| Welcome to the newest monthly newsletter offering from MetalForming magazine and PMA. We hope you find it useful and interesting; please feel free to share your thoughts with us. |
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| Automotive Forecast: A Little Cloudy with Clearer Skies Ahead |
During 2022, automotive-OEM profits grew stronger, due to reduced inventory and fleet sales along with increased retail sales prices. However, analysts at Harbour Results Inc. (HRI) expect several issues to continue into 2023, “including a slight recession, the chip shortage, growing cost of doing business and inflation,” the latest HRI Love Letter notes. “Despite all these challenges, we still see opportunities on the horizon for the automotive industry.” Among them: - Auto Forecast Solutions projects U.S. vehicle sales to grow from 13.7 million units in 2022 to 14.4 million in 2023.
- Consumers are financing 29 percent more for new cars than they
previously have, and the average payment has increased 23 percent,
reflecting the sales of new vehicles with higher content and increased
prices.
“It is important to note that the future is bright for automotive,” the letter concludes. “In 2024 and beyond there will be many new vehicles and all-new ICE trucks. This coupled with new BEV products entering the market will allow for lots to quote in the coming years; we just have to get through 2023.” |
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| Maximize Uptime and Improve Productivity |
| AMSOIL
Industrial lubricants maximize uptime while our Certified Lubrication
Specialists (CLS) help you eliminate inefficiencies and develop
solutions that save you money. Learn more about how AMSOIL Industrial is
the choice for your Metal Stamping operation. |
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| Incident Management Software Improves Employee Engagement at Aluminum Producer |
Workplace
safety and health at 200-employee Golden Aluminum, a manufacturer of
aluminum for beverage and food packaging as well as other industries,
took a big step forward in employee engagement when the firm decided, in
2021, to invest in a new incident-management software platform from
VelocityEHS Safety.
“One of the biggest tangible improvements we saw was an increase in engagement,” says Golden Aluminum’s EHS manager Ryan Thompson. “We’re getting a lot more people feeling like they have a voice—they can put in an observation or near miss and see action being taken.” |
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| The right benefits can make a difference… |
| Chances
are, you have key employees that play important roles in your
organization. Having the right tools to recruit, reward, retain and
retire your top talent can help them and your business. Contact us today
to get started. |
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| Free Webinar: OSHA Top 10 Violations—Is Your Business Prepared? |
On
Tuesday, January 17, join the experts at Federated Insurance for this
complimentary webinar (advanced registration required) providing an
overview of the top 10 violations that OSHA plans to focus on in 2023.
In addition, presenters will focus on risk-management policies,
procedures and training resources that you can implement to help reduce
employee accidents and injuries.
Also on the docket: a webinar titled Risk Management Culture and Leadership, slated for February 21. |
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| Mindshare with Manufacturing CEOs |
Read
up on the top six concerns of manufacturing-company CEOs in this
Manufacturers Alliance article, reporting the results of a recent survey
to find and identify the key concerns of CEOs and how they plan to
mitigate challenges and thrive. Among the findings:
- 79 percent of companies are taking steps to de-risk Asian supply chains.
- 52 percent are considering investing in new U.S. production facilities.
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| Reshoring and FDI Set New Quarterly Record, on Track for a Record-Breaking 350K Jobs in 2022 |
Q3
2022 data, provided by the Reshoring Initiative, indicates that
reshoring plus FDI (foreign direct investment) job announcements were at
the highest rate ever recorded, about 15 percent above those in Q1
2022, the previous record. Q4 2022 looks strong enough to reach a 2022
total of 350,000+ jobs. Top takeaways:
- EV battery investments make electrical equipment the top industry.
- Private and federal entities are investing in skilled-workforce
development, addressing one of the leading barriers to reshoring
success.
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| PMA Membership |
| Position your company as an industry leader when you utilize PMA resources—ITR Econ Trends reports, trade publications, One Voice and FABTECH trade shows. A PMA membership will provide your company and all of its employees with a range of valuable industry resources that are designed to help you become more connected, more informed, more efficient, more competitive and ultimately more profitable. |
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| IRS Provides Automatic Method Change for Research and Experimental Expenditures |
The
2017 tax-reform act amended Section 174 to require taxpayers to charge
research and experimental (R&E) expenditures, including software
development costs, to a capital account. Section 174 costs are required
to be amortized over 5 yr.
“Legislation that would reinstate the previous treatment of R&E and software-development costs has had bipartisan support in Congress, but to date has not been enacted,” notes a recent PwC blog. “In the interim, the IRS amended the automatic method change revenue procedure to limit use of the automatic procedures for R&E expenditures under Section 174 and software-development costs under Rev. Proc. 2000-50 to method changes for expenditures under the statute as in effect before 2022.
“Taxpayers that must change their method of accounting for Section 174 costs,” the post continues, “now make the change when filing their 2022 federal income tax return using the automatic procedures.” |
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| New Legislation Introduced to Rebuild American Industries, Strengthen the Supply Chain |
Sen.
Marco Rubio (R-FL) and Rep. Ro Khanna (D-CA) have introduced
bipartisan, bicameral legislation aimed at rebuilding critical American
industries and strengthening supply chains. Named the National
Development Strategy and Coordination Act, the legislation would
increase strategic coordination among federal finance programs to help
bring manufacturing back to the United States. It would allocate $20
billion through 2033 to supercharge federal loans and create a new
executive committee of cabinet-level agency heads charged with
developing a National Development Strategy every 4 yr. that would look
at three key areas:
- Vulnerabilities in supply to industries critical to national security
- Vulnerabilities and shortfalls in domestic manufacturing
- Opportunities to strengthen the industrial base.
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| Webinar: Qualification Process When Using Sustainable Metal Powders for AM in a Production Environment |
Sustainability
and recycling have been grabbing headlines not only in conventional
manufacturing but also in additive manufacturing (AM). Manufacturers are
driving the demand for sustainable materials typically sourced from
scrap or used/recycled powder. This demand requires suppliers to provide
these new materials, which carry lingering skepticism that typically
includes these questions:
- Will the material meet my spec?
- Are we taking a hit on quality?
- Are we going to lose margin due to a higher material cost?
During this free webinar (January 18, 2023), learn from Dr. Behrang
Poorganji, vice president of materials technology at Morf3D, the
specific requirements that metal-AM players, including OEMs, are looking
for to satisfy demanding applications and sustainability initiatives.
He also will share an outlined qualification process as well as some of
the material-property results that Morf3D has been able to generate
successfully. |
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Management
Event