Association News

Economic activity in the manufacturing sector contracted in January for the third consecutive month, the PMI falling to 47.4 percent in the latest report from the Institute for Supply Management. That was one percentage point lower than December.

The Copper Development Association has released a new report replicating the U.S. Geological Survey methodology used to determine mineral criticality. The analysis shows that copper now meets the USGS benchmark Supply Risk score of 0.40 for automatic inclusion on the U.S. Critical Minerals List.

The North American Steel Alliance has welcomed Greenway Steel to the buying cooperative. The company joined NASA today as an operational supplier.

In testimony before Congress, American Trucking Associations President and CEO Chris Spear urged lawmakers to take steps to exercise oversight over the implementation of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, ensuring that taxpayers and the supply chain get the maximum return on the $1.2 trillion of investment the legislation provides.

Metalforming companies forecast little change in economic activity for the first quarter of 2023, according to the January 2023 Business Conditions Report by the Precision Metalforming Association.

Net shipments of aluminum sheet and plate in the U.S. totaled 705.1 million pounds in December, down 5.4 percent compared with the same month in 2021, the Aluminum Association reported. Compared with the prior month, shipments were down 5.2 percent.

The National Association of Manufacturers released its Manufacturers’ Outlook Survey for the fourth quarter of 2022. It illustrates manufacturers’ concerns around a challenging economic environment characterized by inflation, supply chain disruption and the workforce crisis. It also demonstrates the consequences of Congress’s continued inaction on key manufacturing priorities. NAM conducted the survey from Nov. 29 to Dec. 13, 2022.

Shipments of steel and aluminum products from North American service centers were down across the board in the final Metals Activity Report of 2022 from the Metals Service Center Institute, Rolling Meadows, Ill.

The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Highway Administration announced the first round of Large Bridge Project Grants from President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law’s competitive Bridge Investment Program. The program is one piece of the Administration’s largest dedicated investment in highway bridges since the construction of the Interstate highway system, with nearly $40 billion over five years that will help repair or rebuild 10 of the most economically significant bridges in the country along with thousands of bridges across the country.

Economic activity in the manufacturing sector contracted in December for the second consecutive month. The PMI in December was 48.4, a decline of 0.6 percentage points from the November reading, the Institute for Supply Management reported.