WASHINGTON—The White House is preparing a menu of sanctions against Chinese state-owned enterprises and private companies that officials believe benefited from the cybertheft of U.S. corporate secrets, several people familiar with the matter said. [ by Damian Paletta and Bob Davis | August 31, 2015 | WSJ ] The White House hasn’t decided definitively…

The Department of Labor reported this morning that America’s manufacturing sector lost 17,000 jobs in August. [Reposted from the Alliance for American Manufacturing website  |  Taylor Garland  |  September 4, 2015] The #AAMeter, which tracks President Obama’s promise to create 1 million new manufacturing jobs in his second term, decreased to +382,000 jobs, after revisions…

  Five Chinese navy ships are currently operating in the Bering Sea off the coast of Alaska, Pentagon officials said Wednesday, marking the first time the U.S. military has seen Chinese naval activity in the area. [ by Jeremy Page in Beijing and Gordon Lupold in Washington | September 2, 2015 | WSJ ] The…

  The Labor Department reported the economy added a disappointing 173,000 jobs in August. The unemployment rate fell to 5.1 percent largely because fewer Americans sought work. GDP grew at a 3.7 percent annual rate in the second quarter. The balance of this year and next, the pace is expected to moderate to 2.6 to…

The disconcerting downward trend — consecutive record months, on track for three straight record years — could ultimately lead to a $1 trillion manufacturing trade deficit in 2016. [Reposted from Industry Week  |  Matt LaWell  |  September 3, 2015] Two prominent manufacturing and economic analysts suggest that U.S. manufacturing trade is, in fact, spiraling into…

by Michael Stumo: Why would the White House issue a veto threat on currency legislation last May and now call upon Congress to pass a currency bill? White House Spokesman Josh Earnest told reporters today Congress needs to pass legislation to give the Administration “additional tools to counter unfair currency policies by China or anybody…

  A fight over how cars are assembled is pitting North America’s auto industry against Japan’s in a dispute now holding up a major trade agreement spanning the Pacific. [by William Mauldin and Dudley Althaus | September 3, 2015 | WSJ ] The spat over which cars should be eligible for duty-free trade surfaced during…

“Brian O’Shaughnessy, chairman of Revere Copper Products Inc., said his manufacturing firm faces trade challenges similar to those faced by cattle producers. He said the United States needs more good-paying manufacturing jobs so more consumers can afford to eat more beef at prices that support farmers and ranchers. He said the United States, however, has…

With workers locked out at a Allegheny Technologies (NYSE:ATI) plant less than a mile from my home in western Pennsylvania, I’m sensitive to what is happening in the steel industry. [Reposted from ETF Daily News  |  Tony Daltorio  |  September 1, 2015] And right now, things don’t look good. For example, the U.S. benchmark hot rolled coil index…

During my tour of manufacturing plants in the Toledo, Ohio region last month, I decided to write an article about Plastic Technologies, Inc because of the interesting story about Dr. Tom Brady who founded the company in 1985. When I interviewed Dr. Brady last week, he told me that when he worked for Owens-Illinois, Inc.…