The Manufacturing Report

We're covering the major manufacturing news you need to know as we close January out! Listen in to learn about a bill aiming to keep taxpayer-funded inventions Made in America, Boston's contract with a Chinese state-owned rail car company that's wreaked havoc since its start, and a major name brand that committed Made in America fraud.

Join Alliance for American Manufacturing President Scott Paul and Senior Vice President for Communications Elizabeth Brotherton-Bunch for the latest.

Photo by MBTA via Instagram

A new report produced by Sheffield Hallam University’s Helena Kennedy Centre for International Justice and the independent nonprofit research organization NomoGaia reveals that the world’s biggest car brands, including Volkswagen, BMW, Honda, Ford, GM, Stellantis, Tesla and more, are at high risk of sourcing from companies linked to forced labor in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region of China. The report’s lead author and human rights expert, Dr. Laura Murphy, outlines how the findings document the pervasiveness of forced labor not only in the world’s auto supply chain but also implicate huge swaths of other global industries — and what the U.S. can do to push back against these human rights abuses.

Image courtesy of the Helena Kennedy Centre for International Justice at Sheffield Hallam University

When the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 (IRA) was signed into law, it made big waves in the United States electric vehicle (EV) industry. While the consumer tax credits for EVs are an obvious boon to domestic manufacturing, the IRA’s incentives for U.S. battery production are equally significant. But can the U.S. leverage the opportunity quickly enough? Zachary Shahan, the CEO and chief editor of the online clean technology news and analysis site CleanTechnica, shares what America’s battery mineral mining industry stands to gain and its impact on the U.S. EV industry.

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When the briefcase Morgan Beals designed was awarded Best Student-Made Handbag at the International Handbag Designer Awards in 2014, her career kicked into overdrive. But, in 2015, she decided to set her own course and launched Morgan Rhea, her own Made in America luxury leather accessories studio. Listen in for how a student contest design has blossomed into a thriving business in South Charleston, W.V.

Photo courtesy of Morgan Rhea

Sunny Day Designs Owner & Designer Shelley Schmidt grew up with a behind-the-scenes perspective on manufacturing through her family's hat factory in Missouri. So, when she decided to launch her own company selling home decor, stationery, and more, bedecked with her own playful patterns, Schmidt knew that she had the opportunity to create valuable jobs in the United States. Schmidt shares why Made in America gives her such pride and the state of the retail landscape for small Made in America businesses today.

Photo courtesy of Sunny Day Designs

The 2022 Made in America Holiday Gift Guide is out! Though this year’s Made in Connecticut gift pick is new to us, Mystic Knotwork has been around since 1957. Founded by a WWII veteran who was a leader in the nautical arts community, Mystic Knotwork is preserving the tradition of nautical knots. But the founder’s grandson, Matt Beaudoin, is ushering the business into the modern era. Here’s how he’s doing it.

https://www.americanmanufacturing.org/blog/the-2022-made-in-america-holiday-gift-guide/

Photo courtesy of Mystic Knotwork

Financial Times Global Business Columnist and Associate Editor Rana Foroohar isn’t buying neoliberalism’s myths about globalization. But what comes next? In her new book, “Homecoming: The Path to Prosperity in a Post Global World,” Foroohar examines where the U.S. economy is going.

Photo courtesy of Rana Foroohar

Nathan Picarsic, Horizon Advisory co-founder and Foundation for Defense of Democracies senior fellow, shares how private companies are dodging U.S. export restrictions to trade with the enemy and what the United States must do to protect its innovation and national security.

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We had planned to devote this episode to analysis of America’s manufacturing resurgence in honor of Manufacturing Day on Oct. 7, but some especially inflammatory comments from Peterson Institute for International Economics President Adam Posen required response, so we’re sounding off. But don’t worry, Team AAM also breaks down all of this week’s great manufacturing news.

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Levi's is one of the longest-lasting apparel brands on the market, while newcomer Shein took over the fast fashion landscape overnight. But both are facing criticism for their labor and environmental practices. Remake CEO and Founder Ayesha Barenblat joins the podcast to talk about how U.S. trade policy, international agreements and a piece of legislation called the FABRIC Act can help improve labor and environmental conditions in the industry and even reshore production.

Photo courtesy of Remake