The National Association of Manufacturers (NAM, Washington) predicts a slow but steady recovery in manufacturing in the fourth quarter, even though companies continue to be plagued by the high dollar, and rising energy and health care costs.
The survival and continuing prosperity of manufacturing companies is fundamentally essential to maintaining the way of life in the United States, Japan and virtually every developed nation. The survival of manufacturing companies depends, in turn, on the manufacturing workforce.
Only 6 months ago, ASSEMBLY's annual Capital Spending Survey suggested that spending on capital equipment for product assembly would increase approximately 2 percent in 2001.
Few presidential statements have stirred up as much furor as when George Bush announced recently that the United States will not support the Kyoto Protocol.
The path to manufacturing excellence begins in grade school classrooms. And the foundation for manufacturing excellence is not touchy-feely stuff; a solid foundation for manufacturing excellence is built on engineering, mathematics and science. Without this foundation, the most superior workforce in the universe cannot produce manufacturing excellence.