Week 6 in Manufacturing News

U.S. manufacturing rebounds; UK manufacturing sector stabilizes as political uncertainty fades; Three Trends Driving Electronics Manufacturing Out of China In 2020; The Manufacturer MX Awards 2019: All the winners and reactions.

U.S. manufacturing rebounds

U.S. factory activity unexpectedly rebounded in January after contracting for five straight months amid a surge in new orders, offering hope that a prolonged slump in business investment has probably bottomed out.

The improvement in manufacturing reported by the Institute for Supply Management (ISM). The ISM said its index of national factory activity increased to a reading of 50.9 last month, the highest level since July, from an upwardly revised 47.8 in December.

Source: Reuters.

UK manufacturing sector stabilizes as political uncertainty fades

PMI hits 9-month high in January following decisive election result. Business conditions in the UK manufacturing sector stabilized at the start of the year as political uncertainty eased and the domestic market strengthened, according to a closely watched survey.

The IHS Markit/Cips manufacturing purchasing managers’ index rose to a nine-month high of 50 in January, up from 47.5 in December

Source: Financial Times.

Three Trends Driving Electronics Manufacturing Out of China In 2020

Manufacturers swallowed a whirlwind of changes in 2019, driven by tariffs.

1. Distributed supply chains means distributed risk and distributed work
2. Opening up to the Cloud
3. Sustainability is good for business

More information at Forbes.

The Manufacturer MX Awards 2019: All the winners and reactions

• The Manufacturer of the Year 2019 – BMW Group Plants Oxford and Swindon
• Young Manufacturer of the Year – Calvin Wakeford, Tharsus
• Supply Chain Excellence – Domino Printing Sciences
• Smart Factory – BMW Group Plants Oxford and Swindon
• Sustainable Manufacturer of the Year – Accolade Wines

Full list with comments at The Manufacturer.