January 3, 2011
Last week's economic indicators were again largely positive. Of the seven major reports, just two declined and five grew. (To see all of last week's reports, see the Latest Economic Reports section below.) All regional manufacturing reports showed that the industrial sector ended 2010 on a positive note.
Due in part to a slack labor market, consumer confidence fell 3.3 percent last month after improving in October and November. (See red and green bars in the chart above.) Overall, consumer confidence was relatively steady in 2010. After falling 58 percent in 2008 and then rebounding in 2009, confidence edged down 2 percent in 2010 (see blue line in chart.) This is consistent with the fact that the unemployment rate, the one economic statistic most closely watched by the general public, was slightly higher in November (9.8 percent) compared to last January (9.7 percent).
The recently passed tax legislation should accelerate the economic recovery in 2011 and improve the employment situation, which should generate a more robust upturn in consumer confidence this year.
Dave Huether
Chief Economist
National Association of Manufacturers
SURVEY SUGGESTS CONTINUED ECONOMIC GROWTH
Today in Manufacturing
Regional economy will continue to grow at a healthy pace in first half of the new year, according to a survey of supply managers in nine Midwest and Plains states ... continue
Oil Prices Reaching 2-Year High
Today in Manufacturing
Above $92 a barrel, prices rose to two-year highs due to a weaker dollar and optimism that a rebounding U.S. economy will lead an increase in the demand for crude ... continue
WHICH LAW ALLOWS TO EPA TO SINGLE OUT SOME INDUSTRIES FOR GREENHOUSE GAS REGULATION?
Carter Wood – Shopfloor Blog - NAM
The 112th Congress better not try to block the Environmental Protection Agency’s regulation of greenhouse gases, The New York Times warns not so subtly in its news pages, “E.P.A. Limit on Gases to Pose Risk to Obama and Congress“:
[The] newly muscular Republicans in Congress could also stumble by moving too aggressively to handcuff the Environmental Protection Agency, provoking a popular outcry that they are endangering public health in the service of their well-heeled patrons in industry.
“These are hand grenades, and the pins have been pulled,” said William K. Reilly, administrator of the environmental agency under the first President George Bush.
He said that the agency was wedged between a hostile Congress and the mandates of the law, with little room to maneuver. But he also said that anti-E.P.A. zealots in Congress should realize that the agency was acting on laws that Congress itself passed, many of them by overwhelming bipartisan margins.
The final paragraph is a paraphrase of Reilly’s comments, so who knows if he actually used the invidious word “zealots,” but we’ll assume that he did argue that the EPA is acting on a Congressionally passed law.
That’s just not so. The 111th Congress failed to pass the Waxman-Markey bill or any legislation to regulate greenhouse gases. The Clean Air Act, which the U.S. Supreme Court in Massachusetts v. EPA expanded far beyond its original legislative intent, contained no authority for the EPA to single out specific emitters like refineries and power plants for regulatory limits.
The EPA’s “tailoring rule” that does so is an obvious tactic meant to ease the adoption of an economy-controlling regulatory regime for which there is neither constitutional nor statutory authority.
If the Times — and the Obama Administration — were so confident of the story’s thesis, the paper wouldn’t have had to grant anonymity* to a senior official on the weakest of grounds: He, or more likely she, feared being criticized. To wit:(continue reading…)
EMPLOYERS COUNCIL ANNOUNCES 2011 SMALL-GROUP WORKSHOPS
The Employers Council is pleased to announce our 2011 Winter/Spring line-up of Small-group Workshops:
Feb. 1: Discrimination, Harassment, & Retaliation - http://ecutah.org/smdiscrimination.pdf
Mar. 1: Effective Employment Interviews - http://ecutah.org/sminterviews.pdf
Apr. 5: The Right Start: Effective New Employee Orientations - http://ecutah.org/smorientations.pdf
May 3: Form I-9 Administration Basics - http://ecutah.org/smi9spring2011.pdf
Jun. 7: FMLA: Basic Administration Procedures - http://ecutah.org/smfmla.pdf
These two-hour, highly-interactive courses pare away the fluff and teach you how to apply a specific human resource or management skill in real-life settings. Each workshop is approved for two HRCI recertification credits. Enrollment is limited to 13 to maximize your learning experience and facilitate teacher-student interaction. At the bargain price of $69, our workshops always fill up quickly, so we strongly encourage you to register today! Contact our office or download the relevant registration form from the site listed above.
DISPATCH FROM THE FRONT: THE WEEK OF JANUARY 3, 2011
Carter Wood – Shopfloor
The first week of 2011 is a busy and ceremonial one in Washington. President Obama returns from his Hawaii vacation to the White House on Tuesday afternoon. The U.S. Senate and House convene at noon Wednesday for the opening of the 112th Congress.
In the House, Rep. John Boehner (R-OH) will be elected Speaker of the House on Wednesday.
On Thursday, the House floor session features a reading of the U.S. Constitution. Speculation builds about a House vote to repeal the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, the health care law, and extension of the debt ceiling.
In the Senate, the session begins Wednesday with a presentation of the certificates of election and the swearing in of elected members. Morning business follows.
With the arrival of 2011, the National Association of Manufacturers now has a new chairman of the board of directors, Mary Andringa, president and CEO of the Iowa-based Vermeer. She began her two-year term as chairman on Jan. 1, 2011, succeeding Mike Campbell. Doug Oberhelman, CEO of Caterpillar, is the NAM’s new vice chairman.
Executive Branch: The White House and Executive Branch agencies have yet to release public schedules for the week, so we dig for this: The Blue Ribbon Commission on America’s Nuclear Future on Thursday tours the Savannah River site for storage of spent nuclear fuel and radioactive waste, and on Friday the Commission holds a public hearing in Augusta, Ga. (Details and news coverage.)
Economic Reports: The Institute for Supply Management today releases its manufacturing report. On Tuesday, the Commerce Department reports on factory orders in November. On Friday, the Bureau of Labor Statistics announces the employment situation and unemployment rate for December. For more, see The Los Angeles Times, “Slew of economic data due could sway Wall Street.” You know, you can write that same headline nearly every week.
The International Consumer Electronics Show (CES) starts Thursday in Las Vegas, with manufacturers front and center. Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer delivers the pre-show keynote address Wednesday. Other speakers during the week: Verizon’s CEO, Ivan Seidenberg; Robert Stadler, chairman of the board of Audi AG; Boo-Keun Yoon, president of Samsung; Cisco CEO John Chambers; GE Chairman and CEO Jeffrey Immelt: Xerox Chairman and CEO Ursula Burns; and Alan Mullaly, president and CEO of Ford Motor Company.
Congratulations to the new governors already sworn into office: Andrew Cuomo of New York, Susana Martinez of New Mexico and Rick Snyder of Michigan. Snyder enjoyed an auspicious beginning: The Detroit Lions beat the Vikings. Today, Governor Jerry Brown retakes office in California, and Brian Sandoval is sworn in as governor of Nevada. In all, there will be 29 new governors in 2011.
SOON-TO-BE CHAIRMAN FRED UPTON (R-MI) ON OBAMA ADMINISTRATION’S REGULATORY EXCESS
Carter Wood – Shopfloor
In an interview last week on the Hugh Hewitt Show, Rep. Fred Upton (R-MI), the incoming chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, detailed the committee’s plans for action and oversight in the first few months of the 112th Congress. The Environmental Protection Agency’s aggressive agenda of regulatory excess will be a major area of attention. As Upton said, “From the start, we’ve said we’re not going to let this administration regulate what they’re unable to legislate.”
From the transcript, Chairman-elect Upton:
Lisa Jackson, the administrator of EPA, I think she might have testified one time before our committee the last two years. And we made the point of making sure that we don’t know whether we’re going to have to report to the IRS that she’s going to get free parking as a benefit up here on Capitol Hill, but she’s going to be up here a lot more. She’s going to need to defend what EPA is trying to do.
And I will say this. You know, since I talked to you last, EPA had threatened to do these boiler regulations. You know, this is involving, really, most businesses across the country. And we sent some pretty tough letters over the last four, six weeks. And they backed off on them. So that was a good sign.
And as we look at all these regulations that EPA has got their hands in, we’re going to be looking at all of them. And you might remember that as a matter of the Pledge, something that Kevin McCarthy did really good work on, and most Republicans, including myself, embraced this last fall, one of the planks in that was that we want to examine all of the regulations that impose costs that exceed, I want to say, it was $200 million dollars on businesses across the country.
So we’re going to take that up as an issue, and it’s one of the reasons why we’ve assigned Cliff Stearns to be the chairman of the very important subcommittee on oversight and investigations. And I would imagine that they’re going to, and I saw Cliff yesterday, he’s already got about his next three months of hearings, maybe as many as two a week, and beginning to plan out, and EPA’s going to be a part of that. And John Shimkus, too.
Throughout the wide-ranging interview, Upton is politically punctilious about the central role the Energy and Commerce subcommittees and their chairmen will play. He includes the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act as one topic for legislative scrutiny under the newly renamed Commerce, Manufacturing and Trade Subcommittee, chaired by Rep. Mary Bono Mack (R-CA).
There’s also a brief discussion of John Engler’s move from the National Association of Manufacturers to the Business Roundtable.
Thank you to Hugh Hewitt and his team for producing the transcripts from his show. It’s an extra effort that helps make his show of such valuable for people who follow manufacturing policy.
FLORIDA TOPS LIST OF STATES LOSING MANUFACTURERS
Quick Manufacturing News
North Dakota was the only state to gain manufacturers. Click to continue
FACTORIES GROW FOR 17TH STRAIGHT MONTH
Today in Manufacturing
Manufacturers produced more goods and booked more orders in December, leading to the fastest growth in factory activity since May ... continue
FEATURE: MAKING MANUFACTURING SEXY
Today in Manufacturing
Quick fixes are often favored over long-term solutions, but management can no longer rely on old solutions because the problems we are facing are new ... continue
Today in Manufacturing
Regional economy will continue to grow at a healthy pace in first half of the new year, according to a survey of supply managers in nine Midwest and Plains states ... continue
Oil Prices Reaching 2-Year High
Today in Manufacturing
Above $92 a barrel, prices rose to two-year highs due to a weaker dollar and optimism that a rebounding U.S. economy will lead an increase in the demand for crude ... continue
WHICH LAW ALLOWS TO EPA TO SINGLE OUT SOME INDUSTRIES FOR GREENHOUSE GAS REGULATION?
Carter Wood – Shopfloor Blog - NAM
The 112th Congress better not try to block the Environmental Protection Agency’s regulation of greenhouse gases, The New York Times warns not so subtly in its news pages, “E.P.A. Limit on Gases to Pose Risk to Obama and Congress“:
[The] newly muscular Republicans in Congress could also stumble by moving too aggressively to handcuff the Environmental Protection Agency, provoking a popular outcry that they are endangering public health in the service of their well-heeled patrons in industry.
“These are hand grenades, and the pins have been pulled,” said William K. Reilly, administrator of the environmental agency under the first President George Bush.
He said that the agency was wedged between a hostile Congress and the mandates of the law, with little room to maneuver. But he also said that anti-E.P.A. zealots in Congress should realize that the agency was acting on laws that Congress itself passed, many of them by overwhelming bipartisan margins.
The final paragraph is a paraphrase of Reilly’s comments, so who knows if he actually used the invidious word “zealots,” but we’ll assume that he did argue that the EPA is acting on a Congressionally passed law.
That’s just not so. The 111th Congress failed to pass the Waxman-Markey bill or any legislation to regulate greenhouse gases. The Clean Air Act, which the U.S. Supreme Court in Massachusetts v. EPA expanded far beyond its original legislative intent, contained no authority for the EPA to single out specific emitters like refineries and power plants for regulatory limits.
The EPA’s “tailoring rule” that does so is an obvious tactic meant to ease the adoption of an economy-controlling regulatory regime for which there is neither constitutional nor statutory authority.
If the Times — and the Obama Administration — were so confident of the story’s thesis, the paper wouldn’t have had to grant anonymity* to a senior official on the weakest of grounds: He, or more likely she, feared being criticized. To wit:(continue reading…)
EMPLOYERS COUNCIL ANNOUNCES 2011 SMALL-GROUP WORKSHOPS
The Employers Council is pleased to announce our 2011 Winter/Spring line-up of Small-group Workshops:
Feb. 1: Discrimination, Harassment, & Retaliation - http://ecutah.org/smdiscrimination.pdf
Mar. 1: Effective Employment Interviews - http://ecutah.org/sminterviews.pdf
Apr. 5: The Right Start: Effective New Employee Orientations - http://ecutah.org/smorientations.pdf
May 3: Form I-9 Administration Basics - http://ecutah.org/smi9spring2011.pdf
Jun. 7: FMLA: Basic Administration Procedures - http://ecutah.org/smfmla.pdf
These two-hour, highly-interactive courses pare away the fluff and teach you how to apply a specific human resource or management skill in real-life settings. Each workshop is approved for two HRCI recertification credits. Enrollment is limited to 13 to maximize your learning experience and facilitate teacher-student interaction. At the bargain price of $69, our workshops always fill up quickly, so we strongly encourage you to register today! Contact our office or download the relevant registration form from the site listed above.
DISPATCH FROM THE FRONT: THE WEEK OF JANUARY 3, 2011
Carter Wood – Shopfloor
The first week of 2011 is a busy and ceremonial one in Washington. President Obama returns from his Hawaii vacation to the White House on Tuesday afternoon. The U.S. Senate and House convene at noon Wednesday for the opening of the 112th Congress.
In the House, Rep. John Boehner (R-OH) will be elected Speaker of the House on Wednesday.
On Thursday, the House floor session features a reading of the U.S. Constitution. Speculation builds about a House vote to repeal the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, the health care law, and extension of the debt ceiling.
In the Senate, the session begins Wednesday with a presentation of the certificates of election and the swearing in of elected members. Morning business follows.
With the arrival of 2011, the National Association of Manufacturers now has a new chairman of the board of directors, Mary Andringa, president and CEO of the Iowa-based Vermeer. She began her two-year term as chairman on Jan. 1, 2011, succeeding Mike Campbell. Doug Oberhelman, CEO of Caterpillar, is the NAM’s new vice chairman.
Executive Branch: The White House and Executive Branch agencies have yet to release public schedules for the week, so we dig for this: The Blue Ribbon Commission on America’s Nuclear Future on Thursday tours the Savannah River site for storage of spent nuclear fuel and radioactive waste, and on Friday the Commission holds a public hearing in Augusta, Ga. (Details and news coverage.)
Economic Reports: The Institute for Supply Management today releases its manufacturing report. On Tuesday, the Commerce Department reports on factory orders in November. On Friday, the Bureau of Labor Statistics announces the employment situation and unemployment rate for December. For more, see The Los Angeles Times, “Slew of economic data due could sway Wall Street.” You know, you can write that same headline nearly every week.
The International Consumer Electronics Show (CES) starts Thursday in Las Vegas, with manufacturers front and center. Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer delivers the pre-show keynote address Wednesday. Other speakers during the week: Verizon’s CEO, Ivan Seidenberg; Robert Stadler, chairman of the board of Audi AG; Boo-Keun Yoon, president of Samsung; Cisco CEO John Chambers; GE Chairman and CEO Jeffrey Immelt: Xerox Chairman and CEO Ursula Burns; and Alan Mullaly, president and CEO of Ford Motor Company.
Congratulations to the new governors already sworn into office: Andrew Cuomo of New York, Susana Martinez of New Mexico and Rick Snyder of Michigan. Snyder enjoyed an auspicious beginning: The Detroit Lions beat the Vikings. Today, Governor Jerry Brown retakes office in California, and Brian Sandoval is sworn in as governor of Nevada. In all, there will be 29 new governors in 2011.
SOON-TO-BE CHAIRMAN FRED UPTON (R-MI) ON OBAMA ADMINISTRATION’S REGULATORY EXCESS
Carter Wood – Shopfloor
In an interview last week on the Hugh Hewitt Show, Rep. Fred Upton (R-MI), the incoming chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, detailed the committee’s plans for action and oversight in the first few months of the 112th Congress. The Environmental Protection Agency’s aggressive agenda of regulatory excess will be a major area of attention. As Upton said, “From the start, we’ve said we’re not going to let this administration regulate what they’re unable to legislate.”
From the transcript, Chairman-elect Upton:
Lisa Jackson, the administrator of EPA, I think she might have testified one time before our committee the last two years. And we made the point of making sure that we don’t know whether we’re going to have to report to the IRS that she’s going to get free parking as a benefit up here on Capitol Hill, but she’s going to be up here a lot more. She’s going to need to defend what EPA is trying to do.
And I will say this. You know, since I talked to you last, EPA had threatened to do these boiler regulations. You know, this is involving, really, most businesses across the country. And we sent some pretty tough letters over the last four, six weeks. And they backed off on them. So that was a good sign.
And as we look at all these regulations that EPA has got their hands in, we’re going to be looking at all of them. And you might remember that as a matter of the Pledge, something that Kevin McCarthy did really good work on, and most Republicans, including myself, embraced this last fall, one of the planks in that was that we want to examine all of the regulations that impose costs that exceed, I want to say, it was $200 million dollars on businesses across the country.
So we’re going to take that up as an issue, and it’s one of the reasons why we’ve assigned Cliff Stearns to be the chairman of the very important subcommittee on oversight and investigations. And I would imagine that they’re going to, and I saw Cliff yesterday, he’s already got about his next three months of hearings, maybe as many as two a week, and beginning to plan out, and EPA’s going to be a part of that. And John Shimkus, too.
Throughout the wide-ranging interview, Upton is politically punctilious about the central role the Energy and Commerce subcommittees and their chairmen will play. He includes the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act as one topic for legislative scrutiny under the newly renamed Commerce, Manufacturing and Trade Subcommittee, chaired by Rep. Mary Bono Mack (R-CA).
There’s also a brief discussion of John Engler’s move from the National Association of Manufacturers to the Business Roundtable.
Thank you to Hugh Hewitt and his team for producing the transcripts from his show. It’s an extra effort that helps make his show of such valuable for people who follow manufacturing policy.
FLORIDA TOPS LIST OF STATES LOSING MANUFACTURERS
Quick Manufacturing News
North Dakota was the only state to gain manufacturers. Click to continue
FACTORIES GROW FOR 17TH STRAIGHT MONTH
Today in Manufacturing
Manufacturers produced more goods and booked more orders in December, leading to the fastest growth in factory activity since May ... continue
FEATURE: MAKING MANUFACTURING SEXY
Today in Manufacturing
Quick fixes are often favored over long-term solutions, but management can no longer rely on old solutions because the problems we are facing are new ... continue
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