China is the most attractive market in the world for robotics suppliers, with a relatively low robot density, lots of manufacturing, and fewer regulations than in other countries. At the same time, there are plenty of things to discourage business, from worries about trade disputes and intellectual property to the recent Chinese slowdown. How should…

The permanent magnetic is a quiet, unobtrusive work horse in so many applications that it, like many things that are mechatronics related, is mind bogglingly (is that a word?) pervasive.  Magnets are the key material technology to enable high efficiency and power dense electric motors.  And electric motors are everywhere. The particular magentic material that […]

I would like to take a slight detour from the generally technical and economic posts.  The underlying issue to many of the challenges that we face in energy and technology has to do with how we make decisions as individuals, companies and as a culture. I submit that the current “energy crisis” is largely self […]

For seventy years what was good for Detroit was good for America.  The major auto makers could sell as many cars as they could make.  And Americans were enthusiastic about the freedom offered by relatively inexpensive personal transportation.  Since Henry Ford’s introduction of the mass produced Model T and John D. Rockefeller’s agreement to provide […]

Another aspect of applying electric motors to power mechanical systems is the relationship between peak power and continuous power.  In mechanical systems the forces required to start a load may have no relationship to the power required to keep the system running.  Further, the  ideal demand for mechanical power may occur at a speed that […]

Freight shipping prices for transporting dry raw materials collapsed in November, slammed by the global financial crisis, slowing economic growth and falling commodity prices, industry experts said. The Baltic Dry Index, an indicator of economic trends which tracks the cost of moving goods such as coal, iron ore and grain across the oceans, has slumped […]

“Industrial production increased 1.3 percent in October and manufacturing production rose 0.6 percent in October after both sectors fell 3.7 percent in September,” said Daniel J. Meckstroth, Chief Economist for the Manufacturers Alliance/MAPI.  “ The October improvement is not anything to cheer about.  Hurricane Ike and the Boeing strike severely disrupted production in September and […]

The pace of deals in the global industrial manufacturing industry has slowed significantly during the first three quarters of 2008, according to a report released by PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP. The report found that the number of deals with a disclosed value of at least $50 million announced during the first three quarters of 2008 (126 deals), […]

U.S. companies spend more on R&D overseas than at home, but 40% of all corporate R&D dollars invested in the U.S. is spent by foreign headquartered companies; race to tap technical talent and new global markets exceeds the pursuit of lower labor costs as reason to conduct R&D offshore. Booz & Company’s fourth annual analysis […]

September U.S. manufacturing technology consumption totaled $439.51 million, according to AMTDA, the American Machine Tool Distributors’ Association, and AMT – The Association For Manufacturing Technology. This total, as reported by companies participating in the USMTC program, was up 32.0% from August but down 1.4% from the total of $445.56 million reported for September 2007. With […]

Japan’s core machinery orders plunged at the fastest pace in a decade in the third quarter as the economy teetered on the verge of recession, official data showed. The core private-sector orders, a leading indicator of corporate capital spending, tumbled 10.4% in the three months to September, the first quarterly drop in more than a […]

After a contractioin of 0.4% in August, industrial productio n in France fell by 0.5% in September, according to the national statistics office. Output by the auto industry, a motor of economic activity in France was particularly hard hit, plunging 3.1%. Manufactured output, production excluding output by the energy, food and farming industries, slumped by […]

BCC Research estimates that in 2007, the global requirement for all types of power electronics approached $10 billion, with demand closely following electricity use patterns. Over the course of the five year, 2008 to 2013, forecast period covered in this study, BCC Research projects global requirements will increase at a 11.6 % compound annual growth […]

British manufacturing output fell by 0.8% in September from the August level, the seventh monthly fall in a row, and was down 2.3% on a 12-month basis, the Office for National Statistics said on Nov. 5. The ONS said that a wider measure of industrial production, which includes mining, quarrying and energy, declined 0.2% in […]

Economic activity in the manufacturing sector failed to grow in October for the third consecutive month, and the overall economy concluded 83 consecutive months of growth, say the nation’s supply executives in the latest Manufacturing ISM Report On Business. The report was issued today by Norbert J. Ore, C.P.M., chair of the Institute for Supply […]

According to a Grant Thornton study, the majority of manufacturing executives (55%) are willing to increase prices to offsite rising prices. And this increase might be the reason that 44% of manufacturing CFOs expect their company’s financial prospects to improve over the next six months. More than four-fifths of senior financial executives (84%) project that […]

Smelting furnaces in a number of European countries run by steel giant Arcelor Mittal are to be shut down in coming weeks, according to Belgian trade unions. Arcelor Mittal management in Belgium have given notice that smelting furnace number six in Seraing, eastern Belgium, will be shut down “in two weeks” until at least mid-February, […]

PrimeRevenue, the leading global provider of Supply Chain Finance (SCF) solutions, announced key performance milestones. The PrimeRevenue SCF Platform processed over $30 billion in payments from 40 buyer organizations. More than half were made in the twelve months ending May 2008. By year-end 2008, existing and new programs are planned to bring an additional $25 […]

Manufacturing production fell 2.6% in September. Economist Daniel J. Meckstroth of the Manufacturers Alliance/MAPI noted that a “confluence of negative events drove down production in the last month. A hurricane shut down Gulf Coast refineries and did lasting damage to businesses in Texas and surrounding states; petroleum and coal production declined 9.2% in September.  Aerospace […]

RNCOS, an industry research group, reports that China will at 33 million cars to its roadways in 2010 in a new study, “China Automobile Sector to 2010”. In the past few years, precisely after its accession to the World Trade Organization (WTO) in 2001, China has seen a phenomenal growth in its automotive industry. As […]

A measure of U.S. manufacturing activity contracted more than expected last month, hitting the lowest level since the aftermath of the Sept. 11 attacks, as new orders slowed dramatically. The Institute for Supply Management on Wednesday released a September reading of 43.5, the lowest level since October 2001. The reading dropped from 49.9 in August, […]

National Association of Manufacturers (NAM) President John Engler issued the following statement commending the House of Representatives for its decisive (263-171) vote to enact the Emergency Stabilization Act of 2008: The House’s vote constituted a true act of political courage by our elected representatives, who put the future of America before personal political considerations. It […]