General

It might be hard to believe, but there are “more possible staff solutions than particles in the universe” for the typical factory, according to D-Wave Vice President of Quantum Business Innovation Murray Thom.

Yet thanks to quantum computing—or computers that employ the effects of quantum mechanics to operate more quickly and efficiently—D-Wave can help its customers solve this sort of knotty problem, whether they are trying to organize pallets, piers or people.

We spoke to Thom recently about the advantages of quantum as well as one of the company’s big successes, a collaboration with software company SavantX to increase the efficiency of Pier 300 at the Port of Los Angeles. Here’s what he had to say.

The future of computing is hybrid: When does it make sense to look beyond classical computing methods and add in quantum? As Thom explained, “Classical computers have to break things down into simpler steps—addition and multiplication.”

• However, a lot of logistical problems involve immense complexity. For example, let’s say you have boxes of components that must be shipped all over the country at different times. Thom puts it, “This box is going on this truck or that truck, [and that decision] affects other decision-making. It’s that cascade that makes this difficult for classical computing.”
• By contrast, quantum computers can take a huge volume of possible solutions, compare them all quickly and come up with a usable schedule
• Marrying classical with quantum computing—called quantum-hybrid technology—provides the best of both options and delivers robust solutions, said Thom.

The Port of LA: In 2018, SavantX was hired to improve the efficiency of Pier 300, which processes millions of containers every year.

• To juggle the many factors involved—trucks, containers and cranes that load the containers—and to model their movements inside a confined space, SavantX would need a lot of computing power. That’s why it brought in D-Wave.
• SavantX modeled the whole system using a digital twin of the pier, Thom explained. The digital twin allowed SavantX to run all types of simulations, some of which would never occur in the real world.
• Quantum-hybrid technology was then used to “ingest the whole problem” and configure it all at once “like a Rubik’s cube”—simulating an impressive 100,000 cargo-handling runs to find the best algorithm.
• And thanks to D-Wave’s proprietary cloud platform, no one at SavantX had to get “a degree in quantum physics,” Thom added. Instead, “the platform let them configure a solution, while D-Wave handled the complexity.”

Read the full story here.

The future of the Biden administration’s too-stringent rule governing the “waters of the United States” remains unclear following the president’s veto of legislation that would have overturned it, according to E&E News’ GREENWIRE (subscription).

What’s going on: “Republican lawmakers pushed almost immediately for a veto override targeting the…WOTUS rule on Thursday in the hours after President Joe Biden nixed a resolution that would roll it back.”

• A Republican-led measure in the House and Senate using the Congressional Review Act to block the overly restrictive WOTUS rule passed both chambers of Congress last month.
• House Republicans say they will push for a veto override.

Why it’s important: The Biden administration’s version of the rule replaced NAM-backed regulations from the previous administration.

The background: The Supreme Court is expected to make a decision this year on Sackett v. EPA, a case brought by an Idaho couple who have been blocked from building a house on their land for more than 15 years after the Environmental Protection Agency said part of the property was a wetlands.  

• The NAM and many GOP congressional leaders previously urged the administration to await the ruling on this case before releasing a final WOTUS rule.
• Issuing a new rule prior to a Sackett v. EPA decision only confuses things for manufacturers, making hiring and investment more difficult, NAM Senior Vice President of Policy and Government Relations Aric Newhouse said in December, following the release of the new rule.

What’s next: While “the fate of WOTUS remains murky as ever,” according to the article, several states have frozen the new rule.

• “Texas and Idaho secured an injunction on March 20, the day WOTUS took effect in the rest of the country. Those states are now subject to 1986 regulations, while the other 48 states are operating under the Biden administration’s definition—a split that has left the regulated community baffled as to how to operate nationally.”

The NAM says: “By vetoing the bipartisan Congressional Review Act on the WOTUS rule, the president removed an item that manufacturers greatly desire: regulatory certainty,” said NAM Vice President of Energy and Resources Policy Brandon Farris.

• “While the country awaits the decision in Sackett v. EPA, numerous investments in much-needed energy and infrastructure projects may be put on hold due to confusion over the new definition and potential added costs of compliance.”

Manufacturing saw robust growth in the fourth quarter of 2022, according to newly revised real GDP estimates from the Commerce Department.

What’s going on: While the overall U.S. economy grew 2.6% at the annual rate in Q4 of last year, real GDP in the manufacturing industry rose by an annualized 5.5%. That’s a sizable increase from the 0.5% seen in the third quarter.

Q4 details: Value-added output in manufacturing increased to $2.895 trillion at the annual rate—an all-time high—from $2.809 trillion in Q3.

• Value-added output hit record levels for both durable goods (up to $1.595 trillion from $1.544 trillion) and nondurable goods (up to $1.299 trillion from $1.265 trillion).
• Manufacturing made up 11.1% of value-added output in the U.S. economy, an increase from Q3’s 10.9% and the most since 2019.
• Manufacturing gross output also rose to a record number, $7.359 trillion from $7.339 trillion at the annual rate.

However … Real value-added output in manufacturing remained lower than the record high in 2021.

• Real value-added output rose to $2.283 trillion from $2.259 trillion at the annual rate, as expressed in 2012 dollars.
• The record high, in 2021, was $2.325 trillion.

The NAM’s take: “Despite numerous challenges, manufacturing continues to prove its resilience, hitting new records for the sector’s contributions to the U.S. economy,” said NAM Chief Economist Chad Moutray. “These data also suggest that in real terms, manufacturing output has pulled back recently, which points to inflation having buoyed these numbers.”

NAM President and CEO Jay Timmons concluded week one of the Competing to Win Tour in Europe by visiting a Polish school supported by UPS as well as a Pratt & Whitney facility, where he reflected on the role of manufacturing in protecting democracy.

The school: Timmons visited the elementary school in Lipa, Poland, which has been supported by UPS and served as a safe haven for Ukrainian refugee children at the start of the war.

• During his visit, Timmons discussed the needs of the children and met with the students and teachers in the town, which is near the Ukrainian border.
• He also met with an administrator from a sister school on the Ukrainian side of the border to discuss how the children there are faring.

“Arsenal of Democracy”: In addition, Timmons visited the Pratt & Whitney manufacturing campus in Rzeszów, which employs 5,000 workers and manufactures commercial and defense equipment.

• Timmons not only got a firsthand look at a company that is reinforcing the U.S.–EU commercial relationship, but also learned about the company’s response to the Ukrainian refugee crisis, which includes team members providing housing, aid and volunteer hours.

Visiting Auschwitz: Timmons visited the concentration camps at Auschwitz-Birkenau on Saturday and saw the horrific evidence of the atrocities committed at the site, where more than 1.1 million people perished.

• Following the visit, he warned against the dangers of authoritarianism and the importance of standing up for democracy and common values of respect and decency. He also noted, as highlighted during the Auschwitz-Birkenau tour, that businesses acquiesced or participated in mechanisms that advanced the aims of the Axis powers.
• Timmons emphasized manufacturing’s power to improve lives and protect freedom for people around the world. However, he also noted the dangers of command-and-control governments dictating the industry’s aims, citing the Holocaust and World War II as examples of how manufacturing can be used as a malevolent force.

The last word: “The American business community has an obligation to stand up for our democratic system and to hold our leaders responsible for their actions—and their rhetoric,” said Timmons.

• “Manufacturers in America, in particular, are a force for good. But we must never let our guard down or take our democracy for granted, no matter how difficult it may be to uphold what is right in the United States and around the world.”

Next up: The tour continues this week, with Timmons visiting high-level government and industry leaders in London, Brussels and Paris.

London, U.K. – As the National Association of Manufacturers’ Competing to Win Tour begins its second week of bolstering strategic alliances across Europe, the association released findings from its Q1 2023 Manufacturers’ Outlook Survey. The survey found that expanding trading opportunities with Europe is a top priority for manufacturers, with more than 77% of respondents supporting negotiating new agreements with European nations.

“At a time when democracy and free enterprise are under attack from forces around the world, America can provide the leadership needed to defend our values, our institutions and our way of life,” said NAM President and CEO Jay Timmons. “By advancing an ambitious trade agreement agenda, we can ensure that the U.S.—and not competitors like China—writes the rules for the global economy and trading system. That has been the focus of our conversations with government, association and business leaders across Europe over the past week.”

The survey also continues to illustrate the need for Washington to enact policies that support the sector’s competitiveness as businesses face record job openings and increased production and input costs.

“With geopolitical turmoil and a banking crisis injecting further uncertainty into the economy, policymakers must act with urgency on key tax, trade, permitting and regulatory proposals if they want to help manufacturers in America fend off a recession,” said Timmons.

Background: Manufacturers have called on Congress and the White House to address key tax, trade, and permitting policies in recent months and have pressed lawmakers to work across the aisle to move legislation. The NAM conducted the survey from Feb. 21 to March 7, 2023.

Key Findings:

• Of companies that are engaged in international trade, nearly two-thirds of manufacturers said that Europe was either a somewhat or very important market for their company. With that in mind, 77.7% would support U.S. efforts to launch market-opening trade agreement negotiations with countries in Europe.
• Nearly three-quarters of respondents (74.9%) listed attracting and retaining a quality workforce as a primary business challenge, with increased raw material prices (60.1%) and supply chain challenges (55.8%) the next biggest impediments.
• More than 90% of respondents said that higher tax burdens on manufacturing income would make it difficult for their companies to expand their workforce, invest in new equipment or expand their facilities. Similarly, 93.9% suggest that increased regulatory burdens would weaken their ability to invest in their workers, equipment or facilities.
• More than 74% of respondents said that permitting reform—which would simplify and speed up the approval process for new projects—would be helpful to their manufacturing company, allowing them to hire more workers, expand their business or increase wages and benefits.
• More than 55% of respondents said that new proposed air standards from the Environmental Protection Agency would raise their costs of compliance, with roughly one-third suggesting that it would lead to increased permitting challenges and lessen investment and facility expansion plans.

Conducted by NAM Chief Economist Chad Moutray, the Manufacturers’ Outlook Survey has surveyed the association’s membership of 14,000 manufacturers of all sizes on a quarterly basis for the past 25 years to gain insight into their economic outlook, hiring and investment decisions and business concerns.

The NAM releases these results to the public each quarter. Further information on the survey is available here.

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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 $2.81 trillion to the U.S. economy annually and accounts for 55% 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 NAM’s Competing to Win Tour in Europe continued this week with a stop in Poland, where NAM President and CEO Jay Timmons highlighted manufacturers’ support for Ukraine both in his high-level meetings and in media interviews.

Solidarity with Ukraine: At the U.S. Embassy in Warsaw, Timmons and U.S. Ambassador to Poland Mark Brzezinski met to advance manufacturers’ shared solidarity with Ukraine and the importance of strengthening U.S. commercial relationships with Poland and other democratic allies.

• During a meeting with Poland’s Minister of Economic Development and Technology Waldemar Buda, Timmons discussed the direct support and investment by U.S. manufacturers in Poland, which they can use as a base for rebuilding Ukraine after Russia’s defeat.

Humanitarian work: A visit to UPS Poland highlighted the company’s humanitarian work to support refugees from Ukraine.

• UPS has suspended operations in Russia and Belarus and has partnered with several organizations on the ground in Ukraine to provide emergency funding, in-kind support and core relief supplies to refugees.
• UPS has transported and donated millions of meals, winter coats, medical supplies, blankets and other items to aid refugees, while also providing support to its Ukrainian employees and their families.

Interview on “Morning Joe”: Live from Warsaw, Timmons appeared on “Morning Joe,” where he emphasized the power of commerce, and manufacturers, to preserve, protect and expand democracy.

• “[T]he most important thing is to support our allies that believe in democracy. I’m very concerned right now that we have a divide between democracies and authoritarian regimes,” said Timmons. “And American business, I think, can help lead the way to strengthen and support democracy.”
• “I don’t think that there’s any threat quite as grave as what we’re seeing coming out of Russia right now,” he continued. “President Xi, and his visit from China to Moscow, I think really sends a pretty big warning signal for the West.”
• The show covered Ukrainian President Zelenskyy’s recent address to the NAM Board of Directors and spotlighted the NAM’s leadership on the world stage—as well as that of individual companies.

Roundtable discussion: Timmons’ last event in Warsaw was a roundtable discussion at AmCham Poland with representatives of manufacturers in the United States that operate in Poland.

• The meeting highlighted the importance of supply chain resilience, energy security and robust, market-opening trade agreements in the work ahead in rebuilding Ukraine, which require a mobilization of capital, industry and governments not seen in Europe since 1945.
• The meeting also covered opportunities for American businesses to support Poland in these efforts and to promote democratic values.

The last word: “Forty years ago this month, President Reagan warned the world not ‘to ignore the facts of history and the aggressive impulses of an evil empire,’” said Timmons. “A [statue of President Reagan] stands across the street from the U.S. Embassy in Warsaw.”

• “As Poland generously absorbs and supports nearly 2 million Ukrainian refugees who have been displaced by Russia’s barbaric and unprovoked war, Reagan’s words are just as important today as they were then.”

There’s no better way to see the power of manufacturing than by visiting a facility—which is why the NAM brought its Competing to Win Tour to INCOG BioPharma Services’ new state-of-the-art facility in Fishers, Indiana, yesterday.

A delegation including NAM President and CEO Jay Timmons, Sen. Todd Young (R-IN), Fishers Mayor Scott Fadness and INCOG BioPharma Services President and CEO Cory Lewis toured the company’s brand-new facility and discussed the importance of advanced manufacturing.

The tour: The NAM’s Competing to Win Tour is a nationwide event that highlights critical issues facing manufacturers in the United States.

• Designed to raise awareness around manufacturing opportunities—and foster conversation between local manufacturers, employees, media, community leaders and elected officials—the Competing to Win Tour kicked off this year with the NAM State of Manufacturing Address from Timmons at Husco’s headquarters in Waukesha, Wisconsin.

The host: INCOG knows firsthand about the challenges and opportunities in modern manufacturing. Founded in 2020, the company is a contract development and manufacturing organization that provides a wide range of pharmaceutical services, including drug development, clinical trial manufacturing and commercial manufacturing.

• In their new cutting-edge facility, which just opened last May, the company is creating sterile injectables and assembling devices to help their customers bring new drug products to market.

The panel: As part of the event, Timmons moderated a conversation between Sen. Young, Mayor Fadness and Lewis on the challenging environment facing manufacturers and the urgent need for solutions on issues like permitting reform, workforce development and tax policy.

• Young highlighted crucial investment in semiconductor manufacturing, saying, “We’ve just passed what is really a historic piece of legislation called the CHIPS and Science Act that will invest in emerging technologies that will define the 21st-century economy.”
• Meanwhile, Lewis discussed the importance of R&D to his company, in the context of a larger discussion about the R&D tax credit. He said, “My perspective is R&D is critical … there’s a lot of activity that happens on the R&D side, a lot of momentum that’s required to get that through.”
• Mayor Fadness talked about the importance of introducing students to manufacturing early on, saying, “I think there are opportunities to really tie [in] those connections [to manufacturing] from K through 12. I think we need to start younger and tie them back to this facilities and leaders like Cory at INCOG.”

Presented by Jay Timmons, President and CEO of the National Association of Manufacturers, the 2023 State of Manufacturing Address was given from Husco International in Waukesha, Wisconsin. Special remarks were given by Kurt Bauer, President and CEO, Wisconsin Manufacturers & Commerce. Special thanks to Husco President and CEO Austin Ramirez and his team for hosting this year’s address.

Read the official remarks here.

We’re hitting the road. This year’s NAM State of Manufacturing Address officially kicked off the 2023 leg of the NAM’s Competing to Win Tour. The tour will continue to spotlight the industry’s rapid transformation, while also focusing on manufacturing’s well-paying careers, diverse workforce and real-world solutions for the industry’s continued growth.

Upcoming stops: Waukesha and Pewaukee, Wisconsin (Tue, Feb 21); Fishers, Indiana (Wed, Feb 22); Harahan and Avery Island, Louisiana (Thurs, Feb 23)

VISIT THE COMPETING TO WIN AGENDA

Washington, D.C. – The National Association of Manufacturers released its Manufacturers’ Outlook Survey for the fourth quarter of 2022. It illustrates manufacturers’ concerns around a challenging economic environment characterized by inflation, supply chain disruption and the workforce crisis. It also demonstrates the consequences of Congress’s continued inaction on key manufacturing priorities. The NAM conducted the survey from Nov. 29 to Dec. 13, 2022.

“The majority of manufacturers expect a recession this year. Congress failed to act on essential tax reforms, which complicates investment, increases inflationary pressures and could stifle economic growth,” said NAM President and CEO Jay Timmons. “Much needed permitting reforms and provisions to strengthen our ability to conduct research and development, buy machinery and finance job-creating investments—which we need to promote growth within the sector—were left on the cutting room floor last year. Those reforms, combined with manufacturers’ ongoing efforts to inspire, educate and empower the future workforce, are critical to our competitiveness.”

Workforce shortages ranked as the industry’s number one concern, and there were 779,000 open jobs in manufacturing in the most recent data. This is why the NAM has pressed Congress to address immigration reform—as both a humanitarian solution and to help the sector grow its talent pool—and other solutions outlined in “Competing to Win,” the NAM’s policy roadmap to bolster manufacturers’ competitiveness.

Timmons added, “We’re looking to the new Congress and the administration for leadership and to focus on policies that remove barriers to manufacturing growth in the United States and fend off a severe downturn.”

Key Findings:

• More than 62% of manufacturing leaders believed that the U.S. economy would slip officially into a recession in 2023.
• More than three-quarters of respondents (75.7%) listed attracting and retaining a quality workforce as a primary business challenge, with supply chain challenges (65.7%) and increased raw material costs (60.7%) the next biggest impediments.
• Even in a recession, manufacturers plan to do the following: capital spending on new equipment and technological investments (65.3%), upskilling and training of existing workforce (64.1%), seeing solid demand for their company’s products (63.2%), hiring new employees (55.1%), investing in research and development (52.1%) and spending on new structures and existing facilities (38.6%).
• More than three-quarters of respondents (75.8%) said pushing back against regulatory overreach should be the top priority of the 118th Congress. Other priorities included supporting increased domestic energy production (69.3%), passing comprehensive immigration reform (65.4%), maintaining and permanently extending tax reform (63.0%), controlling rising health care costs (55.5%), addressing the skills gap facing manufacturers (50.5%) and modernizing permitting to reduce red tape (40.0%).

Due to the consistent economic headwinds, manufacturers’ confidence has declined, with 68.9% of respondents having a positive outlook for their company, the lowest since the third quarter of 2020.

Conducted by NAM Chief Economist Chad Moutray, the Manufacturers’ Outlook Survey has surveyed the association’s membership of 14,000 manufacturers of all sizes on a quarterly basis for the past 25 years to gain insight into their economic outlook, hiring and investment decisions and business concerns.

The NAM releases these results to the public each quarter. Further information on the survey is available here. Click here for more on “Competing to Win.”

Washington, D.C. – On Tuesday, Oct. 4, Senator Todd Young (R-IN) is scheduled to visit NAM member company Wabash Castings. Sen. Young will be joined by Wabash Castings CEO and newly elected NAM board member Sachin Shivaram as well as other company leaders and manufacturing workers to discuss policies impacting the manufacturing industry as laid out in the NAM’s “Competing to Win” plan.

Sen. Young has been a champion of key provisions of the NAM’s competitiveness agenda in his support of the CHIPS and Science Act and the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act.

Interested media are invited to cover the walking tour of the facility and participate in media availability following the event, time and schedule permitting.

Background: The NAM’s policy priorities are outlined in the latest version of “Competing to Win,” a comprehensive blueprint to bolster manufacturers’ competitiveness. The plan includes solutions to urgent problems, such as energy security, immigration reform, supply chain disruptions, the ongoing workforce shortage and more.

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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 more than 12.8 million men and women, contributes $2.77 trillion to the U.S. economy annually and accounts for 58% 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.