Week 1 in Manufacturing News

U.S. Manufacturing Is Heating Up; U.S. Factory Activity Approaches 2-1/2-Year High; COVID-19 Hitting Supply Chains; UK Manufacturing: The Impact of a Third National Lockdown; 5G and Manufacturing: The Missing Link to Drive Industry 4.0?

U.S. Manufacturing Is Heating Up

The U.S. is seeing a quiet rise in reshoring, or the return of manufacturing activity and jobs into America. That could be good news for at least 12 manufacturing stocks.

The Institute for Supply Management Purchasing Manager Index, or PMI, registered 60.7 for December on Tuesday. A level above 50 indicates the manufacturing sector is growing. Economists were projecting 56.8 ahead of the news—so above 60 qualifies as a big beat.

Source: Barron’s

U.S. Factory Activity Approaches 2-1/2-Year High; COVID-19 Hitting Supply Chains

U.S. factory activity accelerated to its highest level in nearly 2-1/2 years in December as the coronavirus pandemic continues to pull demand away from services towards goods, though spiraling new infections are causing bottlenecks in supply chains.

The strength in manufacturing reported by the Institute for Supply Management (ISM) on Tuesday likely helped to soften the blow on the economy in the fourth quarter from the relentless spread of COVID-19 and government delays in approving another rescue package to help businesses and the unemployed.

Source: Reuters

UK Manufacturing: The Impact of a Third National Lockdown

Manufacturing Global takes a look at how the manufacturing industry is responding to the news of a third national lockdown in the UK.

Following a significant increase in COVID-19 cases in the UK – which has reported a total of 60,916 cases today – UK hospitals are facing severe pressures as admissions continue to rise. 

The drastic increase has been attributed to the new variant of COVID-19 which has been confirmed to be 50 to 70% more transmissible compared to the first variation. 

Source: Manufacturing Global

5G and Manufacturing: The Missing Link to Drive Industry 4.0?

Mike Conradi, co-chair for international telecoms at DLA Piper and associate Christian Keogh, explore the importance of 5G and manufacturing in driving industry 4.0

Mobile network operators developing 5G connectivity through upgrades to their existing 4G infrastructure are well underway in the UK bringing about super-fast connection speeds. The benefits of an upgraded network go far beyond offering mobile phone customers a boost in connection speeds, with 5G offering genuine potential to change the way people live and work, with multiple new use cases being developed each year.

Source: Information age