Week 24 in Manufacturing News

These US industries could take the heaviest hit from new tariffs

Key American industries, including apparel, technology and manufacturing, could emerge as the biggest losers from new tariffs on Chinese goods, according to Wells Fargo.

In a research note this week, the bank cited leather, computers, machinery and textile as among the most vulnerable as the U.S. and China continue to drag out bilateral trade negotiations.

Source: Yahoo Finance.

MPs’ no-deal vote – what does this mean for Brexit?

Boris Johnson, the leading candidate to be Britain’s next prime minister, has said that leaving the EU with a deal is his aim. He has declined to say what he will do if he is unable to secure the concessions he plans to demand from Brussels – but has insisted we must leave on 31 October, with or without a deal.

Source: The Guardian.

UK manufacturing sector ‘far larger than politicians realise’

The report argues that official statistics, which estimate that manufacturing output accounts for 9% of national income, are based on “outdated and inaccurate methods of counting” and the figure is much higher.

Source: The Guardian.

Manufacturers Are Considering Leaving China. But It Isn’t All Because of the Trade War

The U.S. has levied 25% fees on up to $250 billion worth of goods imported from China. Some companies are choosing to shift production outside of China.

In a poll released by the American Chamber of Commerce (AmCham) and its counterpart in Shanghai last month, roughly 40% of 250 surveyed firms said they were “considering or have relocated manufacturing facilities outside of China.”

Higher tariffs might have accelerated the plans to leave China but rising labour costs and other factors have been driving factory emigration from China since long before Washington’s tariffs were a factor.

Source: Fortune.

Manufacturing Intelligence: How Manufacturing and Business Operations Are Changing

A PWC study predicts that manufacturers will spend upwards of $70 billion by 2020 on technology to meet the demands of Industry 4.0. They will be adding systems that will improve the factory’s manufacturing intelligence (MI). 

As more manufacturers adopt Industry 4.0 technologies, we are seeing some trends emerge. They include:

• Adoption of IIoT
• Augmented and virtual reality
• Digital twins
• Cloud computing 

Source: Forbes.