During President Trump’s first two years in office, his standing with many voters was buoyed by a surge in manufacturing that helped create millions of new jobs and undergirded the whole U.S. economy.
And after adding nearly half a million jobs in the prior two years, which Trump frequently stressed in hard-hat rallies throughout the Midwest, manufacturing employment has stalled. In the months before the 2016 election, it didn’t help Hillary Clinton’s prospects that manufacturing was on the skids and factory jobs were shrinking, thanks to a drop-off in energy-related investments, a strong dollar and lackluster demand for American goods in emerging economies.
Jim Springer, chief financial officer of Industrial Nut Corp. in Sandusky, Ohio, doesn’t need the Fed and a bunch of economists to tell him that manufacturing is in recession. He can see it in his 111-year-old family business making locknuts and other fasteners.Springer, 58, who runs the company with his father and three brothers, remembers when orders took off at the end of 2016. Sales surged 30% in 2017 and went up another 14% last year, to just shy of its record-high sales of $20.
Like manufacturers across the country, Industrial Nut has recently begun to reduce overtime hours for workers, and Springer says the company is managing labor costs also through attrition and retirement of its aging workforce. Michael Hicks, a regional economist at Ball State University in Muncie, Ind., said there was a greater than 50% chance of a national recession in the next 12 months. Indiana has the country’s largest concentration of manufacturing, accounting for some 22% of the state’s economy — about double the U.S. average.
But industrial activity in Indiana is deeply intertwined with manufacturing in nearby states that are not rock-solid Republican — especially Michigan, Illinois and Wisconsin.
Trump's promises to bring back manufacturing jobs (lost to automation, not immigrants) won him the Midwestern states and the Presidency. Not only has he had trouble bringing companies back, the US workers still around suffer under his tariffs. And, the automation still continues.
scottsantens TrumpFearsYang yanggang
Come for the “economic anxiety,” stay for the unemployment lines. Nice job, Taint. realDonaldTrump TOTUS
maya you poor saps. Racism is costly.
The LA Times keeps praying that it can keep coming up with reasons to give Democrats hope that in 2020 the American people will vote to make their lives worse.
Quit using those two words Trump and reelection together! Make it stop.
Lowest unemployment since dec of 1969.
Yeah, let’s bring back a Dem that will ruin the economy, increase regulations, transfer American jobs to other countries, screw our medical insurance, screw us out of money while they become millionaires. Oh but they’ll at least take care of illegals but not Americans!!!
I'm just happy it's happening WHILE HE'S PRESIDENT, so those LEMMINGS can't blame it on the next President. Sometimes I want Trump to win 2020, so those stupid voters can reap what they showed!!! But then I have to reap it too.
Recession here we come!
Luckily there’s even a manufacturing sector after Obama stripped it down and sold off and said it would never come back.
Why not both
The steel industry is laying off and cutting hours.
' . . manufacturing output shrank over 2 straight quarters this year. . the common definition of recession.' That's a new one on me, Don. While this is bad news, manufacturing is only 12-13% of gross GDP. Perhaps you meant to suggest, loosely, that the sector is in a recession?
Good get rid of trump the treasonous president!!!!!!!!
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Thepartysover Sorry Donnie. You can only screw up on so many fronts before you become more of a liability than even the Republicans can afford.
US national deficit is $1 Trillion, a 68% increase since Trump is President.
FAKE NEWS there is no slump the economy is growing.
Tells you a lot about our priorities...
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