Reduce Your Risk of Supplier Failure
How stable are your suppliers? A supplier viability solution from Crowe Horwath LLP evaluates your exposure to the risk of supplier failure and – even more important – implements proactive programs to mitigate the risk. Learn how you can anticipate and prevent supply disruption.

2012 Voluntary
OSHA Compliance Courses

OSHA 10-Hour Courses March 5-6, 2012 - Indianapolis May 2-3, 2012 - Fort Wayne June 4-5, 2012 - Indianapolis August 7-8, 2012 - Indianapolis September 10-11, 2012 - Indianapolis November 12-13, 2012 - Indianapolis December 11-12, 2012 - Indianapolis OSHA 30-Hour Course March 5-8, 2012 - Indianapolis June 4-7, 2012 - Indianapolis September 10-13, 2012 - Indianapolis November 12-15, 2012 - Indianapolis Indiana Manufacturers Association courses in conjunction with Safety Management Group

Caterpillar CFO Sees ‘Tail Wind’
from Demand in U.S., Europe
Bloomberg - Caterpillar Inc. (CAT), the largest construction and mining equipment maker, said the business cycle is in the early stages of a recovery and the company expects to see a “tail wind” from U.S. and European demand. “We are just two years into it,” Chief Financial Officer Ed Rapp said today in an interview at Bloomberg’s headquarters in New York. “If you go back into history, our cycle is six, seven years.” Caterpillar said last week 2011 profit and sales jumped and its order backlog reached a record $29.8 billion at year-end as demand for some products outpaced manufacturing capacity. Orders from customers replacing older equipment has yet to match the last peak in regions including the U.S., which is Peoria, Illinois-based Caterpillar’s largest market.
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-02-02/caterpillar-s-rapp-sees-tail-wind-from-demand-in
-u-s-europe.html

Toyota Industries Opens Plant in Georgia
IndusryWeek - Earlier this week, Toyota Industries Corp. announced it will open a manufacturing plant in Pendergrass in Jackson County, creating 320 jobs. The company's Georgia operation will be known as Toyota Industries Compressor Parts America (TICA), and it represents a $350 million investment. "Georgia's innovative logistics infrastructure, progressive business environment and highly skilled workforce will greatly benefit the world’s largest automotive compressor manufacturer. I am glad to welcome Toyota Industries Corporation’s newest plant to Georgia," said Gov. Nathan Deal.
http://www.industryweek.com/articles/toyota_industries_opens_plant_in_georgia_26525.aspx

Decline in Manufacturing Employment
Makes Economic Recoveries More Difficult
The Washington Post "Wonkblog" reported, "Back when the manufacturing sector employed a greater share of Americans, there was a fairly predictable rhythm to employment swings in recessions. Factories would lay off workers temporarily when the downturn hit, and then re-hire those same workers when demand picked back up." However, that is "no longer the case. In the 1981 recession, 20 percent of workers were laid off temporarily. This time around, just 9 percent were."
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/ezra-klein/post/how-the-decline-in-manufacturing-makes
-recoveries-harder/2012/02/02/gIQAJfKRkQ_blog.html

Manufacturers Starting to Move
Some Production Back to America
Bloomberg News reports, "Manufacturers, including Caterpillar, Ford, and General Electric, are starting to move some production back to the US, although it's still just a trickle. The two factors that drove companies overseas, cheap fuel and labor, no longer favor far-flung ventures." As manufacturers "have gotten better at reducing inventory and adopting just-in-time delivery, supply chains stretching around the world have started to look like liabilities. The fragility of global supply chains became vividly apparent when the tsunami in Japan and floods in Thailand last year caused major disruptions for companies."
http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/for-some-us-manufacturers-time-to-head-home-02022012.html

Euro-Area Manufacturing, Services Expand
Bloomberg - European services and factory output strengthened in January, led by growth in Germany and France, as the region’s leaders work to find a solution to the debt crisis. A euro-area composite index based on a survey of purchasing managers in both industries rose to 50.4 from 48.3 in December, London-based Markit Economics said in a report today. January’s reading is unchanged from an initial estimate on Jan. 24. A reading above 50 indicates expansion. Finance ministers of the AAA rated countries using the euro -- Germany, Luxembourg, the Netherlands and Finland -- are set to meet today in Berlin as European leaders try to end the region’s debt crisis. With the turmoil undermining the recovery and global export demand cooling, European Central Bank council member Ewald Nowotny said on Jan. 30 that the euro area may fail to grow or show a “recession in certain phases” of this year.
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-02-03/euro-area-manufacturing-services-expand-led-by
-germany-france.html

White House Offers Plan to Lure Jobs to America
New York Times - In his State of the Union address, President Obama called for a wide-ranging package of policies to help create American manufacturing jobs, including trade enforcement measures, business tax breaks and worker training programs. In many ways, the proposal is surprising, as few economists now consider manufacturing a potent engine for job growth in the United States. Manufacturers have added about 330,000 jobs in the country in the last two years. But the growth followed three decades of decline, during which companies like automakers and textile companies slashed payrolls by about 7.5 million. That has led many economists to say the recent turnaround might be nothing more than a correction from the depths of the recession.
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/03/business/economy/a-lure-to-keep-jobs-made-in-
america.html?_r=1&ref=business

Bets on Raw Materials Rising
Most Since ’06 as Factories Grow
Bloomberg - Investments in commodities are expanding at the quickest pace in six years on signs of rising economic growth, even as JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Goldman Sachs Group Inc. warn that some prices have rallied too fast. The number of futures contracts on 24 commodities from oil to copper rose 9.3 percent last month, the most since January 2006, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Speculators are the most bullish since November, Commodity Futures Trading Commission data show. Gold and silver had the best start to a year since 1983, orange juice posted its biggest rally in more than three decades, the LMEX gauge of six industrial metals rose the most since 2006, and cattle futures advanced to a record. Raw materials are rebounding from the first annual drop in three years on growing signs the world will skirt another recession and reports that manufacturing is expanding from China to India to the U.S. Investors are betting record-low U.S. interest rates and China’s efforts to shore up growth will bolster demand. The optimism is being tempered by Europe’s widening debt crisis, with the International Monetary Fund warning it could derail the global economy.
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-02-03/bets-on-raw-materials-rising-most-since-06-as
-factories-grow-commodities.html

Mitch Daniels: Right-to-Work Already Working
Politico - Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels defended Thursday his state’s newly-approved right-to-work legislation, saying that the phones have been ringing off the hook with companies wanting to come to the state since he signed the measure. "Indiana has by every reckoning the 5th or 6th best business climate in the country, and now it gets a little better,” said Daniels on Fox News. “The phone began literally ringing yesterday afternoon with companies wanting to come to our state.” Daniels dismissed concerns about the bill, arguing that the legislation would not shut down unions or have their pay cut. “This law is aimed only at one segment of society, the folks without jobs,” he said. “No one will lose pay, and no benefits are going down, and the right to organize and bargain is safe” The governor claimed that the voters of the state were with him on the need for right-to-work legislation. “Noise isn’t numbers, and fewer than 9 percent of Indiana belongs to a union, and many of them do not disagree with the right-to-work principle,” said Daniels. “In the whole state a huge majority believe it is the right thing to do.”
Daniels added that the debate over the principle had been completed and that people need to move forward from the issue.
http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0212/72389.html#ixzz1lKNxuNpH

Labor Says Impact of New Indiana
Right-to-Work Law Too Soon to Gauge
Times of Northwest Indiana - Opinions vary among labor leaders and attorneys on the impact a right-to-work law will have on Northwest Indiana unions. Even with the new rules, a few are convinced people will continue paying dues because they see the value in it and unions will remain active parts of Hoosier workplaces. Following Gov. Mitch Daniels' signature of the legislation Wednesday, Indiana is the nation's 23rd right-to-work state. After March 14, workers cannot be required to pay dues or other fees to a labor union as a condition of employment. The law does not apply to labor agreements formed, modified or renewed before that date. "It's going to be a wait-and-see, (but) I don't think it's going to be a disaster," said Tom Hargrove, president of the United Steelworkers Local 1010 in East Chicago.
http://indianaeconomicdigest.com/main.asp?SectionID=31&SubSectionID=135&ArticleID
=63796&TM=34366.18

Indiana Union Leader Promises No Super Bowl Skirmish
AP - The president of Indiana AFL-CIO is promising union members will not disrupt the Super Bowl festivities in Indianapolis after efforts to block right-to-work legislation failed. Nancy Guyott said Thursday that organized labor will take its fight to the ballot box in November rather than Super Bowl celebrations in downtown Indianapolis this week. On Wednesday, Gov. Mitch Daniels made Indiana the 23rd state to ban labor contracts that require workers to pay union fees following grueling Statehouse battles and massive union protests. Union protesters had threatened work slowdowns and traffic jams as an estimated 150,000 tourists flood the city for the game Sunday. Protesters instead plan to hand out anti-right-to-work pamphlets in the Super Bowl Village.
http://www.ibj.com/indiana-union-leader-promises-no-super-bowl-skirmish/PARAMS/article/32407

American Woodmark Has Potential
for 100 Jobs, Gas City Mayor Says
Chronicle-Tribune - GAS CITY - The Gas City Council unanimously approved a $1.6 million tax abatement for American Woodmark on Jan. 17. Mayor Larry Leach said that abatement will cover new equipment the company is adding to its 5300 Eastside Parkway Dr. facility. He said with the equipment the company projects it will possibly hire up to 100 additional jobs in the factory. "That's a substantial number for our community," he said. Leach said the $10 million American Woodmark plant has had several expansions and "progressive growth" since it opened around 10 years ago. He said the resolution passed Tuesday night was actually an amendment to the original tax abatement it received when it located in Gas City.
http://www.indianaeconomicdigest.com/main.asp?SectionID=31&SubSectionID=135&ArticleID
=63807&TM=22990.99

Thirty-Year Mortgage Rate Falls to Record 3.87 Percent
AP - WASHINGTON — The average rate on the 30-year fixed mortgage fell this week to a record low, the ninth time that has happened in the last year. Even with the cheapest rates in history, the housing market remains depressed. Mortgage buyer Freddie Mac said Thursday that the rate on the 30-year loan dropped to 3.87 percent this week. That below the previous record of 3.88 hit two weeks ago. The average on the 15-year fixed mortgage fell to 3.14 percent, also a record low. Records for mortgage rates date back to the 1950s. Mortgage rates tend to track the yield on the 10-year Treasury note, which fell below 1.9 percent this week.
http://www.indystar.com/article/20120202/BUSINESS/120202025/30-year-mortgage-rate-falls
-record-3-87-percent

More States Move to GOP in 2011
Seventeen States Solidly or Leaning Republican, Up from 10 in 2010
Gallup - PRINCETON, NJ - Democrats have lost their solid political party affiliation advantage in 18 states since 2008, while Republicans have gained a solid advantage in 6 states. A total of 17 states were either solidly Republican or leaning Republican in their residents' party affiliation in 2011, up from 10 in 2010 and 5 in 2008. Meanwhile, 19 states including the District of Columbia showed a solid or leaning Democratic orientation, down from 23 in 2010 and 36 in 2008. The remaining 15 states were relatively balanced politically, with neither party having a clear advantage.
http://www.gallup.com/poll/152438/States-Move-GOP-2011.aspx

Payroll Tax Holiday Running Down
CNN Money - Despite bipartisan support on Capitol Hill for extending a temporary payroll tax cut for the rest of 2012, lawmakers have yet to close the deal. With just 28 days left before the current two-month Band-Aid version expires, the sticking point for lawmakers is how to pay for an extension -- the very same reason that tripped them up when they tried to negotiate a full-year extension in December.
http://money.cnn.com/2012/02/02/news/economy/payroll_tax_cut/

Dems Face Tricky Immigration Choice
The Hill - Democrats face a politically tricky choice over whether to pursue a compromise with Republicans on immigration reform that was recently floated by Mitt Romney and Newt Gingrich. The Republican presidential contenders are willing to grant illegal immigrants legal status if they came to the country at a young age and served in the military. It’s a tough election-year call for Democrats for several reasons. It’s a tough election-year call for Democrats for several reasons. Immigration reform has been a winning issue for them as staunch GOP opposition has driven Hispanic voters to support Democratic candidates in recent cycles. Hispanic voters helped Democrats win tough Senate races in Colorado and Nevada in 2010. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) bolstered his standing among Hispanic voters by claiming immigration reform as one of his highest priorities.
http://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/208469-dems-face-tricky-immigration-choice-

GOP: Cut Federal Workers, Not Defense
The Hill - A group of Republican senators introduced legislation Thursday that would wipe out automatic defense cuts by reducing the federal workforce by 5 percent and extending a freeze on federal pay through June 2014. The GOP senators, led by Arizona’s Jon Kyl and John McCain, wish to prevent $500 billion in automatic defense cuts set to begin in January 2013. Their bill would eliminate the first year of the cuts by hiring back two workers for every three who leave. It would save $127 billion in all, with $110 billion covering automatic cuts to defense and non-defense spending scheduled for 2013 under last summer’s deal to raise the debt ceiling. Republicans have zeroed in on the federal workforce as a way to reduce deficits. On Wednesday, the House approved extending a federal pay freeze in a bipartisan vote. Seventy-three Democrats voted with the GOP. The GOP senators said their legislation is essential because the military would be decimated if the $500 billion in sequestration cuts were to take effect in January 2013 on top of an already planned $487 billion reduction. Sequestration refers to automatic spending cuts of $1.2 trillion — half of which targets military budgets — that were triggered by the failure of the deficit-reduction supercommittee.
http://thehill.com/blogs/defcon-hill/budget-approriations/208405-gop-senators-cut-federal
-workers-not-defense

Payroll Conferees Avoid the Big Issue
Politico - They bickered over boiler regulations, rambled about research and development credits and discussed the finer points of business expensing. But there was one important matter the payroll tax conference committee didn’t debate Thursday: the payroll tax itself. Twenty-six days remain until the popular tax cut is set to expire for 160 million Americans. But the debate so far has been consumed by side issues. And though the 20 negotiators stress that they all agree the tax holiday as well as jobless benefits and the Medicare reimbursement rate should be extended through 2012, they are avoiding the $64,000 question that stumped Congress in December: how to pay for it all. Frustration with the lack of progress from the 20-member conference committee shot up to the highest levels of Congress on Thursday, when Senate Democratic leaders threatened to push their own bill if the House-Senate committee doesn’t get hustling.
http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0212/72396.html#ixzz1lKM6XKDz

Euro Strengthens Versus Dollar,
Yen on Speculation U.S. Payrolls Increased
Bloomberg - The euro strengthened against the dollar and the yen before a report economists said will show U.S. employers increased payrolls in January, damping demand for the safest assets. The advance trimmed the euro’s weekly decline, after Greece and its creditors struggled to reach an agreement on a deal to reduce the nation’s debt. Japan’s currency traded within one yen of a postwar high versus the dollar, boosting speculation the country will act to weaken it. China’s yuan halted a four-day gain as expansion in its non-manufacturing industries slowed.
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-02-02/euro-is-set-for-weekly-drop-against-major-peers-on
-greek-debt-concern.html

Canada’s Jobless Rate Rises to Nine-Month High
Bloomberg - Canada’s unemployment rate rose to a nine-month high in January as the trend of sluggish job creation that began in the second half of last year continued. The jobless rate rose to 7.6 percent from 7.5 percent as employment increased 2,300 last month, Statistics Canada said today in Ottawa. Economists surveyed by Bloomberg News had forecast unemployment to stay at 7.5 percent and 22,000 jobs to be added. Consumers will account for more than half of Canada’s 2 percent economic growth this year, according to the Bank of Canada, as weak global demand and a high dollar curb exports. Most of the past year’s job growth came in the first six months of that period, Statistics Canada said, which suggests consumer spending growth may be restrained.
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-02-03/canada-s-jobless-rate-rises-to-7-6-as-employment
-growth-stalls-in-january.html

Indonesia Growth Probably Exceeded
Six Percent as Domestic Strength Counters Europe
Bloomberg - Indonesia’s growth probably exceeded 6 percent for a fifth quarter as domestic demand helped Southeast Asia’s largest economy withstand the European debt turmoil that has hurt exports across Asia. Gross domestic product increased 6.45 percent in the fourth quarter from a year earlier, compared with a 6.5 percent pace in the previous three months, according to the median of 17 estimates in a Bloomberg News survey ahead of a government report due Feb. 6. Bank Indonesia will keep its benchmark rate at a record-low 6 percent, according to 11 of 15 estimates before a Feb. 9 decision.
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-02-02/indonesia-economy-growth-probably-exceeded
-6-for-fifth-quarter.html

Paylocity Offers Reduced Rates for IMA Members

Paylocity, America’s leading independent provider of payroll and HR solutions, now offers special pricing to all Indiana Manufacturers Association members. This pricing structure, unique to IMA members, includes 10 percent off of a-la-carte pricing or 5 percent off of bundled pricing. Since 1997, Paylocity has been providing innovative payroll and HR solutions to businesses across America. Paylocity WebPay, the flagship web-based solution, is a step ahead of competing systems, providing users with a single comprehensive system for all payroll and human resource needs. For more information and to receive a no obligation proposal, please contact Paylocity’s Lara Clark at LClark@paylocity.com or at 317-903-7592.

Payrolls in U.S. Jumped 243,000 in January
Unemployment Rate Drops to 8.3 Percent
Bloomberg - Employment climbed more than forecast in January and the U.S. jobless rate unexpectedly fell to the lowest in three years, casting doubt on whether the Federal Reserve can wait until 2014 before raising interest rates. The 243,000 increase in payrolls was the most since April and exceeded all forecasts in a Bloomberg News survey, Labor Department figures showed in Washington. The unemployment rate dropped to 8.3 percent, the lowest since February 2009. The jump in hiring shows companies are gaining confidence the expansion will weather Europe’s slump and may boost President Barack Obama’s re-election bid. The data come one week after Fed policy makers said the economy wasn’t growing fast enough to push down the jobless rate, prompting them to extend a pledge to keep interest rates low for another two years.
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-02-03/payrolls-in-u-s-jumped-243-000-in-january-unemployment
-rate-drops-to-8-3-.html

Jobless Rate Has Fallen Because of Dropouts
Washington Times - The big drop in the unemployment rate in recent months to 8.5 percent from double-digit rates during the recession came at a fortunate time for President Obama, but economists say it as much because of young people dropping out of the labor market as it is the result of businesses adding jobs. The steep drop in unemployment only months before the election is similar to a big drop from double-digit levels that boosted President Reagan when he sought re-election in 1984 after a deep, double-dip recession during his first term. Reagan campaigned amid a revival of economic growth to robust rates of more than 7 percent and the re-employment of thousands of laid-off factory workers. Mr. Obama is running on a far more subdued recovery with growth averaging about 2 percent and unexciting job gains of about 130,000 a month.
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2012/feb/2/jobless-rate-has-fallen-because-of-dropouts/

Bernanke Won’t Tolerate Inflation to Boost Jobs
Bloomberg - Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke defended the central bank’s newly established price goal and rejected suggestions he was prepared to allow higher inflation to create jobs. “We are not seeking higher inflation,” Bernanke said yesterday in response to questioning from Republican Representative Paul Ryan of Wisconsin, chairman of the House Budget Committee. “We do not want higher inflation and we’re not tolerating higher inflation.” Bernanke replied to Ryan’s suggestion that the Fed might be prepared to allow inflation to exceed its goal to fulfill the second part of its congressional mandate, which is to promote maximum employment. The Fed last week set a 2 percent annual inflation goal after saying that it would keep its benchmark interest rate low for longer to boost the economy and push down unemployment.
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-02-03/bernanke-says-he-won-t-tolerate-higher-inflation-to
-boost-employment-gains.html

Economy at a Glance

2012 May Be Tough Year for Drugmakers
In an analysis piece focusing on the state of today's pharmaceutical industry, the AP reports, "major drugmakers have been reading from the same script in reporting mediocre year-end results and trying to brace investors for a difficult 2012." In fact, "almost unanimously, company executives say revenue will be flat or down this year due to a mix of generic competition, pricing pressures in the European Union and now some key emerging markets, unfavorable currency exchange rates and research setbacks or manufacturing problems." But "for now, the positive ratings are mainly because of drugmakers' generous dividends, share repurchases and the other key number going up: people being diagnosed with expensive chronic diseases, particularly diabetes, heart disease, hepatitis C and some cancers."
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5gLkMWovupobUYpgDrx0_k_QlvUKw?docId=f8af
5907aa1b4b2788aa1c05e7aeca97

IMA Training Courses & Events
Listed below are upcoming IMA training courses. Registration is available online at
www.imaweb.com or by clicking any of the links below.

Indiana Manufacturers Association
One American Square, Suite 2400, P. O. Box 82012; Indianapolis, IN 46282
Phone: 317-632-2474; Fax: 317-231-2320; Website: www.imaweb.com