Jobs Report Deeper Dive – Manufacturing Employment Continues to Slip

Manufacturing employment slipped by 5,000 in November, the seventh consecutive month of job losses, after decreasing by 9,000 in October. On the other hand, the collective job losses in August and September of 21,000 were revised upward by 5,000 jobs to a decrease of 16,000 jobs. Manufacturing employment is down 73,000 over the year, the most of any industry. Overall, nonfarm payroll employment increased by 64,000 in November, after declining by 105,000 in October during the federal government shutdown. In sum, employment is down by 41,000 from September.

Durable goods manufacturing employment fell by 4,000 in November, while nondurable goods employment edged down by 1,000. The most significant gain in manufacturing in November occurred in electrical equipment, appliance and component manufacturing, which added 2,200 jobs over the month. Meanwhile, the most significant loss occurred in motor vehicles and parts manufacturing, which shed 4,900 jobs over the month.

Read more at The BLS

Cutting Tool Orders Continue Rise

U.S. machine shops and other manufacturers ordered $250.1 million worth of cutting tools during October, providing another encouraging data point for industrial activity. The October result is 12.7% higher than the September figure, and 14.7% higher than the October 2024 total. Through 10 months of activity, 2025 cutting tool shipments total $2.13 billion - and the 0.6% improvement this marks over January-October 2024 is this year’s first positive trend over last year. “The latest three-month trend is looking more promising, but our industry is still flat to down over the past year,” stated Mike Stokey, president of the U.S. Cutting Tool Institute.

“The very strong October 2025 results are likely the result of several one-time factors driving demand rather than a new baseline,” cautioned Costikyan Jarvis, president of Jarvis Cutting Tools. “However, the overall picture continues to show a slow rise in industrial output, with the promise of more growth in 2026. Jarvis added: “The year-to-date 2025 data versus 2024 data show a strengthening trend consistent with other economic indicators. This suggests that industrial manufacturing is looking at a much better 2026 than 2025.”

Read more at American Machinist

ITIF: US Lags in Machine Tool Production and Consumption

The machine tool industry is important for national competitiveness and power. At the same time, robust machine tool consumption is key to U.S. manufacturing health. Machine tools are used not only to cut or form metal parts for final products such as automobiles, but also to make machines that are used in a vast proportion of manufacturing industries. As a result, a strong machine tools industry is necessary for the United States to have a healthy manufacturing sector and remain globally competitive in advanced manufacturing industries.

However, the U.S. machine tool industry is relatively weak. While the United States was one of the largest producers in machine tools in the early 1980s, with about 20 percent of the world market, U.S. firms, such as Cincinnati Milacron and Browne and Sharpe, declined quickly over the next few years, resulting in more than two-thirds of firms closing.1 Japan, Germany, and Italy surpassed the United States in machine tool production and became world leaders.2 Meanwhile, other nations’ firms, such as China’s, have also grown, producing large shares of the globe’s machine tools. Indeed, as an Information Technology and Innovation Foundation (ITIF) report highlights, “In 1981, the United States was the largest producer of machine tools at $5.1 billion. By 2022, China was the world’s leading producer at $27.1 billion per year, while the United States ranked fifth at $5.9 billion.”3 As a result, the United States imports a vast proportion of machine tools from abroad for its manufacturing workers to use.

Read more at ITIF

Middle East

• Netanyahu To Discuss Iran, Next Phase Of Gaza Plan With Trump – Reuters
• Lindsey Graham Sounds Alarm: 'Hamas Is Not Disarming' - Politico
• Syrians Emptied Assad’s Prisons. They’re Filling Up Again, And Abuse Is Rife - Reuters
• Clashes Flare As Top Turkish Officials Visit Syria Ahead Of Deadline For Kurdish Integration - AP
• Iran Seen Working on Nuclear Site Hit by US - Newsweek
• Jordan Says Its Air Force Joined US Strikes On Islamic State In Syria - AP
• Interactive Map- Israel’s Operation In Gaza – Institute For The Study Of War
• Map – Conflicts in the Middle East – Live Universal Awareness Map

Ukraine

• Czech Security Council To Decide On Ammunition Scheme For Ukraine In January – Reuters
• The Killing Of A General In Moscow Follows A Series Of Assassinations Russia Blames On Ukraine - AP
• Zelensky Reveals Latest on ‘Solid’ 20-Point Ukraine-Russia Peace Plan - Newsweek
• Returning Russian POWs Pay Heavy Price for Choosing Surrender Over Death - WSJ
• Russia Developing Weapon To Hit Elon Musk’s Starlink Satellites: Report - Newsweek
• South Africans Who Say They Were Scammed Into Joining Russia's War In Ukraine Dig Trenches, Dodge Bullets - Reuters
• Interactive Map: Assessed Control Of Terrain In Ukraine – Institute For The Study Of War
• Map – Tracking Russia’s Invasion Of Ukraine – Live Universal Awareness Map

Other Headlines

• China Loads Over 100 Nuclear ICBMs Into Silos: Report – Newsweek
• Mass Recall of U.S. Ambassadors Leaves Unprecedented Global Vacancies - WSJ
• France To Build New Aircraft Carrier To Boost Its Capacities As A Maritime Power – France 24
• US Pursuing Third Oil Tanker Near Venezuela, Officials Say - Reuters
• Cambodia Says Thailand Launched Air Strikes After ASEAN Met On Border Clashes – France 24
• Japan Prepares To Restart World's Biggest Nuclear Plant, 15 Years After Fukushima - Reuters
• Bondi Gunmen 'Meticulously' Planned Attack For Months, Police Allege - BBC
• Egypt’s el-Sissi Urges UN Security Council Reforms For Africa’s Larger Role - AP
• Banksy Unveils New Art In London Following Speculation Over Murals Depicting Stargazing Figures – AP

Democrats Renew Government Shutdown Threat As Tensions Flare With Trump

Senate Democrats are raising the threat of another government shutdown in late January as tensions with President Trump escalate over a series of recent maneuvers by the White House that Democrats say need a forceful response from Capitol Hill. Senate Democrats walked away from a potential deal to fund a broad swath of the federal government, including the departments of Defense, Labor, Education, and Health and Human Services, which make up roughly two-thirds of the discretionary budget, before Congress adjourned for the Christmas recess.

Had the legislation passed the Senate this past week, it would have given Congress a good chance of funding up to 85 percent to 90 percent of the federal government through September of next year and taken the threat of another shutdown off the table. Instead, the shutdown threat remains very much alive, even though Democrats aren’t yet revealing their strategy ahead of the Jan. 30 government funding deadline. A Democratic senator who requested anonymity to talk about the likelihood of a shutdown said that passing the five-bill spending package, which stalled in the Senate Thursday, would be critical to avoiding a shutdown. The failure to advance the measure is a red flag warning that the chances of a shutdown are growing, lawmakers say.

Read more at The Hill

Interior Pauses Construction Of All Offshore Wind Projects, Citing National Security Concerns

The Interior Department on Monday ordered a halt to construction of all five offshore wind projects currently being built in the United States, a major new attack on an industry that has been a frequent focus of the Trump administration’s hostility. The Interior Department announced it is pausing all leases for large-scale offshore wind projects that are currently under construction, effective immediately. The pauses affect the Vineyard Wind 1, Revolution Wind, Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind, Sunrise Wind and Empire Wind 1 projects.

Interior cited national security risks that were identified by the Department of Defense in “recently completed classified reports.” The department said the pause will give the administration time to work with leaseholders and states to assess the possibility of mitigating the risks. Spokespeople for the developers of the five projects did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The action Monday also puts two projects in the crosshairs that had previously faced the administration’s opposition. The Empire Wind project off the coast of New York was already halted in April by the administration, as was the Revolution Wind project that was blocked in August.

Read more at Politico

USMCA Review: 5 Supply Chain Issues The US Plans To Address

The United States has officially set its negotiating position ahead of next summer’s review of the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement: secure changes to the deal before agreeing to any extension. “The USMCA has been successful to a degree,” U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer told Congress last week, while reporting on the country’s negotiating position. In speaking to its success, he said the free trade deal maintains broad support and cited a 56% increase in U.S. exports to Canada and Mexico and a near doubling of pay for workers in Mexico since 2020. Here are five key issues the U.S. will focus on during the joint review process that supply chain managers should keep an eye on:

1.     Strengthening rules of origin and combating offshoring - Greer said that improving rules of origin for non-automotive goods and enhancing penalties for offshoring U.S. production to Mexico or Canada were top priorities the U.S. plans to address.

2.     Ensuring alignment on tariffs, export controls, customs procedures - Mexico and Canada were two of the first countries targeted under the Trump administration’s sweeping tariff blitz this year.

3.     Improving market access and protections for U.S. food producers - Food producers were heavily represented during the USTR’s public hearings earlier this month, with groups such as the Fresh Produce Association of the Americas and the U.S. Dairy Export Council outlining industry-specific revisions they would like to see in a renewed USMCA.

4.     Boosting critical mineral production - The U.S. plans to develop a critical minerals marketplace as part of the USMCA review, per Greer.

5.     Enhancing labor and environmental protections - The USMCA established several provisions related to labor and environmental protections, including the Rapid Response Mechanism, which allows each of the three countries to petition for review of worker rights and conditions at specific facilities within the other nations.

Read more at Ward’s Auto

More Policy and Politics Headlines

• Map Shows Donald Trump’s Approval Rating in Every State After 11 Months – Newsweek
• Trump Pressures Insurers To ‘Get Their Price Down’ Ahead Of 2026 Rate Hikes – Benefits Pro
• FCC Bans Foreign-Made Drones Over National Security, Spying Concerns - CNN
• Hakeem Jeffries Says Obamacare Subsidy Extension 'Will Pass With A Bipartisan Majority' - Politico
• Governor Hochul Signs Law Banning PFAS & Other Toxic Chemicals from Menstrual Products Sold in New York State – Environmental Advocates
• CBS News Pulls ‘60 Minutes’ Segment; Correspondent Calls Decision Political - WSJ
• Acting CISA Director Failed A Polygraph. Career Staff Are Now Under Investigation. - Politico
• New Trump Envoy Jeff Landry Says Goal Is To Make Greenland ‘Part Of The US’ – The Hill
• Trump To Announce Navy Will Buy New Class Of Large Warship - WSJ
• Bari Weiss Addresses Backlash After CBS Pulls ’60 Minutes’ CECOT Episode - Newsweek
• US Triples Stipend Offer To Migrants Who 'Self-Deport' To $3,000 – Reuters

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Report: America’s Seniors Are Overmedicated

According to a Wall Street Journal analysis of Medicare data. One in six of the 46 million seniors enrolled in Medicare’s drug benefit, which pays for most drugs taken by older Americans, were prescribed eight or more medications. Pharmacists who work with seniors say doctors might not be aware of their patients’ full medication list. Patients don’t always mention what their other doctors have prescribed when a history is taken, and specialists might not have access to a shared medical record. The Journal analysis found that, among seniors taking eight or more drugs, it was common for the prescriptions to come from a large number of doctors.

Some doctors prescribe medications to their patients at alarming rates, at times single-handedly ordering eight or more drugs for a single patient. The Journal’s analysis found that what are known as the comprehensive medication reviews mandated by Medicare didn’t affect the average number of drugs prescribed to patients. A spokesman for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services said the comprehensive reviews can identify many different potential problems and their impact “may not be reflected in a simple count of prescriptions over time.”

Read more at The WSJ

Upcoming Council Programs

Events

Manufacturing Champions Award Breakfast - Friday May 8, 2026 -7:45 - 10:00 AM.

Networks

HR Sub Council Meeting Topic TBD, January 14, 2026, 8:15 - 11:00. Selux Corporation, Highland.

Health & Safety Sub Council Meeting Topic TBD, February 12, 2026, 8:30 - 10:30. Location TBD

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Webinars and Seminars

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Training

Certificate in Manufacturing Leadership Program Winter Session, Virtual. Supervisor Training Program for Hudson Valley Manufacturers. 7 Courses (15 half day sessions) January 6 - March 11 Via Zoom.

Lean Six Sigma Green Belt This program combines online coursework, with live Zoom sessions, to deliver a flexible and effective learning experience in Lean Six Sigma methodologies. Most Mondays March 2 - June 8 Via Zoom.

(Special Info session for those who are 'Green Belt curious' February 23rd)

Lean Six Sigma: Yellow Belt - Yellow Belt is an approach to process improvement that merges the complementary concepts and tools from both Six Sigma and Lean approaches. 3 Full days - March 9,10 & 11 - DCC Fishkill.

Trade Wars

• China To Impose Up To 42.7% Provisional Tariffs On EU Dairy Products – AP
• Video: Trump Tore Up Free Trade. Detroit Is Feeling the Shock. - WSJ
• Toyota Plans To Sell 3 US-Built Vehicles In Japan In 2026 – Ward’s Auto
• Europeans Won’t Be Eating Brazilian Beef This Christmas, But Farmers Are Still Fuming - Politico
• Four Things The US Wants From Canada On Trade - BBC

Tax Reforms, Falling Interest Rates Boost 2026 M&A Outlook: KPMG

Two-thirds of U.S. business leaders plan to do more merger-and-acquisition deals in 2026 compared with this year, according to survey results released Wednesday by Big Four accounting and consulting firm KPMG. Dealmakers responding to the survey pointed to the expectation of further interest-rate cuts next year as a key driver of future M&A activity, coupled with tax policy changes under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, according to the report.

“After the false dawns of the last two years, the tailwinds of falling interest rates and lower taxes are expected to overcome the headwinds of tariffs and the [government] shutdown to bring a much better year for M&A,” Dean Bell, head of deal advisory and strategy for KPMG US, said in a statement included in the report. “Lowering the cost of capital increases the affordability of leveraged transactions, providing dealmakers with enhanced flexibility and confidence to pursue new opportunities,” Mitch Berlin, Ernst & Young Americas vice chair at EY-Parthenon said in an email last week.

Read more at Manufacturing Dive

Airbus Delivers 10 A321neos In 1 Day In Push To Meet End-Of-Year Delivery Target

Airbus is pushing hard as the year 2025 comes to an end. The European plan maker ended November with 72 deliveries, totaling $657 for the year. In order to achieve its goal of 820 aircraft deliveries this year, it left a final balance of 133 to go. With such an ambitious goal, the drive to maximize output is reaching its climax, which led to December 19th, when a total of 10 A321neos were handed off to customers in one day.

The December 19th surge comes as the manufacturer faces a steep challenge to meet its revised 2025 goal of 790 aircraft by the end of the year. Only a day before, on December 18, Airbus celebrated the delivery of its 800th aircraft assembled at its Tianjin, China facility—an A321neo handed over to Air China. Deliveries originated from all the major final assembly lines in Hamburg (XFW), Tianjin (TSN), and Toulouse (TLS), but none from the US plant in Mobile, Alabama. Reuters reported that the manufacturer in November discovered panel defects with its A320 suppliers, which slowed down assembly line progress. According to Reuters, this also led to some customers being reluctant to take delivery until they were confident that the issue was resolved or there was a satisfactory plan in place to remedy the issue.

Read more at Simple Flying

AI In The Car: Bosch Presents Cockpit Innovations At CES 2026

The automotive industry is undergoing a fundamental transformation, with software – and especially artificial intelligence (AI) – becoming a core component of the future driving and in-cabin experience. Bosch sees a significant and growing market for such AI cockpits. Various market research institutes, including Grand View Research* and MarketsandMarkets*, predict that the market for AI-enabled in-vehicle infotainment (IVI) solutions will reach a volume of approximately 17 billion euros by 2030. The company expects sales of over 2 billion euros with such IVI solutions by the end of the decade and strives for a leading position among the top three providers.

A key application of this is turning unproductive downtime in the car into productive work time. Together with Microsoft, Bosch is transforming the car into a mobile office without compromising on driver safety. By integrating Microsoft Foundry and specialized features for the cockpit, the solution provides seamless access to the Microsoft 365 productivity suite. For example, a driver can use an intuitive voice command to join a Microsoft Teams call, which in turn prompts the system to proactively activate adaptive cruise control. This seamless, cross-domain interaction helps to create a journey that is both productive and safe – a significant value for commuters and frequent drivers. At its core, the platform leverages the powerful “NVIDIA DRIVE AGX Orin system-on-chip” (SoC), which forms the foundation for complex AI applications in the cockpit.

Read more at Bosch

Waymo Robotaxis Stop In The Streets During San Francisco Power Outage

A massive power outage in San Francisco over the weekend led Waymo self-driving taxis to stop working around the city. "Significant and extensive" damage from a fire in a substation caused the Saturday afternoon outage that left more than 100,000 customers without power, utility provider PG&E said in a statement. Videos posted to social media showed Waymo robotaxis halted in the middle of city streets and intersections with their hazard lights flashing, as traffic jams grew and drivers zigzagged around the stopped cars.

Waymo initially paused all service in the Bay Area following the outage, but has since resumed its operations, a spokesperson said in a statement. During the outage, many traffic signals stopped working, city officials said, and Mayor Daniel Lurie deployed police officers, fire crews, and others to help with the flow of cars on the roads. Some commuter train lines and stations shut down, as well.

Read more at BBC

Pill Version of Wegovy Is Approved for Use in the U.S.

U.S. regulators approved the first GLP-1 weight-loss pill—a tablet formulation of Novo Nordisk’s Ozempic and Wegovy—ushering in a new era of the obesity-drugs revolution that is expected to broaden their use. Novo Nordisk said Monday it plans to start selling the new pill in the U.S. in early January, with a cash price of $149 a month for the starting dose. The Food and Drug Administration approval is a milestone because weekly shots such as Wegovy and Eli Lilly’s Zepbound have dominated the anti-obesity market to date. The FDA also approved the Wegovy pill to reduce the risk of heart attacks and strokes in people with established cardiovascular disease, a use already approved for the Wegovy shot. Leerink Partners analyst David Risinger estimates that pills will eventually make up about 25% of the projected $150 billion total obesity-drug market.

Novo Nordisk’s new drug, which the company plans to call Wegovy pill, has the main ingredient semaglutide, which is the same ingredient in its injected diabetes drug Ozempic and weight-loss drug Wegovy. Novo Nordisk has been selling a pill formulation of semaglutide, Rybelsus, that is approved specifically for Type 2 diabetes and not weight loss. Semaglutide is a GLP-1 drug, which works by mimicking a gut hormone to reduce appetite, make people feel full sooner when eating and slow the rate of food leaving the stomach for the intestine.

Read more at The WSJ

Alphabet To Acquire Data Center And Energy Infrastructure Company Intersect

Google parent Alphabet on Monday announced it will acquire Intersect, a data center and energy infrastructure company, for $4.75 billion in cash in addition to the assumption of debt.Alphabet said Intersect’s operations will remain independent, but that the acquisition will help bring more data center and generation capacity online faster. “Intersect will help us expand capacity, operate more nimbly in building new power generation in lockstep with new data center load, and reimagine energy solutions to drive US innovation and leadership,” Sundar Pichai, CEO of Google and Alphabet, said in a statement.

Alphabet said Monday that Intersect will work closely with Google’s technical infrastructure team, including on the companies’ co-located power site and data center in Haskell County, Texas. Google previously announced a $40 billion investment in Texas through 2027, which includes new data center campuses in the state’s Haskell and Armstrong counties. Intersect’s operating and in-development assets in California and its existing operating assets in Texas are not part of the acquisition, Alphabet said.

Read more at CNBC

Samsung Biologics Pays GSK $280M To Secure First US Manufacturing Site

CDMO juggernaut Samsung Biologics is making manufacturing inroads in the U.S. by way of an acquisition. Samsung Bio’s U.S. subsidiary will pay $280 million to acquire GSK's Human Genome Sciences and its two pharmaceutical manufacturing plants at a campus in Rockville, Maryland. The site, which will mark Samsung Bio’s first for production in the U.S., features a total 60,000 liters of drug substance capacity and is equipped to handle clinical and commercial manufacturing from small to large scale, according to a Dec. 21 press release.

Samsung Bio says it will continue to manufacture products already being made at the site and noted that it plans to invest further to expand capacity and upgrade technology there “to further support a more resilient U.S. supply chain for critical biologic medicines.” Samsung Bio also plans to retain “more than 500” employees at the site. The Korean CDMO says that it expects the deal to close toward the end of 2026’s first quarter.

Read more at Fierce Pharma

Adoption Of Automation, AI-Powered Tools Accelerating Across Sectors, Survey Shows

A survey of 400 U.S. companies revealed key insights on a drive towards physical automation equipment such as robotics and other AI-powered automation tools, showing that companies across sectors are either already using this technology or are planning to do so. The findings come from the German modular robotics company RobCo and its Automation Readiness Index, a survey of 400 U.S. business leaders in sectors including manufacturing, construction, engineering and health care, conducted to address how warehouses and factories are paying for automation, and what’s blocking the next wave of robots in those sectors.

According to survey findings, nearly 95% of U.S. industrial businesses plan to introduce new automation within the next three years, signaling a major shift in how American industry operates, according to RobCo. The survey showed that automation is already well underway, with 47% of respondents already using some form of AI-powered automation, and 94% having at least partly integrated their physical and digital systems, connecting factory machines to computers for tasks like monitoring production. According to the research, this trend is likely to accelerate, with 76% of companies saying they’re very likely to introduce new automation in the next three years. Among companies already using automation, over half reported increased productivity, time savings, reduced waste and improved resource efficiency.

Read more at Smart Industry

Quote of the Day

“Nothing is so easy as to find fault with human institutions; nothing so difficult as to suggest adequate practical improvements.”

Thomas Malthus - English Economist and Demographer from his 'Essay on the Principle of Population.' He died on this day in 1834.

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