NAM is worried about the shortage of qualified employees in the U.S. According to their 2005 Skills Gap Report, which is based on responses from more than 800 manufacturers of all sizes nationwide, the serious shortage of qualified employees is having an increasingly negative affect on America’s

NAM President John Engler photo credit: National Association of Manufacturers

NAM did have some good news to announce for small manufacturers. The Senate approved the conference report on H.R. 2862 for US$106 million for the Manufacturing Extension Partnerships (MEPs) in Fiscal Year 2006, which is well above the $46.8 million recommended in the budget and was already approved by House. The MEP is a public/private program that consists of 59 centers nationwide that serve 14,000 businesses each year by helping small manufacturers take advantage of cutting-edge technologies and compete in the global marketplace.

In more NAM news, NAM President John Engler spoke at Rockwell Automation’s "Manufacturing Perspectives" conference in St. Louis on Nov. 15. He unveiled a national nine-point energy plan that will help boost U.S. energy security. His speech included new initiatives in nuclear power, electricity and transmission, clean coal technology, hydrogen and accessing domestic oil and natural gas reserves. A text version and a video recording of his speech are available at "A Weekly Message From NAM President John Engler."

screen capture: U.S. Department of Energy

The Department of Energy (DOE) is hearing President Engler loud and clear. Energy Secretary Samuel W. Bodman announced the launch of a new Web site providing U.S. manufacturing plants a quick and easy way to sign up for DOE’s Industrial Energy Saving Teams program, which seeks to improve the energy efficiency of America’s most energy-intensive manufacturing facilities through comprehensive energy assessments. The DOE Energy Saving Teams use free assessments to work with individual facilities to identify opportunities to save energy and money. But if you want to apply, the first round of assessments closes on Dec. 20, 2005, and only facilities in the U.S. and U.S. territories are eligible to apply. If you miss the deadline, DOE has also developed a series of free, informational brochures detailing "Fifteen Tips to Help Your Plant Save Energy."

Energy isn’t the only burden manufacturers are fighting with these days. According to the report "Tax Rates and Tax Burdens" released by the District of Columbia’s financial chief, Natwar Gandhi, 51 major municipalities show rising sales and auto taxes enlarged the tax burden at the state and local levels for many U.S. households last year.

Scenari Immobiliari, an independent institute for analysis and research based in Rome, Italy, says the U.S. recorded "a generally satisfactory performance" with regard to acquisition of property funds during 2005. This information was recently released in their report, Property Funds in Italy and Abroad 2005, which outlines which distribution and performance of property funds worldwide as well as the current state of property funds within Europe, the U.S., Japan, Australia and Italy.

Another international survey shows a bleaker outlook on industrial activity and growth for already industrialized countries (AIC), like Europe and the U.S. Euler Hermes recently released an international forecast by market sector that showed that the AIC is maintaining growth because of a few industries that are protected from global competition, such as aeronautics and automotive, but other industrial sectors are flocking toward the newly industrialized countries.

China fell behind the U.S. in the number of investment projects acquired in 2005, according to IBM Plant Location International (IBM-PLI). Though the U.S. had less foreign investment, it is still strong in inward investment. IBM-PLI acquired this information from its Global Investment Locations Database.

Do you want to be a CEO? In Burson-Marsteller’s most recent 2005 research "Who Wants to Be CEO?" conducted with the Economist Intelligence Unit, global business influentials talk about the attractive and repellent qualities of the CEO position today.