Made-in-America: Chinese Manufacturing Hits 6-Year Low

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MADE IN CHINA HITS 6-1/2-YEAR LOW
Manufacturing activities in China continued to shrink in August, according to the preliminary Caixin China Purchasing Managers’ Index. The index hit a 77-month low, at 47.1 points.

The final PMI for the sector in July was 47.8, below the 50-point mark that separates growth from contraction. Figures for components of the index showed that new orders and employment contracted more sharply from the previous month than any other categories. Output also decreased at a faster rate than in July.

The early PMI number shows that “the economy is still in the process of bottoming out,” said He Fan, chief economist and the director of research at Caixin Insight Group, a financial data and analysis platform that puts the monthly manufacturing indicator together.

BIG RIVER STEEL CEO JOHN CORRENTI DIES
The CEO of the state’s first superproject, Big River Steel CEO John Correnti, was found dead on an out-of-state business trip Tuesday morning. He was buried on Saturday after an apparent heart attack in Chicago.

Correnti, 68, was the driving force for the $1.3 billion steel mill superproject, which is being built near Osceola (Mississippi Co.). As a former CEO of rival Nucor Steel, Correnti was a big fan of Arkansas where he once headed Nucor’s operations in the 1990’s. Read more on his endeavors at this link.

INDUSTRY REPORT HIGHLIGHTS ROLE OF 3-D PRINT IN MANUFACTURING SECTOR
Publicly Traded Stratasys Direct Manufacturing released a recent industry report highlighting current and impending trends in 3-D printing. The report is based on an independent survey of 700 designers, engineers and executives – 40% of whom are employed by companies with more than $50 million in revenue. Moreover, respondents work for companies that are committed to using 3-D printing.

The report called “3-D Printing’s Imminent Impact on Manufacturing” indicates what applications, business benefits and challenges, equipment, materials and services are capturing the attention of 3-D printing’s most committed users – and where their companies will invest.

DODGE: JULY CONSTRUCTION STARTS UNCHANGED
At a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $629.4 billion, new construction starts in July were essentially unchanged from June’s pace, according to Dodge Data & Analytics. By major sector, nonresidential building showed slight improvement following its lackluster June performance, while residential building maintained the strengthening trend witnessed over the past several months.

At the same time, non-building construction in July continued to slide back from the exceptional activity witnessed earlier in the year that reflected the start of very large projects, including several massive liquefied natural gas terminals. Through the first seven months of 2015, total construction starts on an unadjusted basis were $397.0 billion, up 19% from the same period a year ago. Leaving out the volatile electric utility and gas plant category, total construction starts during the first seven months of 2015 would be up a more moderate 10% from the same period a year ago.

AEDC’S MIKE PRESTON SAYS 3 DATES FOR ANNOUNCEMENT OF CAMDEN SUPERPROJECT
Within the next month, Arkansas economic officials may declare an end of the week announcement as either Good Friday or Black Friday. Arkansas Economic Development Commission executive director Mike Preston said Thursday that his agency has been told by Pentagon officials that an award of the JLTV superproject will be announced on either Friday, August 28, September 4, or September 11. Read more here.