When some people (of a certain generation) think of an iconic image of the American manufacturing worker, they conjure up a picture of Rosy the Riveter, that hallmark of WWII who kept US industrial production going when men of the finest generation the world has ever seen went off to defend freedom and liberty for all of mankind. But we would like to propose that just an important an icon of American production, the machinist, deserves a seat with Rosy in the Hall of Fame of manufacturing. And no, we’re not referring to Christian Bale in the namesake psycho-thriller from 2004, but everyday machinists. Once the backbone of the US industrial sector, these skilled workers, masters in the arts of metalworking, machine repair, and maintenance, are gradually fading from the workforce. Machinists are trained, not educated. A machinist … [Read more...] about The Vanishing Machinist: A Looming Crisis in Machine Shops
Industry News
Should You Trust AI in Manufacturing?
In our day jobs, we analyze, build and invest in technologies that leverage AI and machine learning to do things such as optimizing procurement cost savings strategies based on an underlying price forecast for a particular grade of metal. This can tell manufacturers when to lock into long-term agreements with a supplier, when to float the underlying material price via an index, when to buy on the spot market, etc. We’ve found AI (especially neural networks for price prediction) to be a pretty exceptional tool in our technology crib for building solutions which enable manufacturers to do things they could not previously accomplish with the same degree of efficiency, speed and consistency — not to mention delivering a superior outcome. Moreover, in one of the companies we run, we estimate that we are doing the work of at least twice the … [Read more...] about Should You Trust AI in Manufacturing?
Tracking the Manufacturing Slowdown
Recent economic manufacturing data suggests a US economy in a downturn (and likely, overall, in recession). In March, ISM’s Manufacturing Index declined for the fifth month in a row (after growing for 28 months before the decline commenced at the end of 2022), at a level signifying material economic contraction and a likely recession. Overall, every single sub-index comprising the overall ISM Manufacturing PMI contracted for the first time since May of 2009. In its latest report, ISM suggests that the PMI stood “at its lowest level since May 2020, when it registered 43.5 percent.” Particularly bearish in the report was the “New Orders” sub-index which “remained in contraction territory at 44.3 percent, 2.7 percentage points lower than the figure of 47 percent recorded in February.” According to ISM and Reuters, buyer anecdotes are … [Read more...] about Tracking the Manufacturing Slowdown
Inflation and Politics: The Role of the Federal Reserve
To understand the Q2 2021 inflationary environment — whether it will be sustained or not — it is important to turn to economists. Allan Meltzer, perhaps the most prolific historian when it comes to the Federal Reserve Bank, wrote in the Wall Street Journal: “The Fed’s recent behavior is in sharp contrast to the European Central Bank. The ECB keeps its eye on both objectives, growth and low inflation. It doesn’t shift back and forth from one to the other. The Fed should do the same. In the 1970s, because the Fed shifted from one goal to the other and back again, it achieved neither. Both inflation and unemployment rose on average, then fell together in the 1980s — after the Fed controlled inflation. … After 1985, Fed policy kept inflation and unemployment low. The result was 20 years of growth, and three of the longest peacetime … [Read more...] about Inflation and Politics: The Role of the Federal Reserve
New Look & Feel, Same Commitment to You
97 years ago, when my great grandpa Thomas P. Scanlan started Surplus Record, he had a vision to connect dealers and manufacturers across the nation. World War I had ended a few years prior, and he saw a demand to get wartime machinery no longer being used, out of the hands of the government and into civilian manufacturing. He created the Surplus Record as an easy way for dealers to advertise their machinery to manufacturers and connect for joint ventures and lifelong partnerships. Nearly 100 years later, I know he would be proud to see how far Surplus Record has come over our company’s lifetime and how many relationships have been forged through our book and website. When my father came on board in 1982, the economy was in a depression, but it was gearing up for a big turnaround. Little did he know, the internet was coming and … [Read more...] about New Look & Feel, Same Commitment to You
