Link This |
Email this |
Blog This |
Comments (2)
The business of manufacturing takes another hit
February 1, 2008
1. First, the good news: When the Institute for Supply Management's manufacturing benchmark figure plunged in December, it was the first sign that manufacturing was headed for a slowdown. The pessimism has been replaced with modest optimism in January, as
ISM's latest report shows an index jump from 47.7 to 50.7. "This represents a return to the recent trend of slow growth in manufacturing, as the PMI has averaged 50.2% for the past six months," said Norbert J. Ore, chaiman of the ISM's Manufacturing Business Survey Committee.
2. Slow growth, as compared to... ExxonMobil's quarterly profit was $11.66 billion in the fourth quarter of 2007. Some smart guy with a calculator figured that out
per second.
3. Now the bad news: There was
no job growth, or wage growth, in January, further signaling that we are at least ankle-deep in a recession. Hours worked per week dropped enough to show a small decrease in wages in January, and while unemployment slipped back to 4.9%. Whatever Congress tries in terms of economic stimulation will be taken as a temporary fix. There are some longer term issues that we'd better confront, and global competitiveness is one of them.
4. Why Yahoo and Google matter: Microsoft's $44.6 billion
offer to buy Yahoo comes at an interesting time. The growth in search markets such as Google hasn't come from people wanting the latest update on Britney Spears (and that is the small sign that civilization isn't dead quite yet.) It comes from businesses like yours wanting to use their on-line time effectively.
PlantEngineering.com and our
Zibb search engine are examples of how search is being used to provide focused content to busy people who don't want to waste time wading through the jmunk the Web has to offer. I've seen the successthat search has had at Plant Engineering. We're now a globally-recognized source on what it takes to run a successful manufacturing operation. So thanks for that...
5. It's the economy, stupid! All of this points to some truths we hold to be self-evident. When the Democratic candidates for president debated in California Thursday night, the topics were economics and Iraq. All other ancillary issues have been put in their proper place; that is, behind global economic and politcal stability. On immigration reform, here's Barack Obama's vision:
"There are a whole host of reasons why we have not been generating the kinds of jobs that we are generating. We should not use immigration as a tactic to divide. Instead, we should pull the country together to get this economy back on track." And here's Hillary Clinton's view: "I hear the voices from the other side of the aisle. I hear voices on TV and radio. And they are living in some other universe, talking about deporting people, rounding them up. I don't agree with that, and I don't think it's practical. And therefore, what we've got to do is to say, come out of the shadows. We will register everyone. We will check, because if you have committed a crime in this country or the country you came from, then you will not be able to stay, you will have to be deported. But for the vast majority of people who are here, we will give you a path to legalization if you meet the following condition: pay a fine because you entered illegally, be willing to pay back taxes over time, try to learn English -- and we have to help you do that, because we've cut back on so many of those services -- and then you wait in line. That not only is, I think, the best way to approach the problem of our 12 million to 14 million who are here, but that also says ... this is the best answer, as well, because once we have those conditions met, and people agree, then, they will not be in a labor market that undercuts anybody else's wages."
Posted by Bob Vavra on February 1, 2008 | Comments (2)
