• “Momentum Slips for Auto Import Tariffs” (The Wall Street Journal, subscription)
• “Pelosi waves off impeachment, says it would divide country” (AP)
• “Brexit vote: Will UK lawmakers approve or reject May's deal?” (CNBC)

Retail Sales Up in January

Retail sales increased somewhat in January, beating expectations. Unfortunately, the numbers from December were revised downward. More from Reuters, via CNBC:

• “The report from the Commerce Department on Monday is welcome news for the economy after a raft of weak December data, as well as a sharp moderation in the pace of job growth in February.”
• “Still, the relatively strong retail sales report will probably not change expectations for sharp slowdown in economic growth in the first quarter.”
• “Retail sales rose 0.2 percent. Data for December was revised down to show retail sales dropping 1.6 percent instead of tumbling 1.2 percent as previously reported. The drop in December was the biggest since September 2009 when the economy was emerging from recession.”
• “Excluding automobiles, gasoline, building materials and food services, retail sales rebounded 1.1 percent in January after a downwardly revised 2.3 percent plunge in December.”

Fuel Efficiency Freeze

The Trump administration is working on a proposal to freeze fuel efficiency standards, a move that California and other states will sue to overturn. Meanwhile, automakers are caught in the middle. More from The Washington Post (subscription):

• “In two separate discussions in less than three weeks, according to several participants, the White House has urged major auto companies to endorse the administration’s plan to freeze fuel standards for cars and smaller pickup trucks between model years 2020 and 2026.”
• “But domestic and foreign automakers have continued to raise concerns about the proposal, dubbed the Safer Affordable Fuel Efficient (SAFE) Vehicles rule, because California and other states plan to require vehicles in their states to meet tighter emissions limits.”
• “The flurry of activity came after the White House broke off discussions with California on Feb. 21: State officials said the administration never actually offered a compromise proposal that could serve as the basis of a real negotiation.”
• “California received an exemption under the Clean Air Act to set its own emissions standards a half-century ago, but the Trump administration is poised to challenge its exemption as part of the package the Environmental Protection Agency and National Highway Traffic Safety Administration are racing to complete.”

Meanwhile, some automakers are unhappy:

• “Asked about the ongoing discussions, Ford’s president of global operations, Joe Hinrichs, said in a statement that the company is ‘disappointed’ that California and federal regulators have not been able to find a compromise on future fuel efficiency standards…. ‘The auto industry needs regulatory certainty, not protracted litigation.’”

Away with Huawei

The Trump administration has warned the German government that it will downgrade their security relationship if Huawei is allowed to build Germany’s 5G infrastructure. From The Wall Street Journal (subscription):

• “In a letter to the country’s economics minister, U.S. Ambassador to Germany Richard A. Grenell said allowing the participation of Huawei or other Chinese equipment vendors to participate in the 5G project would mean the U.S. won’t be able to maintain the same level of cooperation with German security agencies.”
• “The letter, which was dated Friday and reviewed by The Wall Street Journal, marks the first time the U.S. has explicitly warned an ally that refusing to ostracize Huawei could lessen security cooperation with Washington. Among other things, European security agencies have relied heavily on U.S. intelligence in the fight against terrorism.”

The administration has been urging its allies to keep Chinese companies away from essential internet infrastructure projects, due to fears that these firms share data with their government. So far, the German government has said that it sees no reason to believe Huawei would monitor users, and it should get a chance to bid on 5G contracts as long as it fulfills certain security requirements.

Here’s the administration’s counterargument:  

• “Mr. Grenell in his letter noted that under Chinese legislation, Chinese companies could be compelled to assist their country’s vast security apparatus without any democratic checks and balances, and that it would be impossible to mitigate that risk.”
• “He also said the code running on 5G equipment would need frequent updates and was so complex that the potential for so-called backdoors and other system vulnerabilities couldn’t be ruled out even if Huawei were to let regulators regularly inspect its software.”

Women in Manufacturing

Last Friday was International Women’s Day, which brings attention to gender imbalances in the workplace (among other missions). Besides being a good cause, this effort has other benefits—as IndustryWeek points out, increasing women’s leadership in business can be quite profitable:

• “Research from Catalyst showed that companies with a higher percentage of women in executive positions have a 34% higher total return to shareholders than those that do not.”
• “Another Catalyst study found that companies with the most women directors outperform those with the least on return on invested capital by 26%.”

But there’s more to be done:

• “A study released on March 6 from Korn Ferry and the Conference Board found that 62% of respondents believe the representation of women in leadership positions has improved during the last five years. However, 66% believe that there still is an inadequate representation of women in leadership positions in their organization today.”

The Manufacturing Institute’s STEP program is designed to increase women’s participation in the manufacturing workforce—and leadership everywhere from the factory floor to the corner offices.

In fact, we’re fast coming up on an opportunity to honor women in manufacturing—the annual STEP Ahead Awards gala, which will take place in Washington, D.C., on April 11. The winners of the awards have already been announced, and they are not only accomplished at their jobs but dedicated to mentoring the next generation of women in the industry. (You can read about them here.) And if you’re interested in best practices in diversity and inclusion initiatives for your own company, see this recent report by the Institute and PwC.

• “As trade wars rage, Emerson plots new U.S. expansion” (Reuters)
• “Top 10 destinations for U.S. LNG exports in 2018” (Houston Chronicle, subscription)
• “GM’s Cruise unit to double headcount” (Reuters)
• “Hubner Manufacturing To Bring $9.6 Million Plant, 66 Jobs To Dunlap” (Chattanoogan.com)
• “Wisconsin-based manufacturing company breaks ground on new Lufkin facility” (KTRE)
• “New investment: OSR Inc. begins construction on $6.5 million manufacturing facility” (The Republic)
• “Truck-Lite to invest $4 million, create 95 jobs in HQ move from New York to Southfield” (Crain’s Detroit Business)
• “Family-owned business becomes leading chocolate manufacturer” (The Washington Times)
• “New manufacturing facility coming to Macon [, Mo.]” (KTVO)

• Sen. Jeanne Shaheen’s (D-NH) office cites the NAM’s support for the Smart Manufacturing Leadership Act, which would help small and medium-sized manufacturers adopt “smart manufacturing technologies.” Read NAM Director of Energy and Resources Policy Laura Berkey-Ames on how this act would encourage sustainable manufacturing.
• Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-WA) cites the NAM’s update to its infrastructure plan, “Building to Win,” on manufacturers’ need for better infrastructure to keep our economy competitive.
• Read NAM Vice President of International Economic Affairs Linda Dempsey on why the Senate should get the Export-Import Bank back to work.
• NAM Chief Economist Chad Moutray tells manufacturers why they shouldn’t worry about Friday’s jobs report.
• Corporate Counsel (subscription) reports on the NAM’s Manufacturers’ Accountability Project and its partnership with 15 state attorneys general on climate lawsuits.
• Politico (subscription) reports on the NAM’s opposition to new restrictions on interest deductions that would make equipment purchases more expensive.
• Fox Business cites the NAM’s quarterly outlook survey.
• The Columbus Telegram writes about a winner of the STEP Ahead Awards from Behlen Manufacturing Company, while the Daily Herald reports on two winners from Brunswick.
• Beaumont Enterprise cites the Deloitte/Manufacturing Institute study on the workforce crisis.