Research

In the push for more critical minerals, governments and companies worldwide are looking to “a new but also old source”: closed mines, or brownfield sites, The Wall Street Journal (subscription) reports.

What’s going on: “[O]pening new mines takes years—particularly when faced with strong local opposition—and delays might hamper policymakers’ efforts to diversify these supply chains. Even with recent investment announcements, analysts are forecasting supply shortfalls.”

• Reopening shuttered mines is often a quicker and less painstaking process because it allows the companies to “avoid damaging new land and work with local communities that have a memory of economic activity the industry can bring,” as a source told the Journal.

A successful start: One Swedish mining company is seeking to reopen an old copper-and-zinc mine in Norway that closed 25 years ago owing to low copper prices. “Last month, the local municipality unanimously approved plans to reopen” the mine.

• Several American firms are now seeking to reopen closed U.S. sites in the Southwest, and other projects are being planned in Italy and Germany.

​​​​​​​A “shift” in the U.S.: A U.S. company with plans to reopen an old gold mine in Idaho recently received funding from the Defense Department, which recognized the importance of the site as a source of antimony, a much-needed mineral in the defense sector.

• “The shift we are seeing in the United States is a growing recognition that we must secure supply chains, and a way to do that is bringing mining home and that means getting the public comfortable to bring mining home,” an executive at the firm told the Journal.

A new COVID-19 vaccine is set for a September release as cases of the new virus variant “Eris” rise nationwide, according to Reuters (subscription).  

What’s going on: “Some public health experts hope that Americans will welcome the new shot as they would a flu jab. But demand for the vaccine has dropped sharply since 2021 when it first became available and more than 240 million people in the U.S., or 73% of the population, received at least one shot.”

• Health care providers and pharmacies will begin offering the updated shots—which target XBB.1.5, “a sub-lineage of the still dominant Omicron variant”—in the second half of next month.
• The new vaccines still need authorization by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and recommendation by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Why it’s important: Though the COVID-19 public health emergency ended in May and the private sector has taken on “much of the duty of vaccinating America,” virus-related hospitalizations are up 40% from June’s lows.

• “CDC Director Mandy Cohen said last week in a podcast that … Americans should view these shots as an annual measure to protect oneself, in line with the annual flu shot.”

Ever wondered how best to contact your members of Congress? Or invite them on a tour of your facility? The NAM’s advocacy division, which helps manufacturers express their priorities to D.C. decision-makers, recently released a new and important resource: a suite of toolkits for different advocacy activities, including facility tours and more.  

Congressional contact: There is an art to contacting Congress, as the NAM’s advocacy team will tell you. Their “Engaging Congress” toolkit provides simple, easy to remember rules for all types of communication, as well as sample letters and phone messages. 

• By email: A few key tips include using a clear subject line, making sure that you identify yourself as a constituent and providing strong facts and data. And don’t forget to make it personal—the congressional office should understand that you yourself are harmed (or benefitted) by the policy in question.
• By phone: The advice for phone calls is similar—make sure you identify yourself as a constituent and a manufacturer, and that you have a clear request for the congressional staffer answering your call. Personal details matter in this format as well.

Lastly, consider attending a town hall or other event hosted by your members of Congress, where you can also voice your opinions and connect with their offices. 

Facility visits: Another way to make an impact on your representatives is to invite them over to your place. Hosting a facility tour can seem daunting or complicated, but the NAM’s toolkit breaks it down into eight easy steps. This collection of advice from the experts includes the following:

• How to create a guest list, send invitations and coordinate with congressional office staff
• How to prepare for media participation and craft a CEO message
• How to organize the tour itself, from preparing the premises to greeting the lawmaker to providing safety equipment and more
• How to show the visitors around while dropping key talking points into the conversation

That’s only a snapshot of this helpful toolkit, which includes many hints that you may not ever have considered—such as designating a notetaker to join the tour and keep a record of it.

Become an ambassador: If you are interested in making advocacy one of your missions, consider becoming an NAM Ambassador. Ambassadors share their stories with the media and policymakers, take public positions on key manufacturing issues, publish op-eds, host elected officials at their facilities and much more. 

Check it out: Explore the whole toolkit and learn how you can become an effective public advocate for your company, your industry and the American economy. 

Ever wondered how best to contact your members of Congress? Or invite them on a tour of your facility? The NAM’s advocacy division, which helps manufacturers express their priorities to D.C. decision-makers, recently released a new and important resource: a suite of toolkits for different advocacy activities, including facility tours and more.

Congressional contact: There is an art to contacting Congress, as the NAM’s advocacy team will tell you. Their “Engaging Congress” toolkit provides simple, easy to remember rules for all types of communication, as well as sample letters and phone messages.

• By email: A few key tips include using a clear subject line, making sure that you identify yourself as a constituent and providing strong facts and data. And don’t forget to make it personal—the congressional office should understand that you yourself are harmed (or benefitted) by the policy in question.
• By phone: The advice for phone calls is similar—make sure you identify yourself as a constituent and a manufacturer, and that you have a clear request for the congressional staffer answering your call. Personal details matter in this format as well.

Lastly, consider attending town halls or other events hosted by your members of Congress, where you can also voice your opinions and connect with their offices.

Facility visits: Another way to make an impact on your representatives is to invite them over to your place. Hosting a facility tour can seem daunting or complicated, but the NAM’s toolkit breaks it down into eight easy steps. This collection of advice from the experts includes the following:

• How to create a guest list, send invitations and coordinate with congressional office staff
• How to prepare for media participation and craft a CEO message
• How to organize the tour itself, from preparing the premises to greeting the lawmaker to providing safety equipment and more
• How to show the visitors around while dropping key talking points into the conversation

That’s only a snapshot of this helpful toolkit, which includes many hints that you may not ever have considered—such as designating a notetaker to join the tour and keep a record of it.

Become an ambassador: If you are interested in making advocacy one of your missions, consider becoming an NAM Ambassador. Ambassadors share their stories with the media and policymakers, take public positions on key manufacturing issues, publish op-eds, host elected officials at their facilities and much more.

Check it out: Explore the whole toolkit and learn how you can become an effective public advocate for your company, your industry and the American economy.

Owing to Beijing’s “Covid Zero” policy, China’s economy may be facing slowed growth that mimics a recession, according to The Wall Street Journal (subscription).

What’s happening: “Millions of new graduates are struggling to find a job. Business confidence has fallen. Imports have plummeted, and nervous Chinese are socking away more savings.”

• Purchasing manager indices released last weekend by China’s government showed contractions in factory and service-sector activity for April, the second straight month of declines.
• Also dropping are cement production, smartphone shipments and intra-country sales of excavators.
• Youth unemployment is reported at 16%.

Beyond lockdowns: Fallout from the war in Ukraine has increased costs for Chinese businesses and led to less demand for China’s exports.

• Meanwhile, “[r]eal estate, a primary driver of the nation’s economy, went into free fall last year as developers buckled under heavy debts and home sales slumped.”

Why it matters: Long-term slowdowns in China are felt internationally.

• “China was projected to account for a quarter of global economic growth in the five years through 2026, according to data released by the International Monetary Fund last year.”

How to fix it: Loosened “Covid Zero” policies, which have hamstrung supply chains and kept consumers home, would be likely to jumpstart a partial recovery, according to the Journal.

• However, “Chinese officials are pledging to get the economy back on track, without abandoning their tough Covid-control policies. President Xi Jinping … has called for an all-out campaign to rev up growth through more infrastructure spending.”

As most of the world grapples with inflation, China is facing deflation that could push it into “an economic trap,” according to The Wall Street Journal (subscription).

What’s going on: “Prices charged by Chinese factories that make products ranging from steel to cement to chemicals have been falling for months. Consumer prices, meanwhile, have gone flat, with prices for certain goods—including sugar, eggs, clothes and household appliances—now falling on a month-over-month basis amid weak demand.”

• China’s economy is growing, but slowly, and the government recently announced a series of stimulus programs to help.

Parallels with Japan: While most economists see China avoiding a prolonged recession, some “see alarming parallels between China’s current predicament and the experience of Japan, which struggled for years with deflation and stagnant growth” in the 1990s, following collapses in stock market and real estate value.

• If Japan’s fate were to befall China, the latter would face another hurdle: the usual methods for combating these problems would be either unpopular or toothless “due to the country’s heavy debt load.”

​​​​​​​ A mixed bag: A long period of lower prices in China could help bring down inflation elsewhere in the global economy, including the U.S.

• But … “[a] deflationary spell in China would also likely mean weaker Chinese demand for food, energy and raw materials, which big chunks of the world rely on for export earnings.”

Effects of uncertainty: And the longer that prices fall and stay down, the more entrenched deflation becomes—making debts “harder to bear and profits and incomes fall. Companies shed workers to fatten shrinking margins.”
​​​​​​​

The Federal Reserve will likely raise interest rates again in the near future, Chairman Jerome Powell said Wednesday, according to The Wall Street Journal (subscription).

What’s going on: Powell said that because the Fed lifted rates so quickly last year, the effects haven’t been fully realized yet.

• “‘Policy hasn’t been restrictive for very long … so we believe there’s more restriction coming,’ Powell said during a panel discussion with other central bankers at the European Central Bank’s annual symposium in Sintra, Portugal.”
• Core inflation will probably not reach the Fed’s target of 2% until 2025, Powell added.

The background: While central banks throughout the world have increased interest rates quickly in the past year in an effort to control inflation, they “have been astonished so far at the resilience of their economies to higher borrowing costs.”

• Earlier this month, the European Central Bank raised its rates a quarter percentage point. Last week, the Bank of England raised its key interest rate by a relatively aggressive half percentage point, citing a resilient economy, tight labor market and large pay increases for workers.
• At its meeting earlier this month, the Fed left the benchmark federal-funds rate at 5% to 5.25%, following 10 consecutive rate increases at prior meetings.

What it means: “Slowing down rate increases, including by possibly raising rates at every other meeting, represents an ‘effort to get more information from the data to see how much restraint is really coming,’ [Powell] said.”

What’s next: Most central banks—including the Bank of England—will probably raise rates again in the near future, according to the Journal.

The yearly rate of inflation slowed in May to less than half of what it was at its peak last year, but it’s still far higher than the Federal Reserve’s goal, according to The Wall Street Journal (subscription).

What’s going on: Consumer prices increased 4% in May from a year earlier, marking the 11th straight month of slowdowns.

• On a monthly basis, consumer prices rose 0.1% in May, following a 0.4% increase in April.
• Core consumer prices—which exclude food and energy and are considered a better predictor of future inflation—rose 5.3% year-over-year in May, owing partly to increasing rent costs.

The good: “The U.S. economy has maintained momentum this year, staving off predictions of recession. The job market remains robust, and consumers have boosted their spending, though one measure shows economic output is falling. A possible credit crunch following the March collapse of a few regional banks could crimp the economy.”

The not so good: “While inflation has cooled significantly, higher prices for many goods and services are weighing on household spending decisions.”
 
What’s coming: The Fed meets today and tomorrow to determine its next steps for interest rates, which it has raised aggressively in the past year—though it probably will not raise them again this week, according to NAM Chief Economist Chad Moutray.

• The Fed “is likely to make no changes to the federal funds rate this week, but with inflation remaining more stubborn than preferred, it could hike short-term rates by 25 basis points at either or both of its July 25–26 and Sept. 19–20 meetings before hitting the pause button on rate changes,” he said.

In an interview with Nick Pinchuk, you will start with JFK, meander through Ralph Waldo Emerson and the New Testament, meet Mother Teresa along the way and find out only at the end that he helped send the Viking probe to Mars. And let’s not forget another achievement: he delivered his own child in the backseat of the family car.

The Snap-on chairman and CEO, an executive committee member and stalwart supporter of the NAM, sat down for a very wide-ranging interview with NAM President and CEO Jay Timmons at the NAM’s recent board meeting, at which he received the Manufacturing Icon Award. Here are some of the highlights.

Starting with Kennedy: When asked how he got into manufacturing, Pinchuk cites Kennedy’s 1961 speech promising that the U.S. would put a man on the moon by the end of the decade. Pinchuk was one of the “millions of young people” who pursued STEM careers because Kennedy inspired them, he said.

• He then found himself shipped to Vietnam after a stint in the Reserve Officers’ Training Corps. His experience in the army later helped launch him into management at Ford, when the company was looking for someone who could “run something 24 hours a day”—just as he had in Vietnam.
• He “parlayed” that experience into a business degree, then rose fast in two other organizations—United Technologies and Carrier. His experience in Vietnam helped a second time, leading Carrier to choose him to run its Asia operations.
• Finally, Snap-on came calling, looking for someone with international experience. “On a day in which the board of directors likely had too much wine,” Pinchuk joked, “they decided to give me the CEO job.”

Read the full story here.
 

The Environmental Protection Agency has proposed the first federal limits on two chemical compounds that were used widely in everyday products for decades, The Wall Street Journal (subscription) reports.

What’s going on: “The agency is proposing maximum allowable levels in the nation’s public drinking-water systems for two compounds in a class of chemicals known as perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS, which were used for decades in carpeting, clothing, food packaging, firefighting foam and other consumer and industrial products. The EPA also said it would regulate four other PFAS chemicals by requiring treatment if the combined level reaches a certain concentration.”

• The suggested limits under the Safe Drinking Water Act are part of a larger move by the EPA to tighten rules around “forever chemicals”—so known because they take years to break down—owing to “a growing number of studies [that] have shown links to a variety of cancers, thyroid disease, high cholesterol and other issues.”
• The two individual chemicals under discussion are known as PFOA and PFOS, which various industries began using in the 1940s for their ability to resist grease, corrosion, water and stains, as well as to douse fires.

Why it’s important: While the EPA says the change would prevent numerous deaths and illnesses, not everyone is assured of the soundness of the science behind it—and others say it would cost companies unnecessarily.

• Critics of the new proposed standard say the chemicals are still necessary components of numerous products, from cell phones to medical devices, and there are no viable alternatives. Moreover, when used correctly, PFAS compounds do not pose a significant health risk to humans or the environment, they say.
• One source told the Journal the new limits “would cost water systems $40 billion” in compliance-related spending.

 Our take: “Everyone deserves access to clean drinking water, and manufacturers continue to do their part to ensure we achieve the highest levels of environmental stewardship,” said NAM Director of Energy and Resources Policy Chris Morris.

• “Manufacturers in America are committed to the communities in which they live and serve and are dedicated to protecting the health, safety and vibrancy of those communities. The EPA’s proposal leaves many questions unanswered on the feasibility of meeting these new standards and the economic impacts this will have on communities, especially rural communities and consumers. The NAM looks forward to continuing to work with the EPA to ensure everyone has access to clean drinking water.”