Manufacturers are optimistic about their industry and the U.S. economy but concerned about the ongoing struggle to find qualified workers, according to the 2017 Manufacturing Report from professional services firm Skich LLP. In the firm's third annual report on the manufacturing industry, nearly 80 percent of respondents said they are more optimistic about the U.S. economy compared to last year while 66 percent said the same about the manufacturing industry. And 69 percent expect headcount to increase. Even so, respondents identified addressing workforce challenges as a top priority for their companies, and nearly 60 percent pointed to a lack of qualified workers as a barrier to business growth.

For more than 250 years, the fundamental drivers of economic growth have been technological innovations. The most important of these are what economists call general-purpose technologies — a category that includes the steam engine, electricity and the internal combustion engine. Each one catalyzed waves of complementary innovations and opportunities. The internal combustion engine, for example, gave rise to cars, trucks, airplanes, chain saws, and lawnmowers, along with big-box retailers, shopping centers, cross-docking warehouses, new supply chains, and when you think about it, suburbs. 

The U.S. economy grew by an annualized 2.6 percent in the second quarter, according to preliminary data, with real GDP up 1.9 percent at the annual rate in the first half of 2017. Looking at the underlying data, consumer and business spending were the bright spots, with net exports also making a positive contribution for the second straight quarter. Personal consumption expenditures rose by 2.8 percent in the second quarter, boosted by increased spending for both durable and nondurable goods products. In addition, nonresidential fixed investment increased by 5.2 percent in the second quarter. Most promisingly, equipment spending soared in the latest data to its fastest pace since the third quarter of 2015, up 8.2 percent, with 4.9 percent growth in structures spending. Nonetheless, other components of gross private domestic investment were weaker than desired, including residential investment and inventories.

NEW! Steels for Gear Applications , October 4-6  |  Alexandria, VA 

Learn to make use of steel properties in a system solution and understand the potential that different steel options can offer for their various applications. Explore how performance of the material and thus the component and system depends on how the steel is produced. 

(Video) On July 25, NASA tested one of its RS-25 engines. The RS-25 engine isn't just any engine — it's a rocket engine that will launch the most powerful rocket in history, the Space Launch System (SLS), in 2019.

GE has given an inside look into its 3D printed advanced turboprop (ATP) engine. The ATP engine is set to propel Textron Aviation’s upcoming Cessna Denali business aircraft. With 1,300 horsepower, the engine will undergo testing later this year before flight testing in 2018.

Florida-based space company Rocket Crafters Inc (RCI) has been granted a $542,600 research contract by DARPA to develop its 3D printed rocket fuel engine. With the eight month-long agreement, Rocket Crafters will be enlisted to design, build, and test the hybrid rocket engine.

ABS, a leading provider of classification and technical services to the offshore and marine industries, joined the Unmanned Cargo Ship Development Alliance to work with industry partners, including class organizations, shipyards, equipment manufacturers and designers to advance autonomous shipping. The design will integrate features of independent decision-making, autonomous navigation, environmental perception and remote control.

A $5 million earmark from the state will help Cleveland Community College (in North Carolina) build a state-of-the-art manufacturing building. The Center for Advanced Manufacturing will house programs for CCC students and courses for the Advanced Manufacturing Academy, a collaboration between the college and Cleveland County Schools. Organizers hope the project will push the college to the forefront of industry.

Zebra Technologies Corporation, market leader in mobile computers, scanners and barcode printers enhanced with software and services to enable real-time enterprise visibility solutions, has revealed the results of its 2017 Manufacturing Vision Study. The study reveals results research into trends shaping industrial manufacturing, and this year, the stand-out trends are the adoption of IIoT and wearables. Half of manufacturers will adopt wearable tech by 2022, but half also say that the complexity of this technology is a barrier to achieving a fully-connected factory.

Jim Lawton of Rethink Robotics challenges manufacturing executives to re-think how they measure the value of technology. The emphasis is on driving efficiency in manufacturing has resulted in less innovation and little differentiation.

Britain is to ban all new petrol and diesel cars and vans from 2040 amid fears that rising levels of nitrogen oxide pose a major risk to public health. The commitment, which follows a similar pledge in France, is part of the government’s much-anticipated clean air plan, which has been at the heart of a protracted high court legal battle. 

As on-demand manufacturing becomes more popular, engineers are faced with a double-edged sword. On the one hand, on-demand manufacturing offers fast turnarounds and options for easy prototyping and short runs in the early stages of product development. On the other hand, some engineers may be hesitant to trust the production of crucial components or prototypes to an external service, especially given the risk of design errors going unnoticed.

Americans got out and spent more in the spring, nursing the U.S. economy back to health after a feeble start to the year.

The official scorecard for economy, known as gross domestic product, grew at an annual rate of 2.6 percent in the second quarter, the government said last week.

MIT Technology Review editors pick the 50 companies that best combine innovative technology with an effective business model.

Manufacturing is currently going through a transformative period brought on by technological innovation, economic and regulatory uncertainty, automation and workforce concerns and globalization and trade disruptions. To come out the other side of this movement intact, risks need to be identified and evaluated so that businesses can build strategies to address these concerns. To help identify these risks, BDO has released the 2017 BDO Manufacturing RiskFactor Report which identifies supply chain disruption as the No. 1 risk in the industry. The report examines the risk factors in the most recent 10-K filings of the largest 100 publicly traded U.S. manufacturers. The risks are analyzed and ranked by order of frequency cited and include U.S. manufacturers in the food manufacturing, transportation, fabricated metals, machinery, plastics and rubber segments.

As part of its shift toward high-tech businesses, the 125-year-old company is threading artificial intelligence throughout its operations, starting with its scientists.

Manufacturing jobs in the United States have declined considerably over the past several decades, even as manufacturing output — the value of goods and products manufactured in the U.S. — has grown strongly. But while most Americans are aware of the decline in employment, relatively few know about the increase in output, according to a new Pew Research Center survey.

The Fall Technical Meeting (FTM) is the best opportunity to learn from and share with some of the foremost experts in the gear industry. This event showcases 25 papers and three special presentations that have undergone a double-blind peer review from three industry topic experts. Speaking on design, analysis, manufacturing, application and gear drives, you will be able to hear from and discuss with the researchers directly. All papers presented at FTM will be indexed in Scopus, the international database of peer-reviewed literature. Come check it out!