Tag Archives: manufacturing

China manufacturing model under threat – Reuters

Posted on October 17, 2012 by macromon

Put this on the your inflation and profit margin watch.  And start monitoring prices at Costco and WalMart, which we see already ticking higher.  Also see our past posts. Companies like Foxconn, which assembles most of the world’s iPads and … Continue reading →

Posted in Apple, China, Manufacturing | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Nonlinear Thinking: A New Kind of Industrial Robot

Posted on September 23, 2012 by macromon

A smarter, safer new industrial robot [Rethink Robotics] could bring automation to new areas of manual work and help many U.S. manufacturers regain a competitive edge. – Technology Review (click here if video is not observable)

Posted in Manufacturing, Nonlinear Thinking, Technology | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Manufacturing Productivity

Posted on July 5, 2012 by macromon

Interesting chart from the BLS showing multifactor productivity in the manufacturing industries.  Labor input saw huge gains in productivity in the past few years and some believe the sluggish recovery in employment is due to productivity increases. It’s going to … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics, Employment | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

China Flash PMI Deteriorates to 48.7, At Two-Month Low

Posted on May 23, 2012 by macromon

Markit reports, Commenting on the Flash China Manufacturing PMI survey, Hongbin Qu, Chief Economist, China & Co-Head of Asian Economic Research at HSBC said: “Manufacturing activities softened again in May, reflecting the deteriorating export situation. This calls for more aggressive … Continue reading →

Posted in China, Economics | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

HSBC Flash China PMI Still Contracting

Posted on April 22, 2012 by macromon

Markit reports, Commenting on the Flash China Manufacturing PMI survey, Hongbin Qu, Chief Economist, China & Co-Head of Asian Economic Research at HSBC said: “As April flash PMI ticked higher, this suggests that the earlier easing measures have started to … Continue reading →

Posted in China, Manufacturing | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Good Perspective on China’s Dueling PMIs

Posted on April 2, 2012 by macromon

Good stuff at European CNBC this morning.  The markets had their doubts on China’s conflicting PMIs early this morning, especially after the Eurozone PMI confirmed weakness.   Didn’t last long, however, after U.S. ISM manufacturing came in better than expected, … Continue reading →

Posted in Black Swan Watch, China | Tagged , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Global PMI at 7-month High

Posted on February 1, 2012 by macromon

Markit reports, The global manufacturing sector continued to record below trend growth at the start of 2012. At 51.2 in January, the JP Morgan Global Manufacturing PMI™ rose to a seven month high, but remained below its long-run average (51.8). … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics, Employment, Manufacturing | Tagged , , , | 3 Comments

Quote of the Day: The Big Think

Posted on December 28, 2011 by macromon

“Tech companies are creating plenty of jobs for robots.” — Daniel Honan,  The Robot Hiring Boom Has Arrived

Posted in Employment, Nonlinear Thinking | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

China’s Faces Manufacturing Downturn

Posted on December 13, 2011 by macromon

China’s manufacturing sector slowing down affecting thousands of factories already on the brink.   Export growth will slow to a two-year low of just 11 percent in November, well off the year’s peak of 38 percent.   Exports to the European Union, … Continue reading →

Posted in China, Sovereign Debt, Sovereign Risk | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

U.S. Regional Unemployment Rates

Posted on May 26, 2011 by macromon

An informative chart from the BLS showing the unemployment rate by region.  Last month,  the highest regional unemployment rate in the United States was in the West at 10.4 percent. The Northeast and Midwest had the lowest rates, 8.0 and … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment