General

The Manufacturing Institute—the workforce development and education affiliate of the National Association of Manufacturers—has announced the two outstanding manufacturing leaders who will serve as chair and vice chair of the MI’s STEP Ahead Awards.

• Biogen Executive Vice President, Head of Pharmaceutical Operations and Technology Nicole Murphy will serve as chair, and AstraZeneca Senior Vice President and Global Head of Pharmaceutical Technology and Development Dafni Bika will serve as vice chair.

The background: The STEP Ahead Awards honor remarkable women and allies in manufacturing, who are advancing the industry everywhere from the shop floor to the C-suite. Honorees are nominated by their colleagues for their exceptional leadership in their workplaces and communities.

The chair: With more than three decades of experience and leadership in the biopharmaceutical industry, Murphy is an expert in manufacturing operations, engineering, chemistry, manufacturing and controls process development and regulatory, quality and supply chain management.

• She has achieved improvements in safety and quality, optimized production processes and helped ensure a reliable supply of potentially lifesaving medicines for patients around the globe.
• Thanks to her strategic leadership and commitment to mentorship and talent development, Murphy has not only achieved impressive business results but also set up the next generation for further successes.

What she’s saying: “It is a tremendous honor to serve as chair for the STEP Ahead Awards program and to celebrate the remarkable women and allies who are shaping the future of manufacturing,” said Murphy.

• “In today’s ever-evolving and high-paced manufacturing environment, it is critical we recognize women and allies at all levels for their innovative spirit and leadership—they are building the talent pipeline of manufacturing leaders. I look forward to learning from their inspiring stories and recognizing the impact they’re having on manufacturing, technology and society.”

The vice chair: Bika also brings more than 25 years of experience in biopharmaceutical manufacturing, the development and commercialization of new products and digital innovation.

What she’s saying: “I’m honored to be appointed vice chair of the MI’s 2026 STEP Ahead Awards,” said Bika. “This program recognizes the women and allies who are shaping the future of manufacturing with bold creativity and innovation.”

• “I’m deeply committed to advancing and inspiring the next generation in STEM to pursue careers in our industry, and I look forward to celebrating the remarkable leaders who will be honored next year.”

The MI says: “We are so fortunate to have two inspirational leaders—both working at the cutting edge of biopharmaceutical manufacturing—agree to lead and advise on the 2026 STEP Ahead Awards,” said MI President and Executive Director Carolyn Lee.

• “Both Nicole and Dafni embody all that manufacturing has to offer as a career path. They are making these opportunities visible and inspiring a future generation of manufacturing team members.”

Stay tuned: The 2026 awardees will be announced ahead of the STEP Ahead Awards Gala on April 23, 2026, at The Anthem in Washington, D.C.

San Francisco on Tuesday filed a lawsuit against some of the nation’s biggest food and beverage manufacturers, accusing them of creating a public nuisance through deceptive marketing of ultra-processed foods (Reuters, subscription).

What’s going on: “City Attorney David Chiu filed the lawsuit in San Francisco Superior Court, alleging the companies employed tactics similar to those used by the tobacco industry to design and market products intended to addict consumers.”

• Chiu named Coca-Cola, PepsiCo, Kraft Heinz, Mondelez and six other firms in the suit, averring all broke “California laws on public nuisance and deceptive marketing.”
• The suit says that cancer, obesity and diabetes rates have risen in tandem with the proliferation of “ultra-processed” snack foods.
• The city is asking for “restitution and civil penalties to offset” health-care costs, as well as a court order stopping the companies from using “deceptive marketing” and mandating that they change their advertising practices.

However: “The definition of ultra-processed foods remains under debate,” according to the article, and efforts underway by the Department of Agriculture and the Food and Drug Administration to define the term could backfire, as the NAM said in October.

• The push could shift nutrition programs and policies away from food composition and toward subjective opinions about processing methods.

The NAM says: “Allegations of public nuisance against food and beverage manufacturers that fully comply with FDA safety and nutrition standards are an abuse of the legal system,” said NAM Chief Legal Officer and Corporate Secretary Linda Kelly.

• “Frivolous and agenda-driven lawsuits do not improve public health or safety. Instead, they create confusion for consumers and undermine the regulatory certainty manufacturers need to provide safe and nutritious foods that are affordable and accessible for American families.”

NAM in the news: Fox Business covered the NAM’s comments.

The U.S. added more jobs than expected in September, but manufacturing employment declined for the fifth consecutive month, according to long-awaited employment data out today from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

What’s going on: Nonfarm payrolls increased by 119,000 in September, higher than forecast, while manufacturing jobs slipped by 6,000.

• In addition, job gains for both July and August were revised downward to a gain of 72,000 positions and a loss of 4,000 positions, respectively, with the 12-month average now standing at a gain of 109,000 jobs per month.
• The unemployment and labor force participation rates each inched up 0.1%, to 4.4% and 62.4%, respectively.

Focus on manufacturing: Manufacturing’s collective job losses of 14,000 in July and August were revised downward to a loss of 24,000 positions.

• Employment in the industry has declined 94,000 over the year, the most of any sector.
• Durable goods manufacturing employment dipped by 4,000 in September, while employment in nondurable goods decreased by 2,000.
• The industry’s biggest gains were in beverage, tobacco and leather and allied product manufacturing, which added 3,300 jobs in September.

Earnings and workweeks: Average hourly earnings for all private, nonfarm payroll employees increased 0.2%, reaching $36.67.

• In the past 12 months, employee earnings have gone up 3.8%.
• The average workweek for all employees stayed the same at 34.2 hours, but for manufacturing workers, it moved down 0.1 hour to 39.9 hours.

On the October jobs front: This is the only jobs snapshot we will see until December, after the government shutdown prevented the BLS from collecting key data, according to the agency. The BLS will instead fold October payroll figures into the full November jobs report—without an unemployment rate for October ( CNBC).

The Trump administration made a flurry of trade announcements late last week. We covered the most prominent among them—the announcement of four deals with Latin American countries—last week, but here are more pertinent details for manufacturers.

Latin America: On Thursday night, the White House issued joint statements describing key terms of framework agreements with El Salvador, Ecuador, Guatemala and Argentina, which will be finalized “in the coming weeks.”

Tariffs on U.S. goods: Ecuador and Argentina commit to reduce or eliminate tariffs on specific U.S. exports. Guatemala and El Salvador do not include tariff commitments because the 2005 U.S. free trade agreement with Central America eliminated tariffs on U.S. exports.

• Ecuador: Ecuador will reduce or eliminate tariffs in key sectors including machinery, health products, information and communication technology goods, chemicals, motor vehicles and certain agricultural products.
• Argentina: Argentina will provide “preferential market access” for U.S. exports of certain medicines, chemicals, machinery, information technology products, medical devices, motor vehicles and agricultural products. The words “reduce” or “eliminate” are not used.

Nontariff barriers: All four countries commit to address nontariff barriers particular to their markets, including:

• Streamlining regulatory approvals for pharmaceuticals and medical devices (Guatemala, El Salvador);
• Accepting U.S. auto standards (Guatemala, El Salvador);
• Implementing intellectual property rights obligations (Guatemala, El Salvador, Ecuador, Argentina);
• Refraining from digital services taxes (Guatemala, El Salvador, Ecuador);
• Ending pre-shipment inspection mandates and expanding the Authorized Economic Operator program to include express delivery (Ecuador); and
• Accepting U.S. standards and conformity assessment (Argentina).

Switzerland and Liechtenstein: The president announced a framework on Friday for a trade deal with Switzerland and the Principality of Liechtenstein focused on tariffs and investments into the U.S. and a commitment to work on nontariff barriers. Key elements include the following:

• Matching the EU 15% IEEPA rate: The U.S. will reduce Switzerland’s International Emergency Economic Powers Act rate to a maximum of 15%, the same as the European Union. Switzerland has made promises to reduce its trade surplus with the U.S.
• Market access for U.S. exports: Switzerland and Liechtenstein “intend to remove a range of tariffs across agriculture and industrial sectors.”
• Investments: Swiss and Liechtenstein companies will invest at least $200 billion into the U.S., “with at least $67 billion worth of investment occurring in 2026.” Important to the Swiss was to partner to increase the use of Registered Apprenticeships and other training programs in key high-growth sectors, including learning from and collaborating with NAM workforce initiatives.
• Nontariff barriers: Switzerland and Liechtenstein intend to address a range of nontariff barriers, including for U.S. medical devices and autos, and to identify and align international standards to improve access for U.S.-manufactured goods exports. They also agreed to “refrain from harmful digital services taxes.”

What’s next: The U.S., Switzerland and Liechtenstein will work to conclude negotiations in early 2026.

South Korea: In July, the U.S. and Korea announced a Korea Strategic Trade and Investment deal. Last week, the White House posted a fact sheet outlining its elements.

IEEPA tariffs: Under the U.S.–Korea FTA (KORUS), Korea already applied zero duties on U.S. goods. Under this deal, the U.S. will do the following:

• Cap the IEEPA Reciprocal rate at 15%, but some goods receive zero or Most Favored Nation rate: The U.S. affirms the IEEPA rate for Korea will be the higher of either the KORUS rate or the U.S. MFN rate or the IEEPA tariff rate of 15%.
• Apply Annex III exemptions to Korea: The U.S. will apply MFN to the products on the list of Potential Tariff Adjustments for Aligned Partners (Annex III), which include generic pharmaceuticals, ingredients and chemical precursors and certain natural resources unavailable in the United States.

Section 232 tariffs: Foreshadowing forthcoming approaches to the pharmaceutical and semiconductor Section 232 investigations, the U.S. agreed to do the following:

• Reduce Section 232 tariffs on autos/parts and timber/lumber: The U.S. affirms the Section 232 rate for Korea will be reduced from 25% to 15%, inclusive of KORUS and MFN, for autos, auto parts, timber, lumber and wood.
• Reduce any Section 232 tariff on pharmaceuticals to 15%: Prospectively, the U.S. will cap any forthcoming Section 232 tariff on Korean pharmaceuticals at 15%.
• Secure favorable terms for imports of semiconductors: For any Section 232 tariffs imposed on semiconductors, including semiconductor manufacturing equipment, the U.S. “intends to provide terms for such Section 232 tariffs on Korea that are no less favorable than terms that may be offered in a future agreement covering a volume of semiconductor trade at least as large as Korea’s, as determined by the U.S.” It’s unclear if this foreshadows a type of tariff-rate quota.

Read more: You can find a complete list of relevant features here.

Washington, D.C. – National Association of Manufacturers President and CEO Jay Timmons issued the following statement on the latest trade deals. 

“Today, President Trump, Secretary Bessent and Ambassador Greer delivered a major win for the American people with trade deals that keep the products that power daily life—like coffee, bananas and cocoa—affordable for working families and manufacturers. That’s something to celebrate. Today’s announcement will empower companies in the food and beverage supply chain to bring certain critical ingredients and inputs to the United States in order to enable and expand production at home. 

“The U.S. is the strongest manufacturing power in the world, and thanks to this administration, manufacturers have made bold investments to enhance our ability to produce the essential inputs on our own shores. But just as coffee primarily must be produced elsewhere, the same is true for a range of critical manufacturing inputs and machinery that keep our factories humming and determine whether the next manufacturing dollar is spent in America. Americans run on coffee—and America’s manufacturers run on indispensable materials, machinery and equipment. 

“We’ve had productive conversations with the administration about applying this principle, using the NAM’s U.S. Manufacturing Investment Accelerator Program, to essential manufacturing inputs—such as the critical minerals, industrial machinery and materials that drive our economy and strengthen our long-term ability to make more things in America.  

“Even at full industrial capacity, the U.S. can only produce about 84% of the inputs manufacturers need—meaning at least 16% must be imported for us to build more here at home. That’s why we’ve offered practical, pro-growth solutions that allow manufacturers to bring in non-domestically produced inputs without adding new cost burdens—while rewarding companies that invest, expand and create jobs in America. 

“Manufacturers are expanding capacity in America, and increasing domestic production will strengthen our industrial base and our national security. But tariffs on essential manufacturing inputs raise costs on factory floors, slow investment in new equipment and risk undercutting the president’s efforts to boost U.S. manufacturing output and jobs. 

“The president’s tax, regulatory and energy dominance agendas are designed to stimulate manufacturing investment and job creation here in America. Empowering manufacturers to bring needed inputs, equipment and machinery to America’s shores would supercharge that investment, ensure the success of the president’s agenda and bring new prosperity and opportunity to communities from coast to coast.” 

-NAM- 

The National Association of Manufacturers is the largest manufacturing association in the United States, representing small and large manufacturers in every industrial sector and in all 50 states. Manufacturing employs nearly 13 million men and women, contributes $2.90 trillion to the U.S. economy annually and accounts for 53% of private-sector research and development. The NAM is the powerful voice of the manufacturing community and the leading advocate for a policy agenda that helps manufacturers compete in the global economy and create jobs across the United States. For more information about the NAM or to follow us on Twitter and Facebook, please visit www.nam.org. 

The federal Registered Apprenticeship program has the potential to help alleviate some of the manufacturing sector’s labor shortage—but it needs strengthening and streamlining to do so, Manufacturing Institute Chief Program Officer Gardner Carrick told the U.S. Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee Wednesday.

What’s going on: “Registered Apprenticeship has an opportunity to play a significant role in the growth and scaling of the apprenticeship model in manufacturing,” Carrick said at the hearing “Registered Apprenticeship: Scaling the Workforce for the Future.” “But the program must be value-added.”

• In July, the MI—the NAM’s 501(c)3 workforce development and education affiliate—released “Manufacturing America’s Talent,” its workforce-system improvement roadmap that includes key recommendations for bettering the federal RA program framework.

FAME gives employers what they need: Apprenticeship works, Carrick said, pointing to the MI’s Federation for Advanced Manufacturing Education (FAME) program as evidence. FAME was started in 2010 by Toyota and is today fully run by the MI.

• But for the RA program to work as well—and help fill the many open manufacturing jobs, forecast to reach 3.8 million by 2033 if current trends continue—the federal government must provide flexibility to allow employers to tailor the program’s offerings to their real-world skill needs.
• The fact that just 15% of FAME participants are registered apprentices is evidence that the current system is not meeting needs, Carrick continued.

What should be done: The RA program “must be employer-led, offer a sensible balance between benefits and costs and support the infrastructure needs of our education partners to deliver the skills and competencies that manufacturers are actually asking for.”

What success looks like: Today, FAME works with nearly 500 companies in 45 locations across 17 states. Its graduates—highly skilled maintenance technicians—have a 95% full-time employment rate.

• One study shows that five years after finishing the program, FAME graduates were earning just under six figures annually, Carrick said.
• “In FAME, we achieve these levels of success because the model is employer-led, which means we teach the skills that employers actually demand.”

Read the whole thing: You can read Carrick’s full written testimony here.

Manufacturing in the U.S. is seeing major benefits from the Trump administration’s tax and regulatory policies—but more must be done to unlock a manufacturing investment boom, NAM Managing Vice President of Policy Charles Crain said at the recent Financial Times–Nikkei Investing in America Summit.

What’s going on: The tax bill’s pro-manufacturing policies—including immediate expensing for factory construction, capital equipment purchases and research spending—“set the stage for manufacturing growth and investment here in the United States,” Crain told FT Economics Editor Claire Jones.

• The 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act was, in the president’s words, “rocket fuel” for manufacturing, Crain continued, and this year’s tax bill, preserving and expanding the TCJA, should have a similar effect on the industry.
• But “the question is … what impact do other policies have? Do they set a cap on the ‘rocket fuel’ that the tax and regulatory agenda should create? Or do they further unleash manufacturing investment and growth?”
• Crain noted that there are still significant opportunities on the table for Congress and the administration: comprehensive permitting reform to “get shovels in the ground” on critical projects, workforce solutions to reskill the manufacturing workforce and fill the industry’s 400,000 open jobs and commonsense trade policies to ensure manufacturers can make things in America and sell them abroad.

Aligning trade and tax policies: At maximum production capacity, the U.S. can make approximately 84% of the inputs needed for manufacturers to make things domestically, Crain said, and the economy currently produces about 67% of necessary inputs.

• Manufacturers must “have access to the inputs they need,” including both raw materials as well as equipment and machinery that are often “specialized for the modern manufacturing economy” and only available outside the U.S.
• Crain highlighted the variety of manufacturing investment announcements driven by the president’s tax and regulatory agenda, but noted that some manufacturers have been unable to import specialized machinery necessary to get those investments off the ground.
• He added that the NAM has been urging the administration “to ensure that trade policies align with the tax and regulatory policies that drive our industry’s growth here in the U.S.”

Immigration and workforce: Manufacturing in America requires a highly skilled labor pool, so the sector supports the use of H-1B visas, which Crain called “critically important to the industry.”

• The industry also needs what Crain called “manufacturing-skilled talent,” in important occupations such as technicians, welders, machinists and electricians. He noted the industry’s efforts to build a domestic supply of these workers, but also said that manufacturers need an immigration solution to fill those skills gaps.
• Manufacturers are committed to producing their needed talent in the U.S., partnering with community colleges and participating in workforce-development programs, such as the Manufacturing Institute’s Federation for Advanced Manufacturing Education (FAME) and Heroes MAKE America initiatives.

The AI effect: Artificial intelligence has been a boon to the industry, according to Crain—and the industry is working to ensure its workers have the skills they need to leverage this exciting technology.

• “AI poses tremendous promise for manufacturing,” he told Jones. “Our shop floors are more interconnected and more modern now than they ever have been,” and companies are using AI to “drive efficiency, to design products, to improve worker safety, to improve their supply chains” and more.
• At the same time, “we need the workers who come into the sector as well as the workers who are currently in the sector to be trained to utilize and to work with AI to actually be able to maximize the productivity gains that AI presents.”

Kentucky is one of the top manufacturing states in the U.S.—and the Kentucky Federation for Advanced Manufacturing Education (FAME) is helping keep it that way (Spectrum News 1).

• The state has more than 6,000 manufacturing facilities that together employ more than 260,000 residents and contribute over $47 billion each year to the state’s GDP.

What’s going on: KY FAME represents the Bluegrass State as part of the FAME USA network. FAME is the workforce initiative founded by Toyota and is today supported by the Manufacturing Institute, the 501(c)3 workforce development and education affiliate of the NAM.

• FAME USA, which has eight chapters across Kentucky, develops highly skilled, professional manufacturing talent using a “dual-education apprenticeship style [that] means students earn a full-time salary while they learn, an Advanced Manufacturing Technician certificate and an associate’s degree in two years’ time.”

Why it’s important: Kentucky, like the rest of the U.S., has long experienced a dearth of skilled manufacturing workers. KY FAME is helping build its own pool of talent with a dedicated and novel earn-while-you-learn model that is appealing to both students and manufacturers.

• Program participants work three days a week, Gene Fife, program coordinator of the Greater Louisville Chapter of KY FAME, told Spectrum News 1. “They’re coming to school for two days a week. One that allows them to perhaps graduate debt-free, and they have some money in their pocket for a reward for their hard work.”

Hopeful outlook: Manufacturing jobs in the state are still increasing due to advancements in technology and Kentucky’s growing industrial market.

• “I believe manufacturing is never going to go away,” Fife said. “The advent in AI and a lot of other things have really helped, and with robotics and things like that, we are able to do things in manufacturing we weren’t able to do as little as five years ago. But you always need that person [who] can fix it when it breaks.”

What participants say: “This program as a whole is phenomenal,” said Wyatt Drury, who is in his second year with the Greater Louisville Chapter of KY FAME, working as a maintenance technician at a local carbon steel pipe and tubing manufacturer.

• “It’s helped me out tremendously, and even if my company doesn’t want to hire me, I have open opportunities to go anywhere.”

The last word: “FAME is proof that when manufacturers take the lead in developing their own workforce, everyone benefits—students, companies and communities,” said MI President and Executive Director Carolyn Lee “The Kentucky chapters continue to deliver the skilled talent our industry needs to keep growing and innovating.”

Get involved: Interested in learning more about FAME USA? Go to fame-usa.com to learn more.

Amazon has a new package-sorting robotics system capable of doing the work of three separate stations “in one place,” the retail and technology giant announced recently (CNBC).

What’s going on: “The system, called Blue Jay, is made up of a series of robotic arms that are suspended from a conveyor belt-like track. Those arms are tipped with suction-cup devices that allow them to grab and sort items of varying shapes and sizes.”

The backdrop: The system is the latest in a lineup of robotics Amazon has begun using for an array of tasks, from removing goods from shelves to sorting packages. These investments not only make jobs more efficient, but they also increase safety for employees.

• In May, it unveiled “Vulcan,” a system that has a sense of touch.
• The company’s foray into robotics began in 2012, when it acquired Kiva Systems.

Employee-centered: Amazon, which plans to hire 250,000 workers for full- and part-time roles this holiday season, said “employees remain ‘at the center’ of its robotics development. … [and] its goal is to ‘reduce physically demanding tasks, simplify decisions and open new career opportunities’ for workers.”

Related development: Also recently, the global company unveiled augmented reality glasses for delivery drivers.

• The gadgets, which have been tested by hundreds of drivers, have artificial intelligence, cameras and sensors to scan packages and display hazards, driving directions and reminders.
• The glasses also feature a button drivers can use to call emergency services.

Washington, D.C. – National Association of Manufacturers President and CEO Jay Timmons released the following statement on the passing of former Vice President Dick Cheney: 

Photo Credit: Ian Wagriech, National Association of Manufacturers 

 Former White House photographer and NAM Director of Photography Dave Bohrer interviews Vice President Cheney at the NAM board meeting in September 2018. 

“With a career in public service that spanned decades, Vice President Cheney demonstrated an unwavering commitment to those values that have made America exceptional and that manufacturers strive to advance: free enterprise, competitiveness, individual liberty and equal opportunity. 

“Chief of staff under President Ford and a six-term congressman during the Reagan Revolution, he was a power player during some of the most consequential times in Washington. Our defense secretary during the Gulf War and a calm presence during 9/11, he was guided by a sense of duty to keep America safe—because America was a nation and idea worth protecting. A patriotic citizen, he lent his voice to the cause of family equality and in defense of our very democracy. 

“Vice President Cheney believed that America was a force for good. He once wrote, ‘There is no other like us. There never has been.’ And indeed, there is no other like Dick Cheney. There never has been. Our deepest condolences to Lynne, Liz, Mary and their entire family.” 

-NAM- 

The National Association of Manufacturers is the largest manufacturing association in the United States, representing small and large manufacturers in every industrial sector and in all 50 states. Manufacturing employs nearly 13 million men and women, contributes $2.90 trillion to the U.S. economy annually and accounts for 53% of private-sector research and development. The NAM is the powerful voice of the manufacturing community and the leading advocate for a policy agenda that helps manufacturers compete in the global economy and create jobs across the United States. For more information about the NAM or to follow us on Twitter and Facebook, please visit www.nam.org. 

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