-
Every hospital room, doctor’s office, and ER bay has a faded copy of the Universal Pain Assessment Scale taped to the wall: it’s an annoyingly reductive approach to “measuring” a patient’s level of misery — which is obviously an important diagnostic and...
-
Last year’s strike by the United Autoworkers union versus American Axle & Manufacturing was a revealing development for the U.S. manufacturing sector: it aired all the problems involved in maintaining high-value production programs in the global economy...
-
Forgers will get a little bit closer attention for their role in the financial meltdown soon, as one of the most recognizable domestic forging companies joins the crowd of petitioners seeking federal assistance. FormTech Industries , barely three years...
-
There are many, many issues to be addressed about our financial mess, but no one would can argue that most of the difficult problems would resolve themselves if the economy were growing. Exposing deceptions or punishing frauds is fine, but it’s a distraction...
-
This column today offers a useful perspective to the standard anxiety about the auto industry — which is that for all the serious problems plaguing Chrysler, Ford, and General Motors, there is also a worldwide economic crisis underway, which has snuffed...
-
News reports characterize the President’s decision late last week as a rescue plan, a “lifeline” to the auto industry, but it’s actually a bailout for the United Autoworkers union. The $17 billion is meant to keep GM and Chrysler viable until the incoming...
-
I haven't yet discovered anyone who's made a sensible comparison of the United Autoworkers union strike against American Axle & Manufacturing earlier this year, though something makes me think the incorrigible, poor-poor-me tone that the union's...
-
The hardest question about bailing out the domestic auto industry — ie., yes or no — has already been answered. But, the biggest problem about this undertaking is only now beginning to get some credible attention. And, this column in the Wall Street Journal...
-
The matter of "fixing" the auto industry has been boiled down to three general "solutions: No federal bailout: This is the most unlikely outcome, because it seems so cruel, but those of us who support it believe it is the most expedient...
-
Very few people outside Detroit or Washington are actually arguing that an auto industry bailout is a good idea. Here's one who sensibly explains why the apparent alternative — bankruptcy — is also really bad news . The dilemma here is that neither...
-
I won’t use our own numbers to gauge the forging industry’s affinity for Web-based information sharing and gathering, but I will interpret the following as very good news: The American Iron and Steel Institute has launched the Bar Steel Fatigue blog ...
-
Free-trade skeptic Alan Tonelson is a sharp guy, and you always know where he stands on matters related to U.S. foreign trade policy. He's presented an interesting list (LINKED HERE) of "products" that represent the highest value U.S. exports...
-
When the United Autoworkers union initiated a strike at five American Axle & Manufacturing plants February 26, there was little indication of the impact 3,650 workers might have on the automotive industry — and General Motors in particular. One early...
-
It costs a lot of green to be “green,” as anyone involved in manufacturing can confirm. It isn’t just the cost of new controls and technologies to make plants and operations compliant with evolving regulations, nor the cost of investments to achieve ...
-
What happened to all the anxiety about Chinese currency manipulation? No one doubts that China unfairly suppresses the value of its currency, chiefly by buying and holding foreign currencies — specifically the dollar and the euro. Several years ago the...