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« September 2008 | Main | November 2008 »
October 31, 2008
Fright Friday: Candy, Costumes and Bad Puns...
...Plus Space Presidents, Smart Bees and Construction Dancing, from IMT contributor Brian Lane.
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October 30, 2008
New Durable Goods Orders Up in September
Contrary to economists' predictions, durable goods orders rose in September due to a surge in defense capital goods and transportation orders. Bar those two sectors, however, the rest of durable goods manufacturing are still on a downturn.
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October 29, 2008
Video: Chemical Safety Board Investigations
The U.S. Chemical Safety Board has made a number of videos of its investigations available online. The federal agency hopes these videos will further the cause of promoting safer workplaces.
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October 28, 2008
Reader Favorites — Best of 2008
Every year, some Industrial Market Trends coverage rises to the top. Here are your five favorite IMT articles so far this year, plus five 2008 posts we think are worth checking out. Whether you're seeing these articles for the first time or re-reading a few of your favorites, be sure to tell us what you think. Leave us a comment on the blog.
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October 27, 2008
Weekly Industry Crib Sheet: Oil Slides and GM/Chrysler Merger Talks Intensify...
...Steel Shipments Sink, Jobless Claims Go Up and More News from Across the Atlantic.
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October 24, 2008
Light Friday: 2008 Ig Nobel Prizes
The annual Ig Nobel Prizes — the light-hearted version of the Nobel Prizes — honor the unusual and imaginative works of scientific research. This year's winners revealed how to make potato chips seem crisper, found new uses for Coca-Cola and that plants have dignity.
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October 23, 2008
Global Economic Slowdown Expected Through 2009
Unsurprisingly, the world economic outlook remains grim, with global GDP expected to decelerate in 2009, according to recent economic reports. Recovery is not anticipated until the latter half of next year.
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October 22, 2008
Companies Address Ethics and Compliance Risks
Demand for more ethical business processes and actions continues to grow at a quick clip. Yet numerous challenges remain, a new report says.
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October 21, 2008
Keeping the Lid on Spending
Particularly during difficult financial times, companies must keep a close eye on budgets to prevent cash from draining out. As the cost of doing business increases at an unprecedented rate, and as recessionary conditions expand globally, implementing an effective p-card program can help keep budgets in line.
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October 20, 2008
Weekly Industry Crib Sheet: Another Economic Recovery Plan as Consumer Confidence Dwindles...
...Industrial Output Falls, General Motors Co. and Chrysler Keep Talking Merger, Tainted Milk Still Being Sold in China and Jobless Claims Continue Decline.
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October 17, 2008
Light Friday: Podcar City, Telepathy Helmet, Strummin' Through Brain Surgery...
... Plus Overpaid Executives of Underperformed Companies and MORE.
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October 16, 2008
H-1B Visa Program Fraught with Fraud
There are plenty of problems relating to the H-1B visa program, as many IMT readers have claimed. Now those who believe that companies are scamming the system have actual data to support their claims.
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October 15, 2008
The State of Third-Party Logistics in 2008
A number of new studies on third-party logistics reveal sustainability, security and technology as the key, crucial areas on which 3PL providers must focus.
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October 14, 2008
Turning your Hobby into a Business
Converting your personal hobby into a profitable business can be a handy way to supplement your existing income or even embark on a whole new career.
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6 DIY Projects You Can Do
From electric motorcycles to one-person flying machines, here are six do-it-yourself projects that range from frugal and functional to flat-out just-for-fun.
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Improve Equipment through CNC Retrofitting
Rather than spend thousands of dollars on new machinery, consider CNC retrofitting, which can provide accuracy similar to new machinery at a fraction of the cost.
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How to Measure Innovation
R&D is crucial to making innovative products a reality, but it can also be elusive to measure. There are a number of reasons for this - but that doesn't mean measuring success or failure is impossible.
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Top DIY Resources
Want to get your hands dirty, but unsure how and where to start? We hope you'll discover a project or two via these resources to keep you busy for a long time.
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Inventors Hall of Fame: The New Class
Each year, a new class of inventors is inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame. This year welcomed the 36th class of inductees, whose patented inventions have made progress possible.
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Protect Your Retirement in a Turbulent Economy
The upheaval that has engulfed financial firms and sent economies plummeting is also devastating people's savings - and the potential for a sustainable retirement, whenever that may be.
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How to Make Time (to Make Stuff)
Due to the amount of time spent juggling work, family and other top priorities, many of us have increasingly less time to enjoy our hobbies or go on vacation. Reclaim your free time with this quick guide.
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Recommended Reading
The premise behind management consultant Dan Roam's The Back of the Napkin is simple: anybody with a pen and a scrap of paper can use visual thinking to work through complex business ideas, even those who swear they can't draw.
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October 13, 2008
Weekly Industry Crib Sheet: Major Banks Slash Key Interest Rates and Iceland Melts...
...Initial Jobless Claims Fall, Vehicle Sales Continue to Slump and Revised Forecast Predicts Global Auto Market Might "Outright Collapse" in 2009.
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October 10, 2008
Light Friday: It'll Take Rocket Science to Oversee Financial Bailout...
...Taxpayers Pay for Bailed-Out Company Party, Why Pen and Pencil Trump Computer as Creativity Booster, Physics in Space and MORE.
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October 9, 2008
In Face of Weaker Demand, Steelmakers Consider Production Cuts
World steelmakers met over the past few days for their annual conference. There they discussed what recent developments in the global economy might mean to their businesses and how far to cut output before prices fall below the break-even cost of making steel.
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October 8, 2008
Different Dissections on Meeting Demand
Meeting customer demand involves much more than simply cranking up production output. In today's constantly changing global economy, meeting customer demand requires sensing and responding to shifting tastes and needs, and adjusting output and innovation efforts throughout the supply chain accordingly. Naturally, when manufacturers do this, they want to talk about it.
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October 7, 2008
How Manufacturers are Coping with Economic Turbulence
In the face of economic crisis, other manufacturers are refocusing on continuous improvement methodologies, offshoring and other supply chain management strategies to keep their businesses afloat.
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October 6, 2008
Weekly Industry Crib Sheet: The Week after the Worst Week Yet
Unemployment Rises in the U.S., Factory Orders Fall, Auto Sales Hit Hard, Global Steel Industry Outlook Falters, Financial Turmoil Spreads in Europe and other bad news.
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October 3, 2008
Light Friday Turmoil: On This Week's Variant of the Apocalypse
Clearly, this week was not that great. Actually, it was pretty lousy. Epically lousy, in fact. So, it's kinda difficult to keep today light. But it wasn't all bad news. We'll just have to get through the turmoil to come out the other side absolved (with cute and furry robots).
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October 2, 2008
Nations to Challenge China at WTO
U.S. trade representatives are finalizing their decision to take action against the Chinese on their export restrictions and duties on raw materials used for steelmaking. The European Union is likely to support the American cause.
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October 1, 2008
Ford Model T Centennial: By the Numbers
Economic woes are casting a huge shadow over an already sputtering environment for U.S. automakers. Moreover, many people will soon turn some of their focus away from the mammoth $700 billion rescue plan for the financial system and toward yesterday's massive $25 billion rescue plan for U.S. automakers. Record-high gas prices this year haven't helped the automotive industry, either. All of this is coming to a head approximately 100 years after Ford introduced the Model T.
