November 15, 2010
Continuing a trend that started more than a month ago, last week's economic indicators showed positive momentum into the fourth quarter. Three of the five major indicators improved, one remained unchanged (but continued to grow) and just one declined. (To see all of last week's reports, see the Latest Economic Reports section below.)
Continuing a trend that started more than a month ago, last week's economic indicators showed positive momentum into the fourth quarter. Three of the five major indicators improved, one remained unchanged (but continued to grow) and just one declined. (To see all of last week's reports, see the Latest Economic Reports section below.)
While it appears that economic conditions are improving from the third quarter, when the Commerce Department's advanced estimate showed that GDP grew at an annual rate of just 2 percent, evidence of a pronounced upturn is hard to find: While last week's preliminary report showed that consumer sentiment rose to a five-month high in November, it is still less than 3 percent above its level a year ago and 8 percent below where it was when the economy entered recession in December 2007.
Similarly, while initial unemployment claims for the week ending November 6 fell to a seven-week low, they remain just 6 percent below initial claims to date this year and 24 percent above the 350,000 weekly claims consistent with a stable labor market. While the labor market may be improving, it is doing so slowly.
The one area of the recovery that appears to be solid is exports. While not growing as fast as early in the year, last week's September report showed that export growth in the third quarter rose at a solid pace of close to 8 percent (see green bars in the chart above), while the global economy -- measured by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) Composite Leading Indicators (CLI) -- continued above its long-term average (see black line in the chart). Both of these measures are a positive sign that this important source for economic growth continues to at least partially offset the sluggish pace in domestic demand.
Dave Huether
Chief Economist
National Association of Manufacturers
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The Centers of Excellence Program is a state-funded grant program developed by the Utah Legislature in 1986 to accelerate the commercialization of promising technologies that have strategic value for Utah.
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UMA WORKING FOR YOU!! NOVEMBER 15, 2010
SAVE OUR SECRET BALLOT – AMENDMENT A
Due at least in part to the efforts of Utah Manufacturers Association who joined with a host of other business associations to inform employers and their employees about the positive aspects of Constitutional Amendment A on the November 2010 election ballot, Amendment A, the Secret Ballot initiative, passed by 60% on November 2. UMA distributed a letter to employers for their posting or distribution to employees explaining the importance of passing Amendment A and encouraging them to go to the polls to support the measure that ensures a secret ballot for all elections in Utah, including union organizing elections. UMA thanks those employers who helped inform employees on the merits of this key constitutional amendment.
UMA was instrumental in passing this proposed constitutional amendment when the legislature considered it in the 2009 General Session and passed the enabling resolution by more than two thirds vote to put it on the November 2010 ballot. Key in to this issue is the need to reinforce the Utah Constitution that insures secret ballots for all elections. Action on this amendment both by the legislature and now by the electorate sends a clear message to Congress and the President that Utah is not going to tolerate any erosion of the fundamental principle of this nation, secret ballots for all elections.
UMA PLACES KEY MEMBERS ON DEQ CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT PROJECT TEAM
Having already played a key role in the first of what we hope is a host of continuous improvement projects at the Utah Department of Environmental Quality, UMA has recommended and successfully places key environmental experts on both the project team and the steering committee for DEQ’s next project in the Division of Air Quality. The original project, just completed, was in the Division of Radiation Control, where Lean and Six Sigma professional Steve Avery conducted a project to find and eliminate the waste in the permitting process in that division.
Preliminary results indicate and UMA reported to the Legislative Interim Committee on Natural Resources and Environment that the permitting process in the Division of Radiation Control has been reduced from years in some instances to mere weeks or months. The improvement has been realized by applying Lean/Six Sigma principles to this government agency and its permitting process.
The next step, in the Division of Air Quality, is to apply the Lean/Six Sigma principles to the Division of Air Quality to find the waste in their process and make improvements both in permitting and it evaluating the role, function and makeup of the Air Quality Board. Seated on the Air Quality Project team from UMA are Kerry Ruebelmann, Kleinfelder; Mike Keller, Vancott; and Chris Kaiser, Rio Tinto Kennecott Utah Copper. Serving on the steering committee are Stephen Sands, Rio Tinto Kennecott Utah Copper, and UMA President Tom Bingham.
It was the UMA Air Quality Sub Committee of the Environment Committee that developed and suggested to DEQ and subsequently the Legislature that we use the time-tested principles of Lean/Six Sigma to affect continuous improvement at DEQ and see if we can find a fact-based system for identifying what DEQ policy boards should be doing, who should be serving on them and how they should operate to ensure a factual, efficient and fair permitting process throughout the agency.
Looking forward, the next step for UMA is to educate legislators, the Governor’s office and agency heads in the principles of Lean/Six Sigma so they can utilize these principles to create a culture of efficiency and cost savings throughout Utah State Government. With both DEQ and the Department of Workforce Services already implementing these principles, we have a good start, but have a long way to go.
UMA SIGNS ON INDUSTRY LETTER TO EPA – BOILER MATC RULE
Joining a host of other industry leaders, UMA has signed a letter to EPA regarding proposed Boiler MATC rules being considered by EPA. The text of the letter follows.
November 11, 2010
The Honorable Lisa Jackson, Administrator
United States Environmental Protection Agency
Ariel Rios Building 1200 Pennsylvania Avenue, N. W. Washington, DC 20460
Dear Administrator Jackson:
We are writing to express our concerns about the proposed Boiler MACT rule – the Maximum Achievable Control Technology rule for industrial, commercial and institutional boilers and process heaters – and the other associated rules that were published on June 4th. As our nation struggles to recover from the current recession, we are deeply concerned that the potential impact of pending Clean Air Act regulations would be harmful to U.S. manufacturing and the high-paying jobs it provides, as well as all sectors of the US economy. Both small and large businesses are vulnerable to extremely costly regulatory burdens, as well as municipalities, universities, federal facilities, and commercial entities. The flow of capital for new investment and hiring is still seriously restricted, and the costs imposed by these regulations as proposed could make or break the viability of continued operations. As proposed, the Boiler MACT rule alone could impose over twenty billion dollars in capital costs at thousands of facilities across the country and billions more in operating costs.
We support efforts to address significant health threats from air emissions in a cost effective manner, and also believe that regulations can be crafted to accomplish this and still protect jobs and economic growth. Thus, we appreciate your willingness, as expressed in your responses to recent Congressional letters, to consider changes to the proposed rules and incorporating flexible approaches that appropriately address the diversity of boilers, operations, sectors, and fuels that could provide assurance of achievability and prevent severe job losses and billions of dollars in unnecessary regulatory costs.
Specifically, we encourage EPA to set standards based on what real-world sources actually can achieve. EPA has proposed a pollutant-by-pollutant approach based on the “best performers” for each of five separate Hazardous Air Pollutants (HAP)/ surrogate emissions categories. This approach had many data and methodology problems, and resulted in a set of standards such as those for dioxin, mercury and carbon monoxide that cannot be met by even the best performing actual boilers and process heaters.
EPA should finalize work practices for all gas and distillate oil fired units at major sources and oil and biomass fired boilers located at area sources to avoid the increase in emissions (e.g., NOx and CO2) and energy use that would result from the numerous control technologies required to meet the proposed emission limits with no guarantee of actually achieving those limits.
In addition, EPA should provide an alternative health-based emissions approach for qualifying low-risk emissions. A practical, health-oriented standard for threshold pollutants would allow sources to demonstrate that their emissions of these pollutants do not pose a public health concern. Section 112(d)(4) of the Clean Air Act expressly contemplates the use of such a standard, which can be implemented at each facility to protect public health.
In the related rule defining “Non-Hazardous Secondary Materials,” EPA should reaffirm that many secondary materials including biomass and biomass processing residuals are not solid wastes. The statute and related case law allow EPA to classify these materials as fuels if they are not discarded, are treated as valuable commodities, and are burned for energy recovery. Failure to encourage these alternative and often renewable fuels will result in more materials being landfilled and increase use of fossil fuels.
Lastly, EPA should promulgate work practice standards for dioxins/furans in Boiler MACT due to the many problems with emissions measurement, lack of knowledge of conditions and unit features leading to those emissions, and the inability to further control emissions at the already extremely low emission rates shown for these units.
As EPA turns to developing the final Boiler MACT and related rules, we believe it is imperative that EPA utilize adequate time and resources to fully evaluate all comments and data provided through the public comment process so that a reasonable rule can be promulgated. We appreciate your willingness to consider our suggestions.
Sincerely,
American Chemistry Council
American Coke & Coal Chemicals Institute
American Forest & Paper Association
American Home Furnishings Alliance
American Municipal Power
American Petroleum Institute
American Public Power Association
American Sugar Alliance
American Wood Council
Associated Oregon Industries
Biomass Thermal Energy Council
Brick Industry Association
California Cotton Ginners Association
Composite Panel Association
Corn Refiners Association
Council of Industrial Boiler Owners
Empire States Forest Products Association
Hardwood Federation
Hardwood Manufactures Association
Hardwood Plywood and Veneer Association
Indiana Hardwood Lumbermen's Association
Indiana Manufacturers Association
Industrial Energy Consumers of America
Kentucky Forest Industries Association
Lake States Lumber Association
National Alliance of Forest Owners
National Association of Manufacturers
National Cotton Ginners’ Association
National Hardwood Lumber Association
National Oilseed Processors Association
National Rural Electric Cooperatives Association
National Wood Flooring Association
Northeastern Loggers’ Association
Ohio Manufacturers' Association
Ohio Municipal Electric Association
PA Anthracite Council
Pellet Fuels Institute
Pennsylvania Forest Products Association
Rubber Manufacturers Association
Society of Chemical Manufacturers and Affiliates
Southeastern Lumber Manufacturers Association
Tennessee Chamber of Commerce & Industry
Texas Cotton Ginners’ Association
The Aluminum Association
The State Chamber of Oklahoma
Treated Wood Council
U.S. Chamber of Commerce
Utah Manufacturers Association
Virginia Manufacturers Association
Wisconsin Paper Council
cc: Regina McCarthy, Environmental Protection Agency
Robert Perciasepe, Environmental Protection Agency
Cass Sunstein, Office of Management and Budget
UMA ADDRESSES GOED RENEWABLE ENERGY SUMMIT
In addition to help sponsor the annual Renewable Energy Summit hosted by the Governor’s Office of Economic Development at the Salt Lake Community College, Miller Campus, on November 15, UMA president Tom Bingham was a featured speaker to the more than 400 energy officials, both private and public.
Bingham joined with a number of other presenters in the morning session to highlight the Utah Manufacturers Association and what it does in Utah and how the state’s largest and oldest industry trade association can assist government and private entities in the development of renewable energy in Utah. He told the largest audience in the history of this event, that “UMA stands ready to help connect those with needs with those with the resources in the manufacturing arena in Utah. We are fully supportive of developing all the alternative energy resources we can to meet the growing demand for energy, but it must be economically viable for manufacturers who are huge energy users in our economy.”
Attending the summit were many from other states who have an interest in developing renewable energy in Utah, including wind power, solar, geothermal and nuclear. This summit comes on the heels of the release of Governor Herbert’s draft Ten Year Energy Plan for Utah last week. The final report is due by mid-December of this year.
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