News

The Port of Baltimore could be reopened fully by the end of May, according to POLITICO.

What’s going on: “The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers said it is aiming to reopen the channel leading to the Port of Baltimore by the end of May, a timeline [Maryland Gov. Wes] Moore confirmed Sunday [on CBS’ “Face the Nation”] is ‘realistic.’”

• The port has been closed since March 26, when a Singapore-flagged cargo ship hit the Francis Scott Key Bridge, destroying the bridge and killing six construction workers.
• While Gov. Moore did not give an estimate of the cost to rebuild the bridge, the closure is costing the port about $15 million a day in economic activity, the Baltimore Sun reports.
• And business analytics group Dun & Bradstreet has estimated the weekly economic impact of the closure on trade at about $1.7 billion, according to The Wall Street Journal (subscription).

“Absolutely committed”: The governor’s remarks came just days after the Office of Management and Budget urged Congress to authorize covering the full cost of rebuilding the bridge, according to Punchbowl News.

• “My administration is committed—absolutely committed to ensuring that the parties responsible for this tragedy pay to repair the damage,” President Biden said during a visit to the site of the bridge on Friday. “But I also want to be clear: We will support Maryland and Baltimore every step of the way to help you rebuild and maintain all the business and commerce that’s here now.”

The NAM’s view: “The NAM applauds the bipartisan efforts of federal and state officials to reopen the Port of Baltimore and rebuild the Key Bridge,” said NAM Director of Transportation, Infrastructure and Labor Policy Max Hyman. “It’s important to note that reforming our broken permitting system would significantly speed up projects such as this, returning much-needed economic activity and jobs to communities throughout the U.S.”

If you’ve been affected: Manufacturers affected by the bridge collapse and port disruption can access vital resources at the new online Resources and Info Hub of NAM state partner the Maryland Chamber of Commerce.

• The chamber and its partners are committed to helping manufacturers navigate this disruption and get on the path to recovery.
• Share your thoughts on the disaster and recovery efforts by filling out this survey.

The Federal Communications Commission is set for an April 25 vote to bring back “net neutrality,” aiming to reinstate a national regulatory framework for broadband internet services, Fox Business reports. The NAM is speaking out against it.

What is it: “The Biden administration’s rule would regulate broadband services as an essential resource under Title II of the Communications Act.’’

How did we get here: “In 2015, the FCC adopted the Obama administration’s [net] neutrality rules, known as the Open Internet Order. The rules survived a legal challenge with a favorable ruling by a federal appeals court in 2016.”

• In 2017, the Trump administration rolled back broadband regulation with a regulation known as the Restoring Internet Freedom rule, citing it as an impediment to innovation and investment by internet service providers. This decision held up against a legal challenge.
• By 2021, President Biden’s executive order suggested reviving Obama-era broadband rules. With Democrats leading the FCC by October 2023, a formal process began, setting the stage for a conclusive vote.

What would happen next: The NAM sent detailed feedback to the FCC last December, warning that reinstating broadband regulation “will lead to a slowdown in innovation and investment.”

• The NAM’s feedback pointed to the negative impact of the Obama administration’s previous attempt to implement the policy: “In 2015, the last time the FCC sought to regulate broadband under Title II, annual industry capex fell by half a billion dollars.”
• The FCC’s decision exceeds its authority and could also be subject to litigation: “Congress has not explicitly given the commission the authority to regulate broadband and reclassify it in this way; therefore, the FCC lacks authority to do so.”

Our take:  “As with the other elements of the regulatory onslaught out of Washington these past few years, this is yet another solution in search of a problem, because we already have an open and fair internet,” said NAM Senior Director of Technology Policy Franck Journoud. “As we’ve warned, this will regulate broadband as if it were the same as rotary telephone service, which would slow innovation. The commission really is doing nothing to answer the question of ‘why’ this policy should be brought back.”

• The NAM has long opposed broadband regulation and went to court to support the FCC’s 2017 decision to repeal the rule. As NAM Chief Legal Officer Linda Kelly said, “Internet-driven technology is at the heart of modern manufacturing, and the FCC’s decision to repeal the onerous 2015 net neutrality rule was a victory for the competitiveness of manufacturers in America.”

The NAM will closely follow the FCC’s latest vote on net neutrality and is prepared to oppose any decision to restore this outdated policy.

Stephanie Thompson may not have always intended to go into manufacturing, but she’s very glad she did.

The path taken: “You don’t necessarily plan your journey, but sometimes you can look back and see how those paths presented themselves,” and you’re thankful they did, said the engineering manager at General Motors’ facility just outside St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada.

• “My career in manufacturing started in internships in university. I worked for a food manufacturer, for a company that made above-ground swimming pools … It was a great chance to try out different businesses, and I [realized that I] love the buzz and excitement that manufacturing has.”

Award nominee: Thompson is a 2024 Honoree of the Women MAKE Awards, honors given annually to 130 women making a difference in manufacturing by the Manufacturing Institute, the NAM’s 501(c)3 workforce development and education affiliate.

• Thompson—who started working for GM full time right after university and has held multiple positions in her 23 years there—was the first woman to become an engineering manager in her time at her site.

• Women MAKE Award winners will be celebrated April 18 at the 2024 Women MAKE Awards Gala in Washington, D.C.

Always improving: An Ottawa native and graduate of the University of Waterloo, Thompson sums up her very complex job as “a manufacturing assembly specialist [who] makes sure people can do their jobs safely—and do it over and over again.”

• She oversees the assembly of whole powertrain lines. For one particular engine, “I was there for the first one made, and I was here for the last—we made over 5 million,” she said of a recently retired line.
• “We are always looking to make improvements, to make things more cost effective, to make things simpler,” she said. “The problem-solver part of me really enjoys making those incremental differences every day. [In manufacturing,] you get that sense of satisfaction from making stuff and ultimately giving a customer what they want.”

Women in STEM: Thompson, who has been recognized several times in her native Can

ada for her commitment to women’s education in science, technology, engineering and math, somehow found the time a few years ago to launch STEMbySteph.com, a STEM-focused website that includes a workshop series for women in the fields.

• She is also a mentor for FIRST Canada, which aims to interest kids in science and technology, and a regular speaker on related topics.
• “There are so many great women coming up through the ranks” in manufacturing today, she told us. “I want them to know there isn’t a limit to what they can do. I want to put myself out there as a technical role model, so women who apply [for manufacturing and STEM jobs] see themselves on the interview panel. They should know there’s a space for them in manufacturing.”

Work in progress: And while she’s had “nothing but great experiences with the men in manufacturing,” Thompson said the industry as a whole could benefit from “having some conversations” to make sure women feel welcome.

• “I don’t think it’s malicious,” she said, of the relatively low number of women in manufacturing (they make up about 30% of the
  manufacturing workforce). “But one of the things you have to do as a leader is create intentionality and create environments where conflict is positive, where you can all create ideas to [fix] the problem and where individuals feel safe being themselves.”

The Biden administration on Monday announced that TSMC’s Arizona subsidiary will receive up to $6.6 billion in grants from the 2022 CHIPS and Science Act, The New York Times reports. The announcement is the latest move by the Biden administration to make the United States a leading producer of cutting-edge semiconductor technology.

What’s going on: The funding “will help support the construction of TSMC’s first major U.S. hub, in Phoenix. The company has already committed to building two plants at the site and will use some of the grant money to build a third factory in Phoenix, U.S. officials said on Sunday.”

• The company will “increase its total investments in the United States to more than $65 billion, up from $40 billion.”
• “TSMC’s investment is expected to create about 6,000 direct manufacturing jobs and more than 20,000 construction jobs, federal officials said.”
• In addition to the grants, the federal government is also offering TSMC up to $5 billion in loans.

Impact on U.S. chip production: “With projects such as TSMC’s, the U.S. is on track to make about 20% of the world’s cutting-edge chips by 2030, the Commerce Department said. It called the project the largest foreign direct investment in a new project in U.S. history,” reports The Wall Street Journal (subscription).

• Earlier this year, the Biden administration announced major chips funding awards for Intel and GlobalFoundries.

The NAM’s reaction: “Today’s announcement from TSMC and @CommerceGov makes America stronger,” the NAM wrote in a social post Monday. “The NAM-championed CHIPS and Science Act continues to spur new investments in cutting-edge semiconductor technology that is essential to advancing U.S. economic competitiveness.”

The sixth ministerial of the United States–European Union Trade and Technology Council, held in Leuven, Belgium, emphasized the deepening cooperation between the U.S. and the EU in navigating global economic pressures and technological advancements.

What’s going on: Secretary of State Antony Blinken, joined by Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo and U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai, joined European Commission leaders in a discussion that centered on fostering economic security, the importance of AI governance, cooperation on secure supply chains and a transatlantic commitment to reducing reliance on high-risk suppliers.

• This collaboration, Secretary Blinken said in remarks to the press at the council’s outset, proved that there has been “increasing alignment” between the United States and the European Union on these and other issues in recent years.
• “Together, we represent almost half of world GDP, and that means that there’s a certain weight that comes with having a shared position on something,” Secretary Blinken said. “And whether that’s dealing with China or any other challenge, it makes a big difference.”

Growing collaboration in AI: The meeting additionally underscored unwavering support for Ukraine from the U.S. and the EU amid geopolitical challenges, as well as a commitment to driving innovation and security in technology and trade.

• One tangible outcome of the TTC was an update of the “Terminology and Taxonomy for Artificial Intelligence” (i.e., of the definitions of key terms used by the EU and U.S. when discussing AI). This underpins the workstream of the TTC to “ensure the safe, secure and trustworthy development and use of AI,” according to the U.S.–EU joint statement.

Shared concerns about Chinese semiconductors: Competition from heavily subsidized chips produced in China was a key focus at the ministerial, particularly in light of the anticipated ramping up of “legacy chips” manufactured in China over the next few years. The Chinese government’s significant financial subsidization of the chip-producing sector, Secretary Raimondo warned, could lead to considerable market imbalances between China and the U.S. and EU.

• Both the U.S. and EU pledged to continue working together to address destabilizing Chinese exports of semiconductors in the coming years, including to collect and share nonconfidential information and market intelligence about nonmarket policies and practices, to consult each other on planned actions and to potentially develop joint or cooperative measures to address distortionary effects on the global supply chain for legacy semiconductors.

The Manufacturing Leadership Council, the NAM’s digital transformation division, has announced the 2024 Manufacturing Leadership Awards finalists.

About the awards: Now in their 20th season, the Manufacturing Leadership Awards

honor the most outstanding manufacturing companies and their leaders for groundbreaking use of advanced manufacturing technology.

• This year’s program features nine project categories, including Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning, Digital Supply Chains and Sustainability and the Circular Economy.
• It also includes two categories for individuals: Digital Transformation Leadership for executive-level manufacturing leaders and Next-Generation Leadership for up-and-coming leaders age 30 and under.

How we decide: Nominations are judged by an outside panel of digital manufacturing experts with deep industry knowledge and experience.

• For project entries, judges assess an initiative’s effect on improving manufacturing processes, furthering business goals and advancing company strategy, as well as how much digital technology the project used.
• For individual nominations, judges look at each person’s impact both inside and outside their organization, and whether they meet the criteria as a role model for other manufacturing leaders.

Celebration and ceremony: Winners for both of these categories will be announced at the Manufacturing Leadership Awards Gala on June 5 at the JW Marriott Marco Island Beach Resort.

• Award finalists will also be recognized, as will winners of the Manufacturing in 2030 Award, the Manufacturing Leader of the Year, the Small/Medium Enterprise Manufacturer of the Year and the Large Enterprise Manufacturer of the Year.
• The gala caps off Rethink, the industry’s leading event for accelerating digital transformation. (Rethink also takes place in Marco Island, June 2–5.) 

The last word: “More than ever, manufacturers are finding that digital technology investment is good for business as they achieve new levels of performance in efficiency, productivity and innovation,” said MLC Founder, Vice President and Executive Director David R. Brousell.

• “The finalists we are recognizing for this year’s awards have demonstrated not just the business benefit of Manufacturing 4.0 technology, but also a fresh and imaginative approach to applying it in a transformative way.”

If the Honda Automotive Labs of Ohio facility is a marvel of technology and design, it is also a $124 million testament to the role of cutting-edge engineering in automobile manufacturing.

• “When I started 30 years ago, few really cared about aerodynamics,” said Honda Development & Manufacturing of America Full-Scale Wind Tunnel Lead Mike Unger with a wink. “Now everybody wants to talk to me.”

New interest: Though wind tunnel testing dates back many years, the increasing emphasis in recent years on greater fuel efficiency has brought a new wave of interest in the field.

• Honda owns three full-sized wind tunnels near its global headquarters, as well as several smaller test facilities around the world for examining scale models.
• But in 2015, Honda—which for decades had been sending its U.S.-based people, cars and tools all over the world for wind tunnel testing or else booking time at third party-owned facilities in America—began mulling constructing a North American wind tunnel, too.

Behold, HALO: The result was HALO, unveiled in 2022 in a 110,000-square-foot facility in East Liberty, Ohio.

• To make it, the company had gathered its “wind tunnel road warriors”—Honda team members who boasted decades of combined experience in the world’s most advanced research facilities—and asked them how they’d do it better.
• Among their top requests was the need for better, faster communications with the designers and builders of the cars they were testing. To facilitate this, HALO was strategically located just across from a Honda development center and a mere 10-minute drive from two manufacturing plants (including the Marysville, Ohio, facility where Honda has been building automobiles since 1982).

Wind-tested, Honda approved: Every new Honda passenger vehicle model undergoes extensive aerodynamic and acoustic testing during its design phase, and further changes are often made during the manufacturing process. Race cars, meanwhile, are tested primarily with an eye to managing the downforce caused by passing air.

The new digs: Now, instead of hashing out design challenges across oceans, everyone sits side-by-side in the same control room.

The state-of-the-art site also boasts a fully outfitted machine shop, custom loading bays and a car wash (the last a recommendation of Honda engineers who had more than once found themselves outside a wind tunnel with a dusty test car and a bucket of soapy water).

• “Absolutely everything was designed with intention,” said HALO Business Strategy Lead Chris Combs.

The details: The tunnel itself is an elaborately engineered circuit. It comprises a settling chamber, a heat exchanger the size of a movie screen and a safety grill to catch any debris that might come loose and threaten HALO’s pulmonary system: a colossal, 6,700-horsepower fan with 12 hollow carbon fiber blades that are 26 feet long each.

• Turning at 250 rotations per minute, the fan drives air through the tunnel and into an anechoic chamber.
• On a recent day, that chamber held both a race car (for downforce testing) and an SUV from the plant across the field (for acoustic work).

Saving time: At most wind tunnels, switching from aerodynamic work to acoustic testing takes nearly two hours. At the HALO wind tunnel, however, technicians swapped the Indy car for the SUV and reconfigured the test chamber in about 20 minutes.

• When it designed the facility, Honda focused on “simple things like that—things that really promote efficiency,” said HALO Operations Manager Jimmy Przeklasa.

Quiet and furry: HALO’s test chamber is lined with acoustic tiles and “teddy bear fur,” a soft, sound-absorbing material.

• Even with the wind blowing, the room is so quiet that technicians working inside must don harnesses to prevent them from stepping into a gale they can neither see nor hear.
• A software system translates the wind noises into visuals, similar to the way a weather radar displays a moving storm.

Complex but simple: Technologically and visually dazzling, the HALO wind tunnel can seem like a futuristic fever dream: color-coded maps of the whistling wind, a two-story fan more finely tuned than a jet engine and a scale capable of sensing a breeze.

• In fact, from its inception, the goal of creating the HALO wind tunnel was simple: make cutting-edge aerodynamic and acoustic research as easy, intuitive and cost-effective as possible. And Honda’s done it.

The last word: “This is the latest and the greatest,” Unger said. “This place is unmatched.”

If the Honda Automotive Labs of Ohio facility is a marvel of technology and design, it is also a $124 million testament to the role of cutting-edge engineering in automobile manufacturing.

• “When I started 30 years ago, few really cared about aerodynamics,” said Honda Development & Manufacturing of America Full-Scale Wind Tunnel Lead Mike Unger with a wink. “Now everybody wants to talk to me.”

New interest: Though wind tunnel testing dates back many years, the increasing emphasis in recent years on greater fuel efficiency has brought a new wave of interest in the field.

• Honda owns three full-sized wind tunnels near its global headquarters, as well as several smaller test facilities around the world for examining scale models.
• But in 2015, Honda—which for decades had been sending its U.S.-based people, cars and tools all over the world for wind-tunnel testing or else booking time at third party-owned facilities in America—began mulling constructing a North American wind tunnel, too.

Behold, HALO: The result was HALO, unveiled in 2022 in a 110,000-square-foot facility in East Liberty, Ohio.

• To make it, the company had gathered its “wind tunnel road warriors”—Honda team members who boasted decades of combined experience in the world’s most advanced research facilities—and asked them how they’d do it better.
• Among their top requests was the need for better, faster communications with the designers and builders of the cars they were testing. To facilitate this, HALO was strategically located just across from a Honda development center and a mere 10-minute drive from two manufacturing plants (including the Marysville, Ohio, facility where Honda has been building automobiles since 1982).

Wind-tested, Honda approved: Every new Honda passenger vehicle model undergoes extensive aerodynamic and acoustic testing during its design phase, and further changes are often made during the manufacturing process. Race cars, meanwhile, are tested primarily with an eye to managing the downforce caused by passing air.

The new digs: Now, instead of hashing out design challenges across oceans, everyone sits side-by-side in the same control room.

The state-of-the-art site also boasts a fully outfitted machine shop, custom loading bays and a car wash (the last a recommendation of Honda engineers who had more than once found themselves outside a wind tunnel with a dusty test car and a bucket of soapy water).

• “Absolutely everything was designed with intention,” said HALO Business Strategy Lead Chris Combs.

The details: The tunnel itself is an elaborately engineered circuit. It comprises a settling chamber, a heat exchanger the size of a movie screen and a safety grill to catch any debris that might come loose and threaten HALO’s pulmonary system: a colossal, 6,700-horsepower fan with 12 hollow carbon fiber blades that are 26 feet long each.

• Turning at 250 rotations per minute, the fan drives air through the tunnel and into an anechoic chamber.
• On a recent day, that chamber held both a race car (for downforce testing) and an SUV from the plant across the field (for acoustic work).

Saving time: At most wind tunnels, switching from aerodynamic work to acoustic testing takes nearly two hours. At the HALO wind tunnel, however, technicians swapped the Indy car for the SUV and reconfigured the test chamber in about 20 minutes.

• When it designed the facility, Honda focused on “simple things like that—things that really promote efficiency,” said HALO Operations Manager Jimmy Przeklasa.

Quiet and furry: HALO’s test chamber is lined with acoustic tiles and “teddy bear fur,” a soft, sound-absorbing material.

• Even with the wind blowing, the room is so quiet that technicians working inside must don harnesses to prevent them from stepping into a gale they can neither see nor hear.
• A software system translates the wind noises into visuals, similar to the way a weather radar displays a moving storm.

Complex but simple: Technologically and visually dazzling, the HALO wind tunnel can seem like a futuristic fever dream: color-coded maps of the whistling wind, a two-story fan more finely tuned than a jet engine and a scale capable of sensing a breeze.

• In fact, from its inception, the goal of creating the HALO wind tunnel was simple: make cutting-edge aerodynamic and acoustic research as easy, intuitive and cost-effective as possible. And Honda’s done it.

The last word: “This is the latest and the greatest,” Unger said. “This place is unmatched.”

The U.S. manufacturing industry could require some 3.8 million jobs to be filled within the next decade, according to a new joint study from the Manufacturing Institute, the NAM’s 501c3 workforce development and education affiliate, and Deloitte.

What’s going on: “Taking charge: Manufacturers support growth with active workforce strategies” found that manufacturing in the U.S. has emerged from the global pandemic on strong footing and is likely to continue to grow in the next few years.

• That growth will call for even more skilled workers—particularly statisticians, data scientists, logisticians, engineers, computer and information systems managers, software developers and industrial maintenance technicians—spotlighting the need to build the national talent pipeline.
• “Pandemic-driven shifts have already created hundreds of thousands of new jobs, and now we are seeing increased demand for digital skills that need to be met or risk further widening of the talent gap,” said Manufacturing Institute President and Executive Director Carolyn Lee.

Key findings: Top takeaways from the report include:

• If workforce challenges are not addressed, more than 1.9 million of the up to 3.8 million jobs likely to be needed between this year and 2033 could go unfilled.
• Some 65% of manufacturers polled said attracting and retaining talent is their primary business challenge.
• About 90% said they are forming at least one partnership to better attract and retain employees, and on average they have at least four such partnerships.
• Approximately 47% indicated that apprenticeships, work study programs or internships at manufacturing companies would be the most effective way of increasing interest in the industry.
• Some 47% also said flexible work arrangements—such as flex shifts, shift swapping and split shifts—have been their top retention tool.

The bottom line: Manufacturers continue to face a talent shortage—and the MI has the initiatives and resources ready today to help manufacturers address these challenges.

• From the recent flexibility white paper—which explains how manufacturers can build and deploy flexibility options for the 49% of workers that are on the production teams—to the high school internship toolkit that allows manufacturers to start a recruiting pipeline in high schools, to the FAME USA apprenticeship program training global best multi-skilled maintenance technicians and more, the MI has solutions to the hurdles highlighted in this study. Learn more at themanufacturinginstitute.org.

The Environmental Protection Agency’s new heavy-duty tailpipe emissions rule is unrealistic and unfeasible, the NAM said Friday.

What’s going on: “The rule—proposed in April 2023—is part of the ‘Clean Trucks Plan’ unveiled in 2023, which includes light-duty tailpipe and nitrogen oxide rules,” Bloomberg Law (subscription) reports.

• “The[se] ‘Phase 3’ standards build on previous phases of a broader regulatory program to stem greenhouse gas emissions from vehicles such as delivery trucks, long-haulers, and buses.”
• The Phase 1 rule was finalized in 2011, and the Phase 2 rule in 2016.

Why it’s problematic: While the new regulation grants automakers more time for implementation than previous versions did—thanks to input from manufacturers and their advocates, including the NAM—it still “fails to reconcile with the realities of current U.S. infrastructure,” according to an NAM social post.

• “Critical permitting reforms to strengthen transmission systems and a technology-neutral approach for manufacturers are essential to reaching U.S. climate goals,” the NAM wrote.

What should be done: Congress must reform the broken U.S. permitting system so we can build the electric vehicle charging station infrastructure required to implement a rule of this magnitude, the NAM said earlier this month.