Announces Chip Factory in Ohio

Computer giant Intel Friday officially announced its intention to build a multi-billion dollar semiconductor factory in Ohio.

“Intel today announced plans for an initial investment of more than $20 billion in the construction of two new leading-edge chip factories in Ohio,” a corporate press release said. “The investment will help boost production to meet the surging demand for advanced semiconductors, powering a new generation of innovative products from Intel and serving the needs of foundry customers as part of the company’s IDM 2.0 strategy. To support the development of the new site, Intel pledged an additional $100 million toward partnerships with educational institutions to build a pipeline of talent and bolster research programs in the region.”

Read More

The Global Chip Shortage Will Have a Major Impact on Consumers

Computer mother board

The global chip shortage is beginning to impact consumers, driving up prices of smartphones, vehicles and personal electronics as manufacturers struggle to keep up with rising demand.

“We’re seeing 5% to 10% price increases right now,” Glen O’Donnell, vice president and research director at Forrester, told the Daily Caller News Foundation. “They will increase more as this issue drags on.”

Semiconductors, the internal components essential to the functioning of almost every electronic device, have been in short supply since early 2020 due to high consumer demand of mobile electronics cloud services, and other products that require computer chips, according to O’Donnell. The COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated the problem by stalling semiconductor production and disrupting supply chains, with demand for consumer electronics only skyrocketing due to more people working from home.

Read More

Peloton Picks Ohio for Its First U.S. Factory

Peloton bike

Peloton Interactive announced plans to build its first U.S. factory in Ohio, creating more than 2,000 jobs and investing more than $400 million in the state-of-the-art factory.

The new facility, in Troy Township between Toledo and Bowling Green, will be named Peloton Output Park and will produce Peloton Bike, Bike+ and Peloton Tread starting in 2023. It will employee 2,174 people and generate $138 million in new payroll.

The state approved a 2.301%, 15-year job creation tax credit for the company.

Read More

Top Economists Expect Inflation to ‘Accelerate Strongly’ in Coming Weeks

Woman shopping

Economists expect inflation to “accelerate strongly” in the coming weeks and months, but said consumer prices would eventually moderate.

The consumer price index (CPI), a common measure for inflation, is expected to rise 2.8% in 2021 and 2.3% in 2022 compared to the 1.2% increase that occurred in 2020, according to economists surveyed by the National Association for Business Economics (NABE).

The projection, released Monday, reflected the Federal Reserve consensus that inflation will heat up by the end of the year before cooling down as the economic recovery continues.

Read More

Ohio Democrat Admits Party ‘Can’t Understand’ Working Class Americans

A Democrat member of Congress from Ohio admitted in an interview published Tuesday that her party is out of touch with working class Americans. 

“They just can’t understand,” Rep. Marcy Kaptur (D-OH-09) told The Hill. “They can’t understand a family that sticks together because that’s what they have. Their loved ones are what they have, their little town, their home, as humble as it is — that’s what they have. Respect it. It was so insensitive.”

Read More

Leading Schools Series: Wisconsin School Runs a Manufacturing Business Within its Doors 

Machine shop training in public high schools has dwindled nationally either because of a lack of funding or no funding at all. So in 2006, instructor Craig Cegielski approached the Eleva-Strum School Board in Strum, Wisconsin with an odd request. Rather than asking for money, Cegielski instead requested permission to launch an in-school manufacturing business.

Read More

Last of Lordstown Auto Parts Manufacturing Ends Two Months Early: More Layoffs to Follow

The last manufacturing orders left for the rapidly shuttering Lordstown Auto Plant finished up on April 5. The project – metal stamping replacement parts for the Chevy Cruze – was slated to last until June, ensuring work for those few employees still not laid off.  With the job wrapping up…

Read More

President Trump Pushes GM CEO to Reopen Lordstown Auto Plant

In a series of tweets from Saturday to Sunday, President Donald Trump made it clear that he was aggressively advocating for the reopening of the Lordstown Assembly Complex in Ohio. Because the economy is so good, General Motors must get their Lordstown, Ohio, plant open, maybe in a different form or…

Read More

New Data Suggest Continued Expansion in the Manufacturing Sector in February

by Robert Hughes   The Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index from the Institute for Supply Management registered a 54.2 percent reading in February, down from 56.6 in January (see top chart). Despite the pullback, the index remains well above neutral, suggesting continued expansion for the manufacturing sector. According to the Institute…

Read More

Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine Continues Predecessor’s Fight to Save Lordstown Auto Plant

For many Ohio families, the fight to save the Lordstown Assembly Plant is about more than the roughly 1,500 jobs that will be lost; it’s a life-or-death struggle for their community. Thursday during a speech in Akron, newly-elected governor Mike DeWine announced that he had met with General Motors CEO Mary…

Read More

Outgoing Governor John Kasich Asks Tesla CEO Elon Musk to Save Lordstown Auto Plant by Tweet

Thursday, December 20th, Tesla CEO, Elon Musk, gave his first public response to Governor John Kasich’s multiple attempts to reach him in the hope of saving the Lordstown Assembly complex in Warren, Ohio. On November 26th, General Motors announced that the 6.2 million square foot auto manufacturing facility, along with…

Read More