Free Republic

Top Trump official tells Republicans to expect blockbuster GDP number Friday By Alexander Bolton - 07/26/18 06:54 PM EDT The Trump administration is telling Republican lawmakers to expect blockbuster economic figures Friday morning when the Commerce Department releases data on U.S. gross domestic product (GDP) for the second quarter. Kevin Hassett, the chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers, told Republican senators in a private meeting Wednesday that GDP for April through June is expected to be high enough to ensure the nation will see its first year of annualized 3 percent growth since the Great Recession of 2008-2009, according...

GRANITE CITY, Ill. (AP) — President Donald Trump on Thursday trumpeted the renewed success of an Illinois steel mill, pushing back against criticism that his escalating trade disputes are hurting American workers and farmers. The president pointed to the U.S. Steel plant's reopening as a success story after he slapped tariffs on imported steel and aluminum last spring. On Wednesday, he and European leaders agreed to open talks on trade, a decision he called a breakthrough. "America never surrenders," Trump said in an address to workers at the company's steel coil warehouse in Granite City. "We don't wave the white...

President Trump traveled to Granite City, Illinois to speak to steelworkers at the US Steel plant that reopened this year. Since President Trump enacted tariffs on foreign steel imports U.S. Steel has decided to restart both furnaces, meaning the return of 800 jobs. This afternoon local KSDK reporter spoke with one of the steelworkers at the Granite City plant. The man says he is a third generation steelworker and was out of work for two-and-a-half years. He then cries as he talks about President Trump and the life he has brought back to this eastern Illinois community. US Steel Worker:...

President Donald Trump is making his first visit to Illinois since becoming president, making a stop in Granite City on Thursday where he is expected to tout the reopening of a U.S. Steel Corp. mill. The White House announced Sunday night Trump will swing through Granite City, in southern Illinois near St. Louis and Dubuque, Iowa, on Thursday. The Trump administration has been highlighting U.S. Steel’s Granite City mill as a trade war success story even as the tariffs have sparked concerns in other sectors, with alarms sounded by Illinois farmers whose main crop is soybeans. The visit will have...

President Donald Trump signed an executive order Thursday establishing a workforce initiative to establish apprenticeships with U.S. companies and on-the-job training for American workers. “I will be signing an executive order to establish the National Council for the American Worker. That's a first. This Council will be made up of top officials across the government. We're also establishing an outside advisory board of industry leaders and experts, which we will announce in the coming weeks, very shortly. A lot of people want to be on that board very badly. I have some great people going on that board,” he said....

The Republican Party has become the party of blue-collar America. After the 1992 election, 15 of the 20 most manufacturing-intensive Congressional districts in America were represented by Democrats. Today, all 20 are held by Republicans.

A state-controlled economy is forcing the world's largest car market to embrace electric car solutions, and fast. Here's what China can tell us about the automotive future. I clung for life to my translator as we spun in circles through shoulder-to-shoulder crowds, trying to take in the sheer madness of the Beijing Motor Show. An American can catch a few familiar sights; there’s a Chevy Volt, but branded as the Buick Velite 5 in China, a place where Buick remains a premium brand. I spy a Toyota Camry, but here it’s called a “Levin” and is a plug-in hybrid. Mostly,...

BERLIN—President Donald Trump’s trade battle with China is threatening the U.S.’s growing role as an auto exporter. In recent years, BMW AG BMW, Daimler AG DMLRY and China’s Zhejiang Geely Holding’s Volvo Cars have invested billions to expand U.S. factory production with the goal of exporting a significant number of vehicles to China and other markets world-wide. But the tit-for-tat tariffs on U.S.-China trade could prompt the manufacturers to rethink that strategy. On Friday, China raised to 40% its tariff on auto imports from the U.S. as part of a broader retaliation against the Trump administration’s move to impose duties...

(CNSNews.com) - Manufacturing jobs in the United States increased by 36,000 last month, climbing from 12,677,000 in May to 12,713,000 in June, according to data released today by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. In December 2016, the month before President Donald Trump took office, there were 12,351,000 manufacturing jobs in the United States. Since then, U.S. manufacturing jobs have increased by 362,000. “Manufacturing added 36,000 jobs in June,” said the BLS summary of the employment situation for the month. “Durable goods manufacturing accounted for nearly all of the increase, including job gains in fabricated metal products (+7,000), computer and electronic...

The manufacturing sector added 36,000 jobs in June, the most in so far this year, even as fears grow that President Trump's trade war with China, Europe, and other nations could undermine those gains. The Trump administration on Friday imposed new tariffs on $34 billion worth of Chinese goods. The Office of the United States Trade Representative is considering an additional $14 billion and Trump has threatened to increase that amount by as much as $500 billion. China has pledged to impose dollar-for-dollar retaliatory tariffs. The country's Ministry of Commerce on Friday said the new duties violate World Trade Organization...

COBURG — After surviving the Great Recession by downsizing from 400 employees to fewer than 100, Marathon Coach is firmly back in growth mode. The Coburg-based luxury RV manufacturer plans to build at least 20 new RVs this year, nearly twice as many as it made four years ago and after a few years in the depths of the Great Recession when it built just three or four a year. Even 20 vehicles might seem a low volume. But given that these are ultra-luxury items that retail for up to $2 million apiece, each unit takes months to produce. Marathon...

Just curious, when I grew up (70’s) I remember one of our neighbors father was a union man. He had bumper stickers all over his vehicles in signs in front of his house to buy American products. What happened to that thought of we should look at American manufacturers before other countries. At that time, it was that everything we were importing was made in Japan. Where is the union out rage about not supporting American companies and buyIng American products?

ABERDEEN, S.D. (KSFY) - Molded Fiber Glass Companies (MFG) in Aberdeen announced Monday it will create about 60 more jobs after a substantial new order for wind turbine blades was confirmed. The company said the new order is part of a long-term agreement. “This new order is very good news for our teammates, the Aberdeen economy and MFG," Senior Vice President David Giovannini said in a press release. "In the context of challenging conditions in the wind energy market, we are very pleased with this win.” Back in early December, MFG announced plant would shutdown in February due to changes...

Minnesota-based Polaris acknowledged on Friday that it is considering moving some production of its Indian Motorcycles overseas amid concerns over new tariffs from Europe. A spokeswoman for the company told The Associated Press that it could move some of its production to Poland from Iowa, but noted that "nothing is definitive." "We're looking at a range of mitigation plans," the spokeswoman, Jess Rogers, told the AP. Polaris did not immediately respond to The Hill's request for comment.

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – Purdue University researchers have developed a large-scale manufacturing process that may change the way some grocery store foods are packaged. According to Credence Research, food packaging is a growing billion-dollar market, and overall predicted growth is expected to reach 6 percent by 2024. Advanced barrier coatings, which help to protect grocery items such as foods and beverages, are growing by as much as 45 percent each year. The Purdue team, led by Jeffrey Youngblood, a professor in Purdue’s School of Materials Engineering, created a new manufacturing process using cellulose nanocrystals as advanced barrier coatings for food...

<p>The video below shows factory workers proudly doing their jobs at the Osceola, Wisconsin engine assembly plant. The plant recently built its 100,000th Indian Motorcycle engine and one worker expresses the “pride, craftsmanship, and honor” that goes into building every engine. Along with some testimonials, we get some cool footage of Indian bikes in action.</p>

LG Electronics is expanding its U.S. presence with a new solar module assembly plant in Huntsville, Alabama. The South Korean technology giant will invest $28 million to set up the factory that's expected to create 160 new full-time jobs. LG will add two production lines at its 48-acre campus in Huntsville, where the company has had operations for four decades. The solar module plant will bring LG's total employment in the Southern city to more than 400 workers. Starting in early 2019, the new manufacturing plant is expected to produce 500 megawatts of solar modules per year. LG joins a...

MANUFACTURING USA, Missouri, Kansas City – Vehicle and Powertrain Operations. Tour information > USA, Pennsylvania, York – Vehicle Operations. Tour information > USA, Wisconsin, Menomonee Falls – Powertrain Operations. Tour information > USA, Wisconsin, Tomahawk – Tomahawk Operations Australia, Adelaide – New Castalloy Brazil, Manaus –Harley-Davidson do Brasil Ltda Assembly Plant India, Bawal – Harley-Davidson India Bawal Assembly Plant Thailand, Rayong – Thailand Sales Office and Assembly Plant https://www.harley-davidson.com/us/en/about-us/careers/locations.html

The company is shifting some production of motorcycles for European customers out of the United States to avoid EU retaliatory tariffs. Harley-Davidson's move is some of the most direct evidence yet that tit-for-tat trade fights between the United States and other countries have consequences for American companies. Harley-Davidson said it stood to lose as much as $100 million a year. "Increasing international production to alleviate the EU tariff burden is not the company's preference, but represents the only sustainable option," it said in a regulatory filing on Monday. Harley-Davidson's (HOG) stock tumbled 6%.

CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. – (CLARKSVILLENOW) – Construction work is on schedule for the LG Electronic appliance plant to begin production this fall. The $250 million dollar plant, is the South Korean appliance maker’s first washing machine plant in the United States and will employee 600 workers in its first phase. According the Clarksville Montgomery County Industrial development Board, the plant will be operational by October and hiring is now underway. Jobs are posted at www.jobs4tn.gov.