• The new orders and shipments indexes also remained positive, but showed only a small increase in orders and shipments.
• The prices paid index inched downward but remained high, and the prices received index climbed six points to 19.3.
• The index for number of employees rose to its highest level in nearly a year, indicating a significant increase in employment levels, while the average workweek index fell to a level that indicated only a small increase in hours worked.
• Future indexes remained quite positive, suggesting a strong and persistent degree of optimism about the six-month outlook.

Essentially this means everyone who graduates from high school would be prepared for entry level work.

Customized workforce development elevates the skills of these workers, and college educated workers, to meet the needs of their employers, enabling them to compete in the global marketplace.  In some cases the training is relatively generic and can be applied across businesses and sectors (strategic management for example) In other cases the training is very specific to a single company. Training on a particular milling machine or with a custom software program for example.

Government funded training programs too often fail  to meet the needs of individual companies because they lack flexibility and because they are expensive to administer.  In some cases as many as 4 different administrative fees can be charged to every training award meaning that as little as 30 cents of every training dollar actually get to the worker being training.

When Washington hears that there is a training need, their solution too often is to create a new program, rather than make an existing program more flexible, or easier to access. The Wall Street Journal editorializes about this today.

“Of the five programs studied, the positive effect “tended to be small, inconclusive, or restricted to short-term impacts.” A 2011 Department of Labor study found that the benefits of job training under one of the most extensive efforts, the 1998 Workforce Investment Act, “were small or nonexistent.” GAO reports in the 1990s, in 2000 and in 2003 had similar conclusions, finding that multiple programs duplicated efforts, ran up costs and produced few benefits. The reports did little to stem mission creep.”

Perhaps we are biased, but it seems to us that the best way to maximize return on training dollars invested is to keep the dollars as close as possible to the companies needing them.

Manufacturing was a bright spot, as the larger macroeconomic figures reflect slower labor productivity growth. In the nonfarm business sector, output per hour for all workers fell 0.5 percent. The decline was due to growth in the number of hours worked (up 3.2 percent) outpacing the growth in output (up 2.7 percent). Nonfarm unit labor costs rose 2 percent.

Manufacturing output grew 4.8 percent in 2011, with first quarter figures up dramatically. This will allow manufacturers to bring on more workers as the year progresses. Nonfarm job creation should also be positive from this analysis, with hiring helping to keep hours worked and output more in alignment.

The Commission will examine the current structure of the state’s education system including teacher recruitment and performance, student achievement, education funding and costs, parent and family engagement, problems facing high-need districts, and the best use of technology in the classroom. The Commission will also analyze the organization of school districts to ensure they are structured to meet the needs of New York’s students while also respecting the taxpayer.

Reform of New York’s bloated, antiquated system of public education is long overdue, but with so much as stake and so many entrenched stakeholders – we are skeptical that any meaningful reform can take place through a “Commission”.

At least its a start.

Read about it here:

The Third Industrial Revolution

Check out these headlines today…..

Volvo To More Than Double Vehicle Models In China.

Bloomberg News (4/21, News) reported Volvo “said it plans to more than double its number of models to compete with Volkswagen AG (VOW)’s Audi and BMW AG in the world’s largest automobile market.” Volvo, which is owned by China’s Zhejiang Geely Holding Group Co., and “currently sells 6 models in China, is planning to introduce 10 new ones in the country within six years, including ‘bigger and more luxury high end’ vehicles, as well as medium- to small-sized cars such as the V40 hatchback,” the automaker said.

Nissan To Manufacture Two Infiniti Models In China. BBC News (4/20) reported, “Nissan Motors has said it will start manufacturing two models of its luxury brand Infiniti in China in an attempt to tap into the fast-growing market.”

Volkswagen To Build New Factory In China. AFP (4/23) reports Volkswagen “will build a new plant in Xinjiang, a province in China’s undeveloped far west, a company official said” yesterday. Marketing and distribution chief Christian Klingler said in Beijing on the eve of a major auto show in the Chinese capital, “The new plant is only part of our ‘go west’ strategy.’”

China Auto Industry Faces Rising Inventory. Bloomberg News (4/22) reported, Volkswagen “said China’s slowing automobile industry is facing rising inventory levels.” The country’s “auto market had inventory of about 2.3 months during the first quarter, compared with 2 months a year earlier, Soh Weiming, executive vice president at Volkswagen China, said in Beijing today. Stockpiles may rise to 2.6 months by the middle of the year, he said.”

The Washington Times reports that sales of Electric Vehicles reached a monthly high in March. “Consumers bought a record 52,000 gas-electric hybrids and all-electric cars in March, up from 34,000 during the same month last year.  The two categories combined made up 3.64 percent of total U.S. sales, their highest monthly market share ever…”

Staying with the automotive theme, under the headline, “How Hyundai Went From Joke To Contender In US,” the AP reports Hyundai “…is among the leaders in fuel efficiency and styling. Sales are up more than 60 percent since 2008, the year John Krafcik became CEO of American operations. Hyundai’s Elantra compacts and Sonata midsize sedans are in such demand that few discounts are offered.”

Finally, USA Today reports that Boeing is updating the “Industry workhorse” 737 to become more fuel efficient.  ”…the Boeing 737 Max will “offer efficiency that’s helped make the 737 the best-selling commercial jet in history.”

The old saying goes “necessity is the mother of invention.”  Today we might say “4 dollar gas necessitates innovation.”

This year’s Champions from the private sector, Richard and Carol Parker, are the founder and president of Fair Rite Products Corporation. Richard Parker, a pioneer of the early efforts to use ferrites for EMI energy attenuation, founded Fair Rite Products Corporation in Ulster County in 1952. Under Richard and his wife (and Fair Rite CEO) Carol’s leadership Fair Rite Products has grown into a multinational business.  Today, still based in Ulster County, Fair Rite Products is one of the world’s leaders in development, innovation and manufacture of soft ferrite products, offering a comprehensive product line that includes a wide range of materials and geometries for EMI suppression, power applications and RFID antennas.

The public sector Champion is Orange County Executive Ed Diana. Serving as county Executive since 2001 Ed Diana believes that commercial investment is key to affordable taxes, good paying jobs, and quality communities. He has taken personal interest in numerous economic development activities affecting manufacturers including negotiating the Port Authority takeover of the management of Stewart Airport, the formation of the Orange County Business Accelerator, and the retention of major manufacturing employers Kolmar Labs and Satin Fine foods.

The Champion for an organization supporting  Hudson Valley Manufacturing goes to the Hudson Valley Economic Development Corporation, the one-stop shop for companies considering relocating or expanding in the Hudson Valley region. HVEDC’s recent focus on developing industry clusters including semi-conductor, food and beverage, bio-Technology and Medical Devices has proven very beneficial to all Hudson Valley manufacturers. In developing the services infrastructure these clusters need to succeed, all manufactures have benefited, not just those that are part of individual clusters.

There will be a Manufacturing Champions Award Breakfast honoring the recipients on Friday May 18^th, from 7:30- 9:30 am at the Powelton Club in Newburgh, NY.  Sponsorship opportunities are available and make this event possible. Thanks to our supporting sponsors: The Chazen Companies, Mid-Hudson Workshop for the Disabled, and The Hudson Valley Economic Development Corporation. Major and supporting sponsorships are still available, to become a sponsor or to reserve your seat at the event go to www.councilofindustry.org or call the Council of Industry office (845) 565-1355.

Now the bad news – everything else in the report is disappointing to say the least. For me the most discouraging number was the precipitous decline in the workforce. Fewer people looking for work is not a sign of growth, and growth is what our economy needs. Ironically this reduction in the overall labor force is the reason the unemployment rate declined from 8.3 to 8.2 percent.

The gain in Manufacturing employment of 37,000 in March is the second-strongest gain in the last 12 months, and continues the manufacturing jobs gain that began in January 2010.  Since that time, manufacturing has gained 470,000 jobs – and has seen employment grow 10 percent faster than in the rest of the private sector.

Durable goods employment continued its strong growth pattern, gaining 26 thousand jobs in March.  Reflecting resurgent motor vehicle production in the United States, the March employment gain in that sector accounted for nearly half of the entire durable goods employment increase.  Non-durable goods employment rose 11,000.

The strong growth in manufacturing that has been going on since January 2010 is clearly visible in the attached graphs, as is the robust performance of the durable goods sector and the lackluster record in non-durables employment.

In order to have robust growth across both the durable goods and non-durable goods sector we need pro-manufacturing policies from Washington that will enable growth.

That is the gist of the story in the New York Times yesterday on the changing nature of manufacturing and how best to harness it as an economic engine. What is most interesting is this simple, but very important point: “It may not matter to factory workers who lost their jobs. Whether forced out because an employer moved production to China or because a fancy new machine makes it easier to compete against a rival in China, the job is gone.

Still, the distinction is important. Without an understanding of the forces at work, policy makers’ attempts to bolster manufacturing could backfire.”

Well said – and too often policy makers act without truly understanding the problem.

See the whole story here:

The Promise of Today’s Factory Jobs