Robots will replace a growing number of jobs in industries including automotive and electronics in the next few years, particularly in east Asia, according to The Financial Times (Feb.10, 2015). Worldwide sales of industrial robots rose 23% last year and are on course to double (to 400,000) by 2018, driving radical change in many manufacturing sectors. Although robots have been used in industry for decades, recent advances in technology have cut their costs and increased their capabilities, as a new generation of reprogrammable, multipurpose machines comes into service. Continue reading →

Manufacturing in the U.S. is starting to make a comeback, and is poised for even bigger gains in the years ahead, opines The Wall Street Journal (June 2, 2014).  The number of factory jobs has started to rise after plunging for decades, edging up by about 600,000 over the past 4 years to more than 12 million. Some U.S. companies are bringing jobs back home, and foreign businesses are setting up shop. “The economics of the world are changing in favor of U.S. manufacturing,” says Boston Consulting Group. Here are 4 proposals why this is so:

1: U.S. Costs Are Getting More Competitive. While wages soar at double-digit rates in China and Continue reading →

Manufacturers are finding that a revolutionary technology has its limits, writes The Wall Street Journal(June 2, 2014). According to enthusiasts, 3-D printing was supposed to rewrite the rules of how things get built. Forget building new factories, or outsourcing production to China. The compact devices would launch a manufacturing renaissance centered in people’s living rooms and garages. Some makers of 3-D printers don’t argue with the critiques. Devices like MakerBot’s are meant to help designers and engineers test ideas and speed the development of products, not necessarily replace large-scale manufacturing. Continue reading →