The Rodon Blog - A Focus on Plastic Injection Molding and American Manufacturing

This article written by Adam Robinson originally appeared on the Cerasis blog on October 28, 2015

In today's post, we feature a great infographic below from a joint report by Deloitte Manufacturing and the Manufacturing Institute. Before featuring this information so that manufacturers understand how the public views them, let's first go through a brief history of the American Manufacturing Industry by highlighting some moments & inventions that changed the way of life as we know it.

This article written by Adam Robinson originally appeared on the Cerasis blog on June 24, 2015

Future Outlook of Reshoring in America

Jobs & The Slow Movement of Reshoring
Notwithstanding many sound reasons for reshoring, an Information Technology and Innovation Foundation report indicates that U.S. manufacturing is not experiencing a "renaissance". Industry experts conservatively acknowledge that off-shoring has slowed, and perhaps "stabilized". Although around 80,000 manufacturing jobs have come back to the U.S. in the past 3 years, (about 60% from China), per research by BCG and others, there's no indication that a great number of additional jobs will soon return from Mexico and China.

In fact, since the recession, more manufacturing companies have been lost than gained in the U.S. There were 10% fewer manufacturers in 2011 than in 2008—a record low since 1977, when the Census Bureau started collecting Business Dynamics data. And, the labor force was 35% smaller in those days. Manufacturing has gained 700,000 jobs since 2010. However, there are a million fewer manufacturing jobs than in 2008. Job gains are largely due to increasing consumer demand, not to reshoring production back to the U.S. Productivity in factories continues to improve, however, and are more efficient than ever, so the best jobs picture we can hope for is flat as we don't believe that US Manufacturing jobs will ever be at the percentage they were at the peak in the late 70s.

This article written by Adam Robinson originally appeared on the Cerasis blog on May 11, 2015

With the release of the May 8, 2015 Jobs Report, many businesses and employees within the manufacturing industry have grown concerned. According to the report, the average number of total US manufacturing jobs in the United States changed very little since April. Furthermore, this report represents the second consecutive month that actual job growth results fell short of administration expectations. At the heart of the jobs issues, rests an unusual factor in a growing, stabilizing economy: US production of goods has increased while total number of US manufacturing jobs has decreased. Several key factors play into this startling fact, and failure to understand why and how current US manufacturing jobs appear to be declining could easily create a sense of impending doom for small to large businesses. To help businesses of many sizes regain control over their areas of expertise, here are the primary reasons today’s US manufacturing jobs have trodden back into the trenches of a once-powerful, assembly-line-laden economy.

This article written by Adam Robinson, Marketing Manager at Cerasis, originally appeared on the Cerasis blog on March 27, 2015

What is the "Maker Movement"?

The maker culture is a contemporary culture or subculture representing a technology-based extension of DIY culture. Typical interests enjoyed by the maker culture include engineering-oriented pursuits such as electronics, robotics, 3-D printing, and the use of CNC tools, as well as more traditional activities such as metalworking, woodworking, and traditional arts and crafts. The subculture stresses a cut-and-paste approach to standardized hobbyist technologies, and encourages cookbook re-use of designs published on websites and maker-oriented publications. There is a strong focus on using and learning practical skills and applying them to reference designs.

This article written by Adam Robinson, Marketing Manager at Cerasis, originally appeared on the Cerasis blog on March 6, 2015

While US manufacturing has been hit hard by nearly two decades of policy failures that have damaged its international competitiveness, it remains a vital part of the U.S. economy.

The US manufacturing sector employed 12 million workers in 2013, or about 8.8 percent of total US employment. Manufacturing employs a higher share of workers without a college degree than the economy overall. On average, non-college-educated workers in manufacturing made 10.9 percent more than similar workers in the rest of the economy in 2012–2013.

A new Accenture manufacturing and skills study, completed in collaboration with The Manufacturing Institute, looks at the skills shortage in the US manufacturing industry and what actions manufacturing companies can take to address how this lack of talent pool of skills for manufacturing jobs impedes growth.

Below this write up you will also find a very cool infographic, so be sure to check that out at the end of the post.

The study includes responses from more than 300 executives from a diverse range of US manufacturing companies. It confirms that the current period is favorable for U.S. manufacturing, which has exhibited steady growth in recent years. The study shows that more than 50 percent of companies surveyed plan to increase U.S.-based production by at least 5 percent in the next five years.

However, the results also reveal a major challenge that could dampen future growth prospects - a shortage in the skills required to perform essential tasks for manufacturing jobs today and innovate for tomorrow. U.S. manufacturers may lose up to 11 percent of earnings annually as a result of increased production costs driven by a shortage of skilled workers.

If you follow the manufacturing space, you’ve probably heard that the industry is undergoing a significant change, accompanied by terms like “New Industrial Revolution”, “Third Industrial Revolution”, “Manufacturing 3.0” and “Maker Movement”.

We should ask, ‘What does this change actually mean for consumers?’

The new industrial revolution will have an overwhelmingly positive impact on consumer experience by allowing more customers to get what they want, when they want it and at a price they’re willing to pay. Today, no product is too quirky, offbeat, personalized or complicated to be brought to market.

Consumers can obtain these through ways like purchasing them from one of the small, agile manufacturing companies that have emerged to address customers with niche requirements. These companies have targeted customers who want a more personalized product and are willing to pay a premium for it.

Alternately, consumers can now invest in products they want by directly supporting projects in crowd-funding places like Kickstarter or Indiegogo. Crowdsourcing is also another channel for fresh ideas to become reality, with the added benefit of improving the quality of designs through cross-disciplinary collaboration and by gathering early feedback. These ideas also play nicely into the thought of Distributed Manufacturing.

The Rise of 3D Printing as the Driver of the Democratization of Manufacturing

3D-printing allows consumers to turn highly individualized concepts or designs into real-life products via a “personal manufacturing” process. As 3D-printing services and consumer devices become more affordable and ubiquitous, companies will start making digital versions of their products and parts available. Consumers will be able to download, modify and print these digital versions directly.