July 6, 2011

HOME SALES DOWN IN MAY; PENDING SALES SHOW INCREASE

Utah Business Daily
Home sales in Salt Lake County in May were down, but pending sales for the month were up 58 percent, according to the Salt Lake Board of REALTORS®. In May, there were 1,026 closed home sales, a 20 percent drop compared to 1,278 closed sales in May 2010. The good news, however, is pending sales (signed purchase contracts on a home) rose to 1,135 contracts in May, up 58 percent compared to 720 pending sales in May 2010.
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WGA ELECTS GOVERNOR HERBERT AS VICE CHAIRMAN

Utah Business Daily
Governor Christine Gregoire (Wash.), the newly elected Chair of the Western Governors' Association, announced the launch of the WGA's "Get Out West!" initiative.
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PATRIOTISM

Quote Garden
"Freedom has its life in the hearts, the actions, the spirit of men and so it must be daily earned and refreshed - else like a flower cut from its life-giving roots, it will wither and die".
~Dwight D. Eisenhower

AIRBUS, BOEING LOCKED IN HIGH-STAKES DOGFIGHTCNNMoney.com/Fortune

Airbus and Boeing are locked in a battle for aerial supremacy, and the stakes have never been higher. Every new aircraft model is seen as a "bet-the-company" gamble, and both companies are competing to produce more fuel-efficient jetliners and grab fleet-upgrade contracts from major airlines.

OBAMA CITES PROGRESS IN DEFICIT TALKS

Today in Manufacturing
At issue is the need to raise government's so-called debt limit to avoid a default on its obligations to bondholders and Social Security beneficiaries ... continue

THE TEN MOST COMMON ERRORS IN DEVELOPING PERFORMANCE MEASURES

Quick Manufacturing News
Rarely do we measure the right things for the right reasons. Click to continue

UPS FREIGHT RAISES RATES BY 6.9%

Quick Manufacturing News
UPS Freight, the nation’s fourth largest LTL (less-than-truckload) carrier, has announced a general rate increase averaging 6.9% covering non-contractual shipments in the United States, Canada and Mexico. The rate adjustment takes effect on Aug. 1, 2011, and applies to minimum charge, LTL rates and accessorial charges. Click to continue

SURPLUS WITH TRADE AGREEMENT PARTNERS CONTINUES TO GROW

Frank Vargo – NAM Shop Floor Blog
On the eve of the House and Senate “mock markups” of the pending trade agreements with Korea, Panama and Colombia, an analysis of Commerce Department data shows that America’s existing trade agreements are doing even better than earlier data showed.

For the last three years, according to the Commerce Department data, U.S. manufactured goods trade with America’s 17 trade agreement partners (including those in NAFTA and CAFTA) was in cumulative surplus by $72.2 billion – an average of $24 billion per year. And data for the first quarter of 2011 show the surplus is running at an even faster annual rate of $28 billion.

The performance of manufactured goods trade with trade agreement partners is in stark contrast to the $1.3 trillion three year cumulative manufactured goods deficit with countries that are not trade agreement partners.

Moreover, the new data show that manufactured goods exports to trade agreement partners are jumping ahead of countries that are not partners. U.S. manufactured goods exports to trade agreement partners grew a phenomenal 23 percent in 2010, compared to the 18 percent increase in manufactured goods to the rest of the world.

The leading pace of trade agreement partners has continued into 2011. So far this year, manufactured goods exports to trade agreement partners are up 18 percent over the same period of 2010, while manufactured goods exports to the rest of the world are up 15 percent.
The results speak for themselves. It is time to help manufacturing in America by passing the three pending trade agreements that will open up important markets to U.S. exports and jobs.
Frank Vargo is vice president for international economic affairs, National Association of Manufacturers.

Agreement Signed on Mexican Trucks

Doug Goudie - NAM Shop Floor Blog
The U.S. and Mexican governments have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on a new cross-border trucking program that will bring the United States into compliance with our NAFTA commitments. This is good news – if long overdue – for manufacturers in America.
For over 30 months, U.S. manufacturers have faced billions in retaliatory tariffs on hundreds of products they ship into Mexico as a result of our ban on Mexican trucks. Now with this MOU, those tariffs will be cut in half – and will be suspended completely once the first truck is certified under the new program.

The NAM strongly believes that all countries need to uphold their international obligations, and that includes commitments made by the United States. We need to press other countries hard to live up to their agreements, but we cannot expect them to comply if we don’t. Resolution of the trucking dispute and removal of retaliatory tariffs is a very positive development.

Doug Goudie is director of international trade policy, National Association of Manufacturers.

AUTO INDUSTRY GOES ON HIRING SPREE

Today in Manufacturing
Industry is hiring again after two years of trouble, and at a faster pace than airplane makers, shipbuilders, health care providers and the government ... continue

JAPAN TO CONDUCT NUCLEAR PLANT 'STRESS TESTS'

Today in Manufacturing
The government hopes to ease heightened concerns about disaster preparedness after this year's tsunami sparked the worst nuclear crisis since Chernobyl ... continue

EXPORT-RELATED JOBS SURGE IN 2010

World Trade Center Utah
U.S. exports supported an estimated 9.2 million jobs in 2010, up from 8.7 million in 2009, according to a report issued today by the Department of Commerce’s International Trade Administration. For every billion dollars of exports, over 5,000 jobs are supported.

“The exports surge in 2010 supported an additional half million jobs for U.S. workers – growth critical to America’s economic recovery,” U.S. Commerce Secretary Gary Locke said. “It’s easy to understand why it’s so important to reach President Obama’s goal of doubling exports by 2015 and doing more than ever to help U.S. businesses reach the 95 percent of consumers who live outside our borders.”
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