Made In America: Women Underrepresented In Manufacturing Sector, Study Says

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WOMEN UNDERREPRESENTED IN MANUFACTURING SECTOR, STUDY SAYS
Although women constitute manufacturing’s largest pool of untapped talent in the U.S., they are underrepresented in nearly every American manufacturing sector, according to a new study called “The Women In Manufacturing Gender Gap.”

In the U.S., women comprise just over one-fourth (27%) of manufacturing employees even though women make up nearly half (47%) of the total U.S. labor force. They are also seldom seen, relatively speaking, in top-level boxes on organizational charts, lagging behind the proportion of women in leadership at other types of companies.

The gender gap study was commissioned by The Manufacturing Institute, APICS, and Deloitte to understand why manufacturing is not attracting, retaining, and advancing its fair share of talented women.

To view the report, complete with infographics, analysis, surveys, social media feeds and other resources, click here.

GE BRINGS CLOUD TECHNOLOGY TO INDUSTRIAL SECTOR
GE announced plans on Aug. 5 to enter the cloud services market with Predix Cloud, the first and only cloud solution designed specifically for industrial data and analytics.

The New York-based industrial giant said its platform-as-a-service (PaaS) will capture and analyze the unique volume, velocity and variety of machine data within a highly secure, industrial-strength cloud environment.

“Cloud computing has enabled incredible innovation across the consumer world. With Predix Cloud, GE is providing a new level of service and results across the industrial world,” said Jeffrey Immelt, CEO of GE. “A more digital hospital means better, faster healthcare. A more digital manufacturing plant means more products are made faster. A more digital oil company means better asset management and more productivity at every well.”

“Predix Cloud will drive the next phase of growth for the Industrial Internet and enable developers to rapidly create, deploy and manage applications and services for industry,” the company said. GE said it plans to invest some $6 billion in software technology in 2015, up from $4 billion in 2014.

ENTERGY ARKANSAS TO CEASE OPERATIONS AT WHITE BLUFF POWER PLANT BY 2028
Entergy Arkansas Inc. on Friday proposed what it called “a more reasonable, long-term, multi-unit approach to address Arkansas’ regional haze” in response to the federal EPA’s rejection of the state’s earlier plan to improve visibility in wilderness areas. As part of its approach, Entergy said it would shut down its White Bluff coal-fired power plant by 2028. Read more here.

U.S. JOBLESS RATE IN JULY UNCHANGED AS MAY, JUNE NUMBERS ARE REVISED
The U.S. jobless rate remained unchanged in July as total nonfarm payroll employment increased by 215,000 in July, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported on Friday.

Meanwhile, the change in total nonfarm payroll employment for May was revised from +254,000 to +260,000, and the June payroll figures were revised from +223,000 to +231,000. With these revisions, employment gains in May and June combined were 14,000 higher than previously reported. Over the past 3 months, job gains have averaged 235,000 per month.

Nationwide, job gains occurred in retail trade, health care, professional and technical services, and financial activities. Manufacturing employment also rose in July with employment in nondurable goods up by 23,000 over the month, including gains in food manufacturing (+9,000) and in plastics and rubber products (+6,000).

The average hourly earnings for all employees on private nonfarm payrolls rose by 5 cents to $24.99. Over the year, average hourly earnings have risen by 2.1%. Average hourly earnings of private-sector production and nonsupervisory employees increased by 3 cents to $21.01. To see the full report, click here.

DENSO GIVES GRANT TO ASU FOR ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING PROGRAM
New state-of-the-art electronics laboratory equipment will be available soon for engineering students at Arkansas State University, due a $48,500 grant by Denso North America Foundation.

“For DENSO, it’s very important to recruit local talent,” George Harguess, site manager-operations for DENSO Manufacturing Arkansas in Osceola. “Hopefully this will lead to internships and other opportunities so we can establish a long-lasting partnership between DENSO and Arkansas State.”

According to Dr. Paul Mixon, professor of electrical engineering and interim dean, the grant will allow the school to purchase brand-new state-of-the-art equipment for a new digital electronics lab. He said the lab experience will be required for all electrical engineering students in the future.

NEW VEHICLE REVENUE SETS ALL-TIME HIGH FOR JULY
July’s revenue for new vehicles will likely set a U.S. record high for the month of $47 billion, up 2.1% versus the same period last year, according to a monthly auto industry report by TrueCar Inc.

TrueCar estimates U.S. retail sales of new vehicles will grow by 4.2% this month, with the total industry expanding 2.6%. The Seasonally Adjusted Annual Rate (SAAR) should reach 17.2 million units in July, keeping the industry on pace to reach 17.1 million units this year. That’s the highest volume for new light vehicle sales since 2001.

The average transaction price (ATP) for a new light vehicle was $31,691 in July, unchanged from a year ago, while average incentive spending per unit shrank by $34 to $2,849.