Made-in-America: Oshkosh Defense rolls out new JLTV, next-generation version of U.S. Army’s Jeep

Editor’s note: Each Sunday, Talk Business & Politics provides “Made In America,” a round-up of state and global manufacturing news.

––––––––––––––

OSHKOSH DEFENSE ROLLS OUT NEW JLTV, NEXT-GENERATION VERSION OF U.S. ARMY’S JEEP

Oshkosh Defense unveiled its Joint Light Tactical Vehicle (JLTV) at the Association of the United States Army (AUSA) Global Force Symposium in Huntsville, Ala. on March 15-17. Oshkosh beat out Lockheed Martin’s JLTV industrial site in Camden, Arkansas to win the highly-anticipated $30 billion Pentagon award.

According to the Wisconsin-based defense contractor, the next-generation Oshkosh JLTV will offer the U.S. military an unprecedented combination of protection, mobility, transportability and net-ready systems integration that delivers the network capability of a mobile command center. The Department of Defense’s JLTV production contract calls for Oshkosh to deliver a total of nearly 17,000 vehicles, as well as kits and services over an eight-year period.

MISSISSIPPI HAS HIGHEST UNEMPLOYMENT RATE, DAKOTAS THE LOWEST, IN JANUARY 2016

In the first month of 2016, Arkansas was among the 16 states that had unemployment rates significantly lower than the U.S. figure of 4.9%, while 11 states and the District of Columbia had measurably higher rates and 23 states had rates that were not appreciably different from that of the nation, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

The highest January unemployment rates were in Mississippi (6.7%), Alaska (6.6%), and the District of Columbia and New Mexico at 6.5%. The lowest unemployment rates were in North Dakota at 2.8% and South Dakota at 2.8%, while New Hampshire and Nebraska followed at 2.9% and 3%, respectively. Arkansas’ jobless rate in January was 4.4%, two percentage points off the all-time low of 4.2%.

U.S., PERU REMOVE TRADE BARRIERS FOR AMERICAN BEEF EXPORTS

U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack and U.S. Trade Representative Michael Froman announced recently that the U.S. government has reached agreement with the government of Peru to remove barriers for U.S. beef exports to Peru that have been in effect since 2003, opening one of the fastest growing markets in Latin America to all American beef and beef products.

In 2015, the U.S. exported only $25.4 million in beef and beef products to Peru. Since the U.S.-Peru Trade Promotion Agreement (PTPA) entered into force in 2009, U.S. beef and beef products have grown substantially but have been hampered due to burdensome certification requirements installed by Peru in 2003. This agreement removes those barriers – called the export verification program – and assures American ranchers of expanded market access.

DODGE DATA: NEW CONSTRUCTION STARTS CLIMB 10% IN FEBRUARY

At a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $667.6 billion, new construction starts in February advanced 10% compared to the previous month, according to Dodge Data & Analytics. Much of the lift in February came from the non-building construction sector, as its electric power and gas plant category included a $3 billion segment of a liquefied natural gas (LNG) export terminal in Texas as well as the start of six power plant projects valued each in excess of $200 million.

Nonresidential building also helped out in February with a moderate gain, resuming its hesitant upward track after the lackluster activity reported at the outset of 2016. However, residential building settled back in February following its improved January performance. For the first two months of 2016, total construction starts on an unadjusted basis were $87.1 billion, down 16% from the same period a year ago.