John Engler, president of the National Association of Manufacturers, appeared on Hugh Hewitt’s radio program Tuesday to discuss “Jobs for America,” the new Milken Institute study that details the economic case for policies that will encourage competitiveness and growth of the U.S. manufacturing sector.

The program has posted a transcript of the interview — transcripts being one of the reasons we really like Hugh’s site, www.hughhewitt.com –and here’s an exchange.

HH: Now it’s a great report. It’s almost forty pages long, full of facts, full of details. What’s the key takeaway, Governor? I mean, people should go read it at the Milken Institute website, and I’m sure NAM’s got a link to it, too.

JE: We do, both Milken and NAM have links to this. We’re sending it all over Washington today to every member of Congress, to anybody that we think can influence Congress.

But bottom line, of course, it recognizes I think something your show knows well. Government doesn’t create jobs. Business creates the jobs, and we need to encourage that to happen.

And the report, I think, does something that we’ve needed to do for some time, and I’m just pleased that the NAM could have engaged the Milken Institute to get this done. We really go into the numbers. We dive deeply and say look, if you reduce corporate tax rates, if you make the R & D credit better, make it permanent, if you modernize our system of export controls, guess what’s going to happen? You’re going to create jobs, if we do all three of those things, nearly a million new manufacturing jobs, and nearly three million total jobs right there. And we’re going to add significantly to GDP. This is over a ten year period.

But the implications of this are very clear for Congress. What we need to do is encourage this investment, and get the private sector working. That’s how we get the economy moving.

Thanks, Hugh.

St. Louis Post-Dispatch columnist David Nicklaus talks to local manufacturers and reports that, even in during a tough economic downturn, manufacturing in the United States is still a leader. From “U.S. product makers are slumping — but still No. 1“:

Despite a brutal recession and stiff Asian competition, it’s way too soon to write an obituary for U.S. manufacturing.

Just ask Robert Freund, who was able to rehire some laid-off workers this year at Checker Bag in Overland. Or Robert Griggs, whose Trinity Products in St. Charles invested $650,000 in new equipment during the deepest part of the recession.

Freund’s company makes plastic bags, and Trinity Products produces steel pipe.

John Engler, president of the National Association of Manufacturers was in St. Louis visiting manufacturers, and he stopped by Porta-King Building Products in Earth City. Porta-King builds modular office systems are installed inside factories and warehouses, as well as security structures like guard towers. Demand for security products have remained stronge even during the downturn in housing and construction, explains the company’s Steve Schulte.

Porta-King, which has its largest factory in Montgomery City, Mo., has cut about 60 jobs from its peak employment of 160.

Schulte hopes to rehire those workers next year, but he isn’t surprised by predictions that manufacturing won’t bounce back quickly. “People are going to be really wary about adding anything until they are convinced that the recovery is real,” he says.

Nicklaus has done a nice job capturing the dynamics of the U.S. manufacturing sector and the state of the economy around St. Louis. It’s tough, but still surprisingly good in many respects.

Associated Press, “Industrial activity logs smaller-than-expected dip“:

WASHINGTON (AP) — Industrial companies cut back production yet again in June but not nearly as deeply as they have been, another sign the recession is easing its grip.

The Federal Reserve reported Wednesday that production at the nation’s factories, mines and utilities fell 0.4 percent last month as the recession crimped demand for a wide range of manufactured goods, including cars, machinery and household appliances.

The decline, however, was not as bad as May.

National Association of Manufacturers President John Engler told the AP that the figure “are disappointing still.” He added: “Consumers aren’t in a position to lead the economy back.”

The summary from the Fed, notes that manufactured output fell at a rate of 0.6 percent in June, with declines in both durable and nondurable goods producers, but that’s compared to 1.1 percent in May. More details on manufacturing…

Production in manufacturing fell 0.6 percent in June after having dropped 1.1 percent in May. The factory operating rate declined further in June to a historical low of 64.6 percent; prior to this recession, the low for this series, which begins in 1948, was 68.6 percent in December 1982. For the second quarter as a whole, manufacturing output fell at an annual rate of 10.5 percent, a decline that was about one-half the rate of decrease recorded in the first quarter. Production of durable goods fell 0.7 percent in June: The indexes for machinery; computer and electronic products; electrical equipment, appliances, and components; and motor vehicles and parts all posted decreases of more than 1 percent. Output increased for several industries, most notably for wood products, primary metals, and miscellaneous manufacturing. The gain of 1.7 percent for primary metals follows 10 consecutive monthly decreases for the industry. The output of nondurable goods fell 0.4 percent: Declines in the indexes for food, beverage, and tobacco products; apparel and leather; paper; and chemicals were only partly offset by increases in the indexes for printing and support, petroleum and coal products, and plastics and rubber products.

At Forbes.com, a column by John Engler, president of the National Association of Manufacturers, “Forging A Second American Century“:

The 20th Century is often called the American Century, marking the U.S. rise to global pre-eminence. Manufacturing powered our ascendance, factories created our prosperity.

But the American Century is nearly a decade gone, manufacturing jobs are dwindling, and the future promises fierce competition from the new industrial giants of China and India (and the old giants of Europe). The recession drags painfully on, and dozens of other competitor countries target what they sense is a new U.S. vulnerability.

It is time to finally resign ourselves to becoming a second-rate manufacturing nation?

Not if manufacturers have anything to say about it. Manufacturers in the United States have adapted before to survive, and they will again.

The column cites some impressive examples of U.S.-based manufacturers reinventing themselves and prospering as a result.

Along with a major piece about manufacturing, the Detroit News today features an interview reporter Deb Price did with John Engler, President of the National Association of Manufacturers, “Engler’s take on Obama, industry.” Excerpt:

Q . What are the biggest issues facing U.S. manufacturers?

A . “We are in a wickedly competitive world out there. … And we’ve got to be able to compete. That margin, that advantage that we may have enjoyed in the past has dramatically narrowed in recent years. … There’s just simply no room for error. … It’s a lesson that Congress and I think Washington are still struggling to understand.”

Q . How would you describe Obama and the new administration?

A . “Very ambitious and energetic. There is a much higher confidence in the infallibility of government as a problem solver. … In reality, though, the recession and the severity of it has, I think, created a situation where there has been the need for extraordinary actions to be taken.”

Approach toward trade, surprisingly good and positive. Support for the Employee Free Choice Act, potentially disastrous.

The issue of the Employee FORCED Choice Act came up in a discussion that the NAM’s CEO and President John Engler had with several reporters this morning. At today’s media roundtable he said:

We think this is the single most destructive thing you can do to the competitiveness in the country. And the idea that 7.5 percent of the private sector workforce that is unionized that those unions should be able to take over the other 93 percent of the workforce through the side doors is worthy of very extended debate in Congress and very careful deliberation. It shouldn’t just be reported as a political payback; labor wins the election labor gets to have this. The consequences of having arbitrators do work rules is very ominous for our competitiveness.

• Jay Ambrose at The Examiner examines how politicians could support something as “despicably foul” as card check legislation that would strip away secret ballot elections for union elections and result in workers being exposed to intimidation. Ambrose asserts that there is no difference in principle between taking away secret ballots for union elections or Congressional elections.

• The final Presidential candidate debate takes place tonight at Hofstra, where the focus is expected to be on the economy. Although card check  as a topic has escaped  the recent debates, it may come up tonight, especially in light of the McCain campaign’s recent efforts to highlight Sen. Obama’s  backing. The NAM’s CEO Gov. John Engler made it clear that card check is a top concern for manufacturers in the Q&A section of his Detroit Economic Club Monday. Talk about it, candidates!

• The Coalition for a Democratic Workplace, which the NAM is a leader of, has announced the launch of a six state direct mail blitz. This effort seeks to compare the positions of Senate candidates in Colorado, Louisiana, Minnesota, New Hampshire, North Carolina and Oregon to highlight where the candidates really stand on protecting worker privacy.

NAM President John Engler has a column in today’s Detroit Free Press, “Upgrade health care digitally.” Excerpt:

[When] it comes to the prosaic but profoundly important handling of patient records and sharing medical information, we trail the modern world. Administratively speaking, most of American health care is using 19th Century technology. The majority of doctors still write prescriptions by hand. Test results gathered with state-of-the-art technology are then stored away in paper files and transported by snail mail.

This needless lack of efficiency is costing us both lives and money.

The NAM is a member of the Health IT Now! Coalition, and last week the boss participated in a Capitol Hill event to draw attention to legislation to ease the introduction of technology into medical care. The House Committee on Energy and Commerce has introduced a draft bill to address the issues.