I’ve learned a great deal about the US economy during my time as an intern at the Reshoring Institute. The industry that I’ve learned the most about is manufacturing. In particular, I’ve learned how important women are to the manufacturing…
COVID, COVID, COVID. As I sat down to write my usual year-end review of plastics in the medical space, that’s what ran through my mind. Of course, there was nothing remotely normal about 2020, thanks to a once-in-a-century global pandemic.…
If designers are the fuel for packaging innovation, packaging production engineers are the engines that make it run — and as efficiently as possible. This may have been an atypical year in a lot of ways, but the country and…
The advantages China offers will not become available closer to home and the costs of reshoring are high and often prohibitive. Opportunities for global trade will be a key area for business growth after the pandemic. Technology is pivotal to…
There's no shortage of articles that will opine about how tumultuous 2020 was for the economy, jobs, and industry as the world grappled with the impact of COVID-19 on business and daily life. However, there's reason to be optimistic, especially…
As I move about, I see “help wanted” signs everywhere. Large companies, small companies and medium-sized companies are trying to fill openings. My son, who is a plant manager, says he has 120 job openings. His company pays good wages…
AUTOMATION & ROBOTICS: Outbreak poised to prompt changes in the way manufacturers use automation CEO Jason Walker said he has spoken with potential partners who make ultraviolet light sources and aerosol disinfectant sprayers about equipping one model of his autonomous,…
The COVID-19 pandemic has exposed the fragility of long, complex supply chains. It has also shown how reliant many US and European companies are on the overseas supply of critical items, bringing to the fore a long-debated issue—are we ready…
The Covid-19 crisis has amplified profound fault lines in the functioning of global value chains (GVCs) and exposed the fragility of a model characterised by high interdependencies between leading firms and suppliers located across several continents. All at a time…
Bringing jobs back to U.S. from China not so simple, consultant says. The trend toward globalization has become risky due to factors including unsettled international relations, ethnocentrism, trade disputes, global counterfeiting, the COVID-19 pandemic and travel restrictions, supply-chain consultant Rosemary…
Independent SEC-registered investment advisor at Stonnington Group , a wealth management and investment planning firm based in Pasadena, CA. Covid-19 has undoubtedly had the most acute impact on global manufacturing and supply chains in modern history. In the ensuing months…
Authoritative summaries of “The Economic Impact of COVID-19” won’t be publishable for years to come. Perhaps you’ll settle for a few observations. Globalization in decline? Can we gain from reshoring? Rochester long held a strong position in export markets—it ranked…
Most in the industry have never experienced anything like the Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic. This global disruption has affected supply chains across every industry, and in the same breath, destroyed and heightened demand for an array of products and services.…
The COVID pandemic has led the U.S. industrial sector to take a hard look at the efficiencies and cost-effectiveness of operations and supply chains. While production improvements can be addressed by implementing process improvements, updating infrastructure, upgrading IT platforms, and…
Reuters and other outlets have been reporting on plans of Taiwan-based Foxconn and Pegatron, among others, to explore manufacturing facilities in North America, as concerns about the ongoing US/China trade war and the Coronavirus pandemic continue to stress global manufacturing…
Why are reshoring efforts accelerating? With the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and heightened global trade tensions, companies in North America are working to reshore and find more localized supplier partners to create resilient supply chains. For manufacturers, service companies, and distributors…
For decades, labor cost differences have been a primary influence in the continuous shift of manufacturing production from the U.S. to China. In 1980, the cost of labor in the U.S. was more than 30 times of that in China.…
Australian businesses are demonstrating a growing interest in mitigating COVID-induced operational risks by reshoring and redistributing infrastructure and employees. The global economy has developed a dependence on complex international supply chains, borne out of the desire to minimise costs of…
Medtech has really stepped up this year to respond to medical device shortages brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic. Despite these impressive efforts, there remains a growing list of medical device shortages. FDA maintains a publicly-available, up-to-date list of the medical…
The COVID pandemic has led the U.S. industrial sector to take a hard look at the efficiencies and cost-effectiveness of operations and supply chains. While production improvements can be addressed by implementing process improvements, updating infrastructure, upgrading IT platforms, and…