Manufacturing.net June U.S. manufacturing technology orders totaled $405.73 million according to the Association For Manufacturing Technology (AMT). This total, as reported by companies participating in the USMTO program, was up 12.6 percent from May but down 2.1 percent when compared with the total of $414.26 million reported for June 2013. With a year-to-date total of $2,349.38 million, 2014 is down 2.7 percent compared with 2013.

Manufacturing.net U.S. Senator Chris Coons’ (D-Del.) office announced a bipartisan bill designed to help schools strengthen their engineering programs to meet the growing demands of 21st century manufacturing. While jobs have been created in the manufacturing sector over the last few years, hundreds of thousands of jobs remain unfilled due to the lack of trained workers. If you’ll recall, this isn’t the first time that the manufacturing sector has received some attention in the national spotlight this year.

The Telegraph British manufacturing firms should take action to create a skilled workforce instead of hoping that the government will do it for them, says Christopher Nieper, managing director of David Nieper, a firm which designs and manufactures womenswear in Derbyshire and is one of very few to still manufacture in Britain. Firms should take on trainees and teach them the skills they need instead of moaning about the lack of skilled workers available for hire, he said.

The Huffington Post Frost & Sullivan's Manufacturing Leadership Council, a global business network for industrial executives, has issued a new Critical Issues Agenda for manufacturing built around six core issues that I believe constitute the heart of what I call the "new manufacturing." Frost & Sullivan is a long-established consulting firm with extensive connections among influential business leaders. This report didn't get much play in the media, so here is an abbreviated version.

IndustryWeek The U.S. auto industry hit the gas pedal in July, powering factory output to a strong 1.0% increase, the Federal Reserve reported today. Manufacturing production stood at 100.7% of the base 2007 level and was 4.9% higher than in July 2013. Production of motor vehicles jumped 10.1% in July, while output in the rest of the manufacturing sector increased 0.4%.

Learn about the latest research and technical developments in gearing at the 2014 FTM. Experts and researchers will present 23 papers divided into five sessions.

IndustryWeek While the manufacturing industry in the U.S. has experienced recent growth, it still needs to become more competitive in the near future to drive economic growth. The United States still has the largest manufacturing sector in the world, and its market share (around 20%) has held steady for 30 years.

Buffalo Business First The monthly report from the National Association of Purchasing Management’s Buffalo branch says that production, new orders, inventories, deliveries and employment were up in July. For the fourth consecutive month the local seasonally adjusted PMI Index, which measures manufacturing activity, was in expansionary territory at 57.0 signaling increasing manufacturing activity to prior month.

Shopfloor The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that Indiana created the most net new manufacturing jobs in July, adding 5,500 workers during the month. These gains came from both durable and nondurable goods sectors, with hiring up by 3,400 and 2,100, respectively. Other states with significant growth in manufacturing employment in manufacturing employment in July included Kentucky (up 5,000), California (up 4,600), Michigan (up 4,200) and Illinois (up 3,900).

Chicago Tribune Growing up, Diana Peters hung out with her dad, Alex Kogan, at his Skokie tool and die shop, Symbol Tool Inc. When they saw a growing shortage of skilled workers to operate advanced systems to run the machines that produce parts, they founded Symbol Training Institute, a for-profit vocational school. Peters, the institute’s executive director, explains how she’s helping to narrow manufacturing’s skill and gender gaps.

Manufacturing.net U.S. Senators Chris Coons (D-Del.) and Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) have introduced bipartisan legislation to help schools strengthen their engineering programs to meet the growing demands of 21st century manufacturing. The bill would designate 25 universities as ‘Manufacturing Universities’ and provide incentives to better align educational offerings with the needs of modern manufacturers. The incentives would be used to revamp universities’ engineering programs to focus on manufacturing engineering and curricula specifically related to targeted industries.

IndustryWeek Advancing from an idea to building a physical structure to having 24 projects currently underway, Virginia’s Commonwealth Center for Advanced Manufacturing (CCAM) has made amazing strides over the past three years. This is what caught the attention of its newest member Airbus.

Automation World Today, generally adverse perceptions of mobile technology in manufacturing has changed. As often happens, what becomes an indispensable tool in private life is expected to be naturally available in the workplace. This is one of the reasons why manufacturing is increasingly demanding mobile devices to allow operators and managers to stay connected and completely in control of what happens in the plant at any time and in any place.

South Florida Business Journal Pratt & Whitney has applied for $2.24 million in state and county incentives as part of a previously announced expansion of its jet engine manufacturing facilities near West Palm Beach. The company, a subsidiary of United Technologies Corp. (NYSE: UTX), announced in June that it would create 110 jobs by the end of 2016 after a $25 million expansion of its auxiliary power unit business.