Yesterday, Under Secretary of Commerce for International Trade, Francisco Sanchez spoke at the NAM’s Council of Manufacturing Associations (CMA) winter meeting.

Under Secretary Sanchez reiterated calls that we are at the beginning of a “manufacturing renaissance” and talked about the number of quality jobs created in the industry over the course of the last two years. He highlighted a Department of Commerce report which said that in 2009 alone, manufacturing made up more than 11 percent of GDP.

In order to build off the successes of manufacturing, and to really enter into a manufacturing renaissance, we have released our own four-point plan to guide the process. A Manufacturing Renaissance: Four Goals for Economic Growth addresses both the areas where we are thriving and the areas that need more attention.

Among those issues are exports. The NAM has been a strong supporter of the president’s goal to double exports by 2015. Manufacturers play an imperative role in that effort and Under Secretary Sanchez says “the correlation between jobs, exports and manufacturing is clear.” We agree.

Under Secretary Sanchez also spoke about the New Market Exporter Initiative. This initiative helps U.S. businesses find new markets, opportunities for export training and new contacts with distributors and representatives to expand their business.

The topic of manufacturing has been at the forefront of the Republican presidential debates and recent remarks by President Obama. It is encouraging to see so much attention on the industry that has led our economic recovery and continues to do so.

“U.S. manufacturers are vital to our economy and future growth.  It’s work that I’ve always valued.  My father ran a candy factory.  He had to make payroll.  He had to monitor inventory.  He had to sell and market products.  From his experience, I know how a strong manufacturing sector benefits workers, communities and our nation.” – Under Secretary Sanchez

New details were released by TransCanada today on the potential job creation that awaits once the Keystone XL pipeline is approved. The data shows that the pipeline will create 20,000 jobs – 7,000 specific to manufacturing.

December’s employment report showed a lower unemployment rate of 8.5 percent. While this is good news, it does not restore the certainty that Americans need. The Keystone XL pipeline is the key to a national energy plan that strives for affordable, reliable and secure energy.

TransCanada boasts the residual effect of the pipeline.

“Hundreds of jobs will be created through requirements for fuel, coating materials, welding supplies, concrete materials, geo-textile materials, pipeline weights, native seed materials for reclamation, cathodic protection materials, crushed rock, sediment barrier materials, valve and pigging assemblies, field trailer manufacturing, construction mats, power facility materials, aggregate manufacturing, road construction materials, water and waste facility manufacturing, fencing materials, communication infrastructure, bridge construction materials and many others.”

The ball is now in President Obama’s court. Congress gave President Obama 60 days to deny that the Keystone XL pipeline is in our nation’s best interest. Manufacturers, who are excited about this opportunity to invest and expand, remain waiting on the sidelines.

Employment jumped significantly in December, according to Automated Data Processing (ADP), with 325,000 net new nonfarm private payrolls added for the month. The service sector accounted for 273,000 of those gains, with the goods-producing sector adding 52,000.

This was the largest positive monthly change since ADP began calculating payroll changes in December 2000; in this recent recovery, the second-largest monthly change was December 2010, which experienced a gain of 246,000 net new jobs.

Manufacturing employment was also much higher, adding 22,000 net new jobs in December. This matched its gain from June, ending a five-month malaise (at least for now) of slow job growth. Hopefully, this is a sign of better things to come as we move into 2012.

As with previous ADP reports, the bulk of the net new jobs stemmed from small and medium-sized payrolls (e.g., those with less than 500 employees). Of the 325,000 net new jobs created in December, 148,000 stemmed from small establishments with less than 50 employees, and 140,000 flowed from medium-sized entities with 50 to 499 employees.  

These numbers suggest that employment growth has picked up its pace from recent weaknesses. For manufacturers, these results mirror regional sentiment surveys which have found an increased ability to start hiring again.

A similar finding will probably be found in tomorrow’s employment report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics; although, the current consensus forecast for nonfarm payrolls from BLS is closer to a net increase of 150,000 (rather than ADP’s larger figure). In addition, economists will be closely watching the unemployment rate, which unexpectedly dropped to 8.6 percent in November.

Chad Moutray is chief economist, National Association of Manufacturers.

In a roundtable discussion at the NAM headquarters today NAM President and CEO Jay Timmons and PwC U.S. industrial products leader Bob McCutcheon released a report that looks at the tremendous economic benefit and the jobs that will be created by shale gas exploration and production.

The report titled Shale Gas: A renaissance in US manufacturing? estimates that shale gas could result in one million manufacturing jobs by 2025 and more than $11 billion in cost savings:

“Lower feedstock and energy costs could help US manufacturers reduce natural gas expenses by as much as $11.6 billion annually through 2025… US manufacturing companies could employ approximately one million more workers by 2025 due to benefits from affordable energy and demand for products used to extract the gas.” (continue reading…)

Welspun Tubular Company which manufactures steel pipes for the oil industry in Little Rock, Arkansas recently announced that it had to layoff 60 employees because of the delay in approval of the Keystone XL pipeline project.

The pipeline, which would put Americans to work immediately, would create 118,000 jobs. Approval of the pipeline now would help Americans keep their jobs in Little Rock.

“We had to make a staffing reduction with some of the temporary employees. Due to the KXL pipeline not being shipped out. We have 500 miles of pipe just sitting in the yard, expected to be shipped out, that some of the employees were working on,” said President Dave Delie.

With the economy struggling to recover and high unemployment we should be racing to approve the Keystone XL pipeline. Instead, the Administration has chosen to play partisan politics and halt the pipeline project until 2013. Americans need jobs. We can’t afford to delay this project any longer.

Earlier this week the U.S. Forest Service delayed the lease sale of approximately 3,300 acres in the Wayne National Forest for shale oil and gas drilling. The Forest Service states that conditions have changed since the 2006 Forest plan was developed.

The exploration and development of shale oil and gas is creating thousands of jobs across Ohio and neighboring states, and providing a significant economic boost to the local communities. The impacts of shale exploration and development are felt throughout the economy, from the companies that do the fracturing all the way to the local restaurants and hotels.

Just recently the Ohio Oil and Gas Energy Education Program estimated that drilling in the Utica shale in Ohio would produce up to 204,500 jobs by 2015. These much-needed jobs are put at risk with the delay of the lease sale. 

Manufactures remain concerned with how this delay and potential future delays will directly impact their energy costs and ability to compete. Access to affordable sources of energy is directly linked to the competitiveness of manufacturers as they use one-third of our nation’s energy supply. 

We are hopeful that this lease sale delay in the Wayne National Forest does not trigger a chain reaction for similar delays throughout the country, potentially locking up an important resource and driver of job creation.  Our nation needs jobs and shale development provides a tremendous opportunity for job creation as well as access to an important and valuable new source of energy.

Chip Yost is vice president for energy and resources policy, National Association of Manufacturers.

This afternoon the State Department announced the decision on approving the Keystone XL pipeline will be delayed until after the 2012 election or perhaps into the first quarter of 2013. This delays the creation of more than 118,000 jobs that would be created as a result of the pipeline.

National Association of Manufacturers President and CEO Jay Timmons released this statement below on the decision to delay approval:

“It is unacceptable and outrageous that the Obama Administration has made a decision to prevent 118,000 jobs from being created. The Keystone XL pipeline is a shovel-ready project that must be approved. 

Manufacturers continue to face unprecedented challenges to their competitiveness, and it’s already 20 percent more expensive to manufacture in the U.S. compared to our major trade partners. Keystone XL will provide manufacturers access to an affordable source of energy, which is critically important because manufacturers use one-third of our nation’s energy supply.

We strongly urge the Obama Administration to reverse its decision and approve Keystone XL without delay to put Americans back to work.”                  

Once again a number of important tax incentives are scheduled to expire on December 31^st, clearing the way for a tax increase on millions of U.S. taxpayers that benefit from these provisions. Manufacturers have an interest in a number of these provisions including the Controlled Foreign Corporation (CFC) look through rules, deferral for active financing, and the R&D tax credit that help us create and retain jobs and compete in the global marketplace.

Because of the importance of these and other provisions to the business community, the NAM today joined more than 1,500 other companies and organizations on a letter to all members of Congress urging them to act quickly to extend these pro-growth, pro-job provisions.

While many in Congress focus on much-needed tax reform, the letter makes a strong case for why these “extenders” can’t wait until negotiators agree on how to revamp the tax code.

“The lack of timely congressional action to extend these provisions would inject more instability and uncertainty into the economy and further weaken confidence in the employment marketplace… Even though Congress has begun to consider tax reform proposals, a wide-ranging group of taxpayers is making decisions right now related to current law which will have an immediate impact on the economy.”

Plain and simple, “tax extenders” mean jobs and competitiveness for the U.S. economy It’s something that we can ill-afford to wait for in these unsettled economic times.

Today the House passed the repeal of the 3 percent withholding requirement by a wide, bipartisan margin (405-16). This is great news for manufacturers in the U.S. and a step forward in eliminating one of the burdensome tax requirements looming over businesses.  Despite not being scheduled to go into effect until January 2013, the existence of this rule is having a negative impact on manufacturers right now. Manufacturers, especially those with thin profit margins, need certainty as they plan for the future and, with this ill-advised requirement on the horizon they have to plan for a future where they have less to reinvest in their business and their workforce. Plain and simple, it’s costing jobs in America and this is exactly why we need to eliminate this harmful provision as soon as possible. 

Fortunately, based on the broad bipartisan of today’s vote, it seems that Congress recognizes the serious issues that 3 percent withholding will pose to manufacturers in the U.S. and job creation. The legislation now moves to the Senate, where we believe there is bipartisan support for repeal. The NAM is part of a strong coalition working toward full repeal. We’re going to continue to put pressure on the Senate to do the right thing and get the 3 percent withholding provision off the books for good.

Carolyn Lee is the Senior Director for Domestic Tax Policy, National Association of Manufacturers

Steubenville, Ohio was hit hard by the previous recession.  But, as ABC News reported last night, the town has seen tremendous economic growth because of recent natural gas discoveries in the Marcellus and Utica shale formations. Hydraulic fracturing – a technology that has been used commercially for more than 60 years – allows companies to access the abundant natural gas resources located beneath the Steubenville area.

This “natural gas revolution” has already brought 300 jobs to the Steubenville area, and ABC News reports that 10,000 jobs are expected in the next three years. These jobs are high-paying, with some workers earning up to $77,000 per year. Shops, restaurants and hotels are now bustling.

Manufacturers, users of approximately one-third of the energy consumed in the United States, strongly support the use of hydraulic fracturing to access our nation’s abundant supply of natural gas. We use natural gas not only as a source of electricity, but as a feedstock for products such as plastics, fertilizer and pharmaceuticals. Affordable natural gas provides manufacturers with the ability to expand their facilities, increase production and create even more jobs. It is critically important that the states and the federal government not stand in the way of our access to these valuable resources.

Watch the story here:

Ohio Town Sees Jobs Turnaround