Journal Gazette
Indiana, the state with the largest manufacturing sector, also leads the nation in advanced manufacturing, according to a new Ball State study. More than half of Indiana’s manufacturing jobs fall within the 35 industries that The Brookings Institution has classified as advanced, including drug, steel, vehicle and medical device manufacturing. Only six other states crossed the 50 percent threshold. In 2013, that translated to 243,597 advanced manufacturing jobs in 2,548 Indiana workplaces. Statewide, 8.4 percent of the workforce was employed in advanced manufacturing.

According to IT giant Hewlett Packard, manufacturers facing the ever-present threat of faster, more agile market competitors can grow revenues by utilizing their data to better understand customers. This allows them to keep their processes responsive and transition into effective business models easier, creating integrated end-to-end operations across the value chain.

Germany's manufacturers had a weak start to the second quarter as orders for the sector nose-dived in April, reflecting shaky demand from countries outside the euro-zone. Data from the economics ministry showed that total orders for Germany's important manufacturing sector—adjusted for seasonal swings and calendar effects—dropped 2 percent in April from the month before. Economists polled by The Wall Street Journal had forecast a 0.6 percent contraction.

Medill Reports Chicago
The state’s financial crisis is undermining community college efforts to equip Illinois residents, particularly those from low-income families, with high-tech manufacturing skills at a time when manufacturing jobs are again on the rise after a decade-long decline.

Suppose you owned an airline and ordered an engine from Rolls-Royce or GE. What are you really looking for? A piece of machinery to meet a product need? Or a powerful, safe and reliable means to deliver air passengers to their destinations?

Germany’s automakers, auto suppliers, machinery companies and machine tool builders have long been considered the world’s leaders in manufacturing, in large part because of their ability to unlock the potential of software, sensors, networks and electronic devices on their assembly lines. Now, they are pioneering a new phase of global digital manufacturing that will transform the key processes surrounding the manufacturing of everything from automobiles to trains, planes, machinery and even kitchens.

Manufacturing expanded in May as the ISM PMI registered 51.3 percent, an advance of 0.5 percentage point from the April reading of 50.8 percent. That indicates growth in manufacturing for the third consecutive month. However, several other regional PMIs—the Empire State Manufacturing and Philadelphia Fed Indexes, for example—indicate a weaker outlook for the economy.

More than 2,200 years after the commander from the ancient North African civilization of Carthage led his army of elephants and troops over Europe's highest mountain chain, Swiss leaders have completed another gargantuan task—and on time: Burrowing the world's longest railway tunnel under the Swiss Alps to ease trade and congestion in European trade and travel.

Multinational companies are not investing in their employees’ trade compliance training, even though organizations and individuals that fail to comply with trade regulations face substantial penalties, according to survey results released from leading global trade management solutions provider Amber Road and its Global Trade Academy.

Manufacturing Business Technology
German regulators hope to persuade a European company to acquire a stake in industrial robotics maker Kuka, amid a push from Chinese appliance manufacturer Midea Group.

French consulting, technology and outsourcing servicing company, Capgemini, has announced the launch of its new digital manufacturing services which aim to help manufacturers improve productivity and turnaround time.

We’re entering a new industrial age driven by digitization, customization and miniaturization that is transforming the nature of work in manufacturing. Since the turn of the millennium, the sector has evolved faster and more thoroughly than at any other time in history.

Manufacturers, who have steadily been reaping the benefits of using the cloud to collect and store data, are now looking at various ways to further increase the value of the data.

U.S. manufacturing jobs are never coming back. This is a reality too painful to recognize, but too true to ignore. Michigan, while still the world's largest automotive epicenter, is changing, and the state's business and political leaders must make way for an industry with shrinking labor needs and greater emphasis on talent and technology.

We may look back on 2016 as the year metal additive manufacturing (AM) took another leap. Early on, however, technologies can be over hyped, especially when the mainstream press catches on to a story, as evidenced by our industry. There are positives and negatives. Simply ask anyone who has held, or currently holds, shares in some of the big names in additive. Timing is everything and scratching below the surface is a must.

A vast majority of business executives (81 percent) think their company’s success depends on the proper adoption of the Industrial Internet of Things, a new study by the Genpact Research Institute, IndustryWeek, GE and the Industrial Internet Consortium says.

Targeting the skills gap in manufacturing, some Wisconsin high schools have launched for-profit businesses that give students experience in areas such as product design and metal fabrication.