Member Briefing November 11, 2026

CPI Slipped to 0.4% in October, but Remains Higher Than Expected. YOY Data Not Available Due to Last Year’s Gov’t Shutdown

The consumer price index, a broad gauge of costs across the U.S. economy, increased a seasonally adjusted 0.4% for the month, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Tuesday. Economists surveyed by Dow Jones had been looking for a 0.3% increase. Core CPI increased 0.3% against the forecast for a 0.2% gain. Headline CPI had increased 0.6% in September while core was up 0.3%. The BLS did not estimate a yearly rate. The government shutdown last year prevented the bureau from collecting sufficient data in October 2025, so there is no comparable figure to use.

• The energy index rose 0.7% and the gasoline index was up 1%. The natural gas index, though, was off 0.8%.
• Food costs accelerated 0.5%, pushed higher by increases of 1% for snacks, 0.9% for beef and 0.5% for meats, poultry, fish and eggs.
• Transportation services jumped 0.8%.
• New vehicle prices increased 0.2% but used cars and trucks fell 1.2%.
• Shelter costs were higher by 0.3%, which the BLS said accounted for more than 30% of the headline increase.
• Apparel, a tariff-sensitive sector, rose just 0.1%.
• Airline fares accelerated 0.4%.

Read more at CNBC

Take a Deeper Dive on Inflation at Wells Fargo

Manufacturing Productivity Slows In The Third Quarter

In Q3 2026, U.S. nonfarm business labor productivity increased 3.6% in the preliminary estimate, up from a revised 2.1% rise in the second quarter, with output up 3.7% and hours worked 0.1% higher. Looking back, productivity has grown 2.1% from Q3 2025. Unit labor costs fell 0.7% due to the gain in productivity and a 2.9% increase in hourly compensation. Real hourly compensation grew 1.1% in Q3 and 1.0% over the year.

Meanwhile, manufacturing productivity advanced 0.3% in Q3, reflecting a 1.3% rise in output and a 1.0% increase in hours worked. Durable manufacturing productivity climbed 2.2%, while nondurable manufacturing productivity decreased 1.7%. Total manufacturing productivity rose 0.4% over the year. Manufacturing unit labor costs expanded 2.7% from Q2 and 4.0% year-over-year. Real hourly compensation increased 1.2% in Q3 and 0.9% over the year.

Read more at The BLS

Tough Choices, Uncertainty, And Scrutiny May Lie Ahead For Defense Contractors

New and existing defense programs may face funding delays or challenges, and companies could see a flurry of Congressional anti-corruption inquiries when the new Democrat-majority Congress takes office next year, experts say. Until then, industry can expect a push for funding by the current majority. “There'll be a lot of pressure on the Republicans to get something passed during the lame duck [session] because they know how hard it will be after that. And defense hawks will be pushing very hard,” said Mark Cancian, a government budget expert and senior adviser with the Center for Strategic and International Studies.

While Republicans being able to amass enough support to pass $350 billion in reconciliation funding for defense “looks iffy,” he said, passing the base budget of around $1.1 trillion is “quite doable.” Defense spending, overall, typically garners bipartisan support. But this year, the U.S.-Israel war on Iran has been a source of political contention—from the Trump administration starting it without Congressional approval to the downstream economic effects. However, Democrats could opt to pass the more-than-trillion-dollar defense budget to cover big expenses like munitions. And in that case, “the war funding is essentially covered” if the base budget includes “a little flexibility to move money around,” CSIS’s Cancian said.

Read more at Defense One

Iran and the Middle East

• U.S., Iran Exchange Strikes on Islands as They Fight for Control of Strait – WSJ
• Israeli Strikes And Gunfire In Gaza Kill 5 People - AP
• Trump Says Iran War Could End "Fairly Soon" After Qatar Talks, Plays Down New Strikes - Quartz
• Iran Accuses US Of ‘Manufacturing Fake News About Imaginary Talks’ – The Hill
• France Blames Iran For Cyberattack That Heated Supermarket Refrigerators—Causing Millions In Damage - Forbes
• Saudi East-West Oil Pipeline Hit In Medina Region - Reuters
• Interactive Map – US and Israeli Attack in Iran – ArcGIS Story Maps
• Map – Conflicts in the Middle East – Live Universal Awareness Map

Ukraine

• US Army Soldier Arrested In UK For Alleged Espionage Related To Russia – CNN
• U.S. Overture to Russia on European Security Sparks Alarm - WSJ
• Russia, Ukraine And US Meet For Abu Dhabi Talks As Trump Says War Can 'End Soon' - ABC
• Inside Devastated Front-Line City That Russia Wants Ukraine To Give Up - BBC
• EU Sends 2 Senior Officials To Ukraine Talks In Abu Dhabi - Politico
• Putin May Not Want Peace, Warns Norwegian Leader Who Spoke To Him - Politico
• 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 World Headlines

• COP31 Summit Pushes For Ambitious Electrification Strategy - CNN
• Anthropic Eyes $1.4 Trillion IPO Valuation In Test Of Wall Street's AI Fervor – AP
• US To Skip UN Rights Review, Citing Council's Bias – The Hill
• Death Toll Rises To 39 After Migrant Boat Capsizes Off Senegal - AP
• China’s Trade Surplus Tops US$1 Trillion Ahead for Second Year – With 2 Months to Go - Reuters
• These Maps Show the Gangs and Guerrillas Ruling More Than 200 Million People - WSJ
• EU Budget Battle Erupts As Four Countries Defy Merz Over Ukraine Aid - Euronews
• Greta Thunberg Warns ‘Everything We Love Is At Stake’ As She Arrives At UN Climate Talks - AP

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Manufacturing Bills To Watch For The Rest Of The 119th Congress

As lawmakers head into the home stretch of the 119th Congress, several bills of interest to manufacturers are expected to pass, like the National Defense Authorization Act and another continuing budget resolution, or have momentum, such as the Bipartisan American Affordability and Jobs Act of 2026. Below is a summary of many of these bills, including what provisions affect manufacturers and where the bills stand.

• National Defense Authorization Act - The U.S. Department of Defense is requesting a record $1.5 trillion for fiscal year 2027 to ramp up weapons and military equipment manufacturing.
• Toxic Substances Control Act - Allows the EPA to measure the impact of toxic chemicals, such as perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances or methylene chloride, assessing their impact on public health and natural resources.
• National robotics strategy - Lawmakers introduced a couple of bills over the summer with the goal of establishing a national robotics strategy to spur investment in domestic robotics and make the U.S. more competitive with China, Japan, Germany and other leading countries.
• Permitting reform - Environmental permitting reform has long been on manufacturers’ and the Trump administration’s wish lists to make projects easier to complete without as much red tape. Those wishes may finally be fulfilled through the Bipartisan American Affordability and Jobs Act of 2026.
• MATCH Act - The Multilateral Alignment of Technology Controls on Hardware Act would tighten and align U.S. export controls on sensitive semiconductor manufacturing equipment with allied nations to prevent China and other adversaries from acquiring critical chipmaking technology and servicing loopholes.
• Surface Transportation Reauthorization Bill - Federal surface transportation reauthorization is pending in Congress after the House approved its own five-year package earlier this year in a 62-to-2 vote.
• American Manufacturing Revitalization Exchange Program Act - The American Manufacturing Revitalization Exchange Program Act would help train the next generation of technicians, machinists, engineers and production specialists for the U.S. manufacturing workforce.

Read more at Manufacturing Dive

Senate Advances Bipartisan Permitting Reform Bill, Teeing Up Passage

The Senate voted Monday to advance a major bipartisan bill that aims to speed up the construction of energy and other infrastructure projects — clearing a key hurdle toward the measure becoming law. The vote was 73-25, teeing up likely Senate passage in the weeks ahead. the Bipartisan American Affordability and Jobs Act, seeks to make it easier to build energy projects. It will make it harder for opponents to sue to block projects on environmental grounds and also hamper the ability of states and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to preemptively block them, which has historically held up ventures such as fossil fuels and mining.

Republicans pushed to curtail environmental reviews and promote fossil fuels, while the Democrats broadly pushed for help for renewable energy. Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) told reporters ahead of the vote that the legislation is expected to save consumers about $60 to $80 each month. He also said it will prevent between 1.5 and 1.8 gigatons of greenhouse gas emissions. Whitehouse said it will increase the nation’s wind capacity by 25 percent, solar capacity by 28 percent and battery storage capacity by 70 percent.

Read more at The Hill

U.S. Government Launches Assessment Of Drug Supply Chain Vulnerabilities

Disruption of the pharmaceutical supply chain is always a potential threat in a global economy. Several government agencies are assessing the U.S. pharmaceutical key starting materials (KSM) industrial base for vulnerabilities and to guide strategies to strengthen domestic manufacturing capabilities. KSMs are chemical precursors and intermediates used to manufacture active pharmaceutical ingredients. The Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response (ASPR) within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services is collaborating with the Department of Commerce and Department of War to assess domestic production capacity and reliance on foreign or single sources of critical materials.

This one-time survey will collect information about production capabilities, sourcing practices, customers, supply chain disruptions, workforce and research and development. The results will help the federal government develop funding strategies to support the availability, quality and security of materials essential to a resilient pharmaceutical supply chain. A final report on the state of the U.S. KSM industrial base, including production capacity, supply chain vulnerabilities and emergency response capabilities, will include recommendations to improve supply chain resilience and public health emergency preparedness.

Read more at Benefits Pro

More Policy and Politics Headlines

• Immigration Groups Urge Democrats To Make Pathways To Citizenship A Priority – AP
• Stephen Miller Era Begins In Trump's White House – The Hill
• Trump Says FBI Probing Nvidia CEO Huang As China Controversy Deepens - Reuters
• Jim Jordan Of Ohio Elected To Lead House Republicans In The Minority - AP
• The Chinese Woman at the Center of a Spy Probe After an Affair With Jensen Huang - WSJ
• House Dems Reintroduce 'Medicare For America' Public Option Bill – Benefits Pro
• Pete Hegseth Decries Impeachment Push, Defends Iran War Handling - CNBC
• Massie Unveils 8 Impeachment Articles Against Hegseth – The Hill
• Hegseth Survives Impeachment Effort in House - WSJ
• Industry Groups Continue Fight Against Stock Buyback Restrictions – Federal News Network
• Democrats Are Wasting No Time Investigating Corporate America’s Biggest Names - WSJ
• New York Budget Director Says Tax Hike Discussions Are Premature As State Prepares For Next Budget – NY State Of Politics
• California Voters Reject One-Time Wealth Tax On Billionaires – CNN

FDA Adds Rare Vision-Loss Warning To Popular GLP-1 Drugs

The Food and Drug Administration said Monday that GLP-1 drugmakers must add a warning label about a rare eye condition that can cause sudden blindness. The condition, called nonarteritic anterior ischemic optic neuropathy, or NAION, affects the optic nerve, which carries signals from the eye to the brain. When blood flow to the nerve is reduced or blocked, it can cause sudden vision loss. The condition is permanent with no known treatment. The FDA said “there is a potential increased risk of rare NAION” in people taking GLP-1 drugs.

The agency’s requirement applies to all GLP-1s, including Novo Nordisk’s Ozempic and Wegovy and Eli Lilly’s Mounjaro and Zepbound, as well as several older GLP-1 diabetes medications. Spokespeople for both Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly said patient safety is their top priority. Previous research has found that GLP-1 use may increase the risk of NAION, and Lilly has said it was aware of studies on the potential link.

Read more at NBC

Upcoming Council Programs

Events

Annual Luncheon and Expo - Friday November 20, 11:00 AM - 2:00 PM. The Grandview, Poughkeepsie.

Insight Exchange - On Demand Webinars

The Orange County Foreign Trade Zone (FTZ): Duty Elimination, Reduction Deferral - Presented by Steve Gross, Orange County Economic Development

C3POA - Key Perpectives on your CMMC Compiance Journey - Presented by Nick DeLena, PKF O'Connor Davies.

CMMC for Legacy Equipment: Securing Specialized Assets with Zero Trust Micro-Enclaves - Presented by Marc Hoover, Trout Software.

See previous episodes here!

Training

Lean Overview and Simulation, (A CML Course) November 19, 8:30 - 4:30. SUNY Orange Newburgh.

Risk Management: Enviroment Health and Safety, (A CML Course) November 19, 8:30 - 4:30. SUNY Orange Newburgh.

Strategies for Motivation, Coaching and Managing Difficult People, (A CML Course) November 19, 8:30 - 4:30. SUNY Orange Newburgh.

Trade Wars

• Chinese University Bought Nvidia H200 Chips Despite US Blacklist - Reuters
• China’s Imports Outpace Exports In October Amid Efforts To Address Record Imbalance –SCMP
• China Extends US Trade Truce By Two Months - Reuters
• Will Clawing Back Tariffs Cut into Manufacturing Jobs? – Alliance for American Manufacturing
• India, US Continuing Talks To Finalise First Tranche Of Trade Deal, Official Says - Reuters
• Canada Extends Tariff Relief On Certain US Goods, Introduces Exemption Process – Yahoo Finance

Honda To Invest $3 Billion In New Vehicle Assembly Plant In Ohio

Honda Motor plans to invest $3 billion to build a new vehicle assembly plant in Ohio, the automaker announced Monday. Honda said the new plant, which will be near its other facilities in Marysville, Ohio, is expected to begin production in 2029, have a capacity for 240,000 vehicles annually and create more than 2,000 jobs. The facility is expected to be capable of producing traditional vehicles with internal combustion engines, all-electric vehicles and hybrid models, which have been growing in popularity in the U.S. The plant is expected to increase Honda’s light-duty vehicle capacity to 1.3 million units annually in the U.S. It currently has 12 manufacturing plants in United States, eight of which produce engines or light-duty vehicles for the auto industry.

The new Ohio plant is expected to notably boost Honda’s U.S. production and American-produced sales. Honda said nearly all of its vehicles sold in the U.S., including its Acura luxury brand, were produced in North America, including more than 60% in the U.S. American Honda Motor Co. executive Jennifer Thomas recently emphasized the Japanese automaker’s commitment to the U.S. and need for additional capacity. “In order to be competitive in this market, you’re going to need to build products here,” Thomas, senior vice president of corporate affairs, said Oct. 27 in Detroit. “We are focused on trying to maximize the existing capacity that we have, but we are at capacity, and so we’re exploring all options.”

Read more at CNBC

Trump Announces WeatherTech Founder as Special Envoy For Manufacturing

President Trump on Monday announced a special envoy for manufacturing in a post to Truth Social. “I am proud to announce that David MacNeil, the GREAT American entrepreneur and founder of WeatherTech, will be the Special Envoy for Manufacturing!” Trump said in his Monday afternoon post. MacNeil owns the WeatherTech brand, which sells car and home accessories like floor mats and phone holders. He founded the company in 1989.

Trump’s Monday envoy announcement follows a blowout midterm election last week in which his party struggled amid Americans’ concerns about the cost of living. Democrats took direct aim at the president’s trade policy during campaign season, and now appear posed to challenge him on it as they retake congressional power. In the wake of Democrats’ Election Day victories, Democrats have been getting ready to tackle Trump’s tariffs as part of their promise to bring down the cost of living. After Democrats locked down majorities in both the House and Senate, party leaders pledged to try and halt the tariffs through legislation.

Read more at The Hill

Bristol Myers Squibb Invests $2.3 Billion in Houston Campus

ristol Myers Squibb announced Houston, Texas, as the site for a new, state-of-the-art multi-modal manufacturing campus, representing an approximately $2.3 billion investment designed to accelerate the delivery of next-generation medicines to patients. The campus will create nearly 500 skilled jobs and is designed to grow.The selection of Houston marks a significant milestone in BMS’ $40 billion commitment to invest in the United States over five years across research and development, technology and domestic manufacturing.

Bristol Myers Squibb’s approximately 600,000-square-foot manufacturing campus in Houston, Texas, will be a modular, multi-modal campus designed for flexibility and long-term growth. Its architecture allows new manufacturing capabilities to be brought online rapidly as pipeline and commercial needs evolve. The campus is also built for adaptability, with configuration flexibility that anticipates future advances in digital integration and automation, ensuring the site remains at the frontier of biopharmaceutical development and manufacturing technology as capabilities continue to evolve.

Read more at CHE Manager

Toyota’s Operating Profit Surges 34% On Brisk Hybrid Sales

Toyota Motor Corp. reported a 34% year-over-year jump in operating income to 1.13 yen ($7.1 billion) in the second quarter of fiscal year 2027, an increase of 288.1 billion yen from the same period last year, according to the company’s Nov. 5 earnings report. The automaker cited favorable exchange rates and ongoing cost reduction efforts for the increase in operating profit, along with brisk sales of hybrid vehicles, which boosted its sales revenue to 13.4 trillion yen in Q2 — a 1 trillion yen YoY increase.

As a result of its Q2 performance, the company said it expects YoY growth this year and has revised its operating profit forecast upward, from 3.4 trillion yen to 3.9 trillion yen, for the fiscal year ending March 31, 2027. The impact of U.S. tariffs erased all of Toyota’s North America profits in FY2026, but this year, the automaker is seeing its focus on hybrids translate to revenue success. In North America, specifically, Toyota saw its operating income rise by nearly 189 billion yen during its first fiscal quarter. It set up the company to return to North America profitability for the entire fiscal year of 2027.

Read more at Ward’s Auto

Hanwha Wins First US Navy Shipbuilding Contract Since Acquiring Philly Shipyard

Hanwha Defense USA, the U.S. subsidiary of Hanwha Aerospace, signed a contract with Tote Services, a U.S. Navy Vessel Construction Manager , on Oct. 29 (local time) for the construction of one Landing Ship Medium . The contract is valued at approximately $269 million, equivalent to about 357.5 billion won. The agreement also includes options to build up to three additional vessels, opening the door to further business opportunities. The contract marks a significant step for Hanwha Philly Shipyard as it expands beyond its traditional focus on commercial vessels into the higher-value U.S. Navy shipbuilding market.

Construction will be carried out by Hanwha Philly Shipyard, with work scheduled to begin in the fourth quarter of 2027. The LSM is an expeditionary vessel the U.S. Navy is introducing to rapidly deploy small Marine units across contested littoral areas, including the Indo-Pacific. Measuring 100 meters in length and 16 meters in width, with an operational range of approximately 7,400 kilometers, the vessel is designed to transport Marine Corps personnel, equipment and supplies. The U.S. Navy plans to base the LSM on the LST-100 design developed by Dutch shipbuilder Damen and accelerate deployment by having multiple shipyards build the vessels simultaneously.

Read more at CSN

Google-Owned Drone Maker Wing to Build Manufacturing Plant in Texas

Wing, the Google-owned drone maker operating the largest drone delivery footprint in the U.S., has revealed plans for an expanded manufacturing footprint. The company is already serving major metro areas from more than 70 sites with plans to reach more than 40 million Americans by 2027. It also sees the upcoming release of the Beyond Visual Line of Sight rule as a catalyst for massive expansion.

To meet this growth, Wing is investing in its R&D and engineering capabilities in California and its newest 15,000-square-foot manufacturing facility in Fort Worth, Texas. At this facility, the company said it will create up to 100 new manufacturing jobs and invest up to $125 million in direct manufacturing over the next two years. Wing began in 2012 at X, Google’s Moonshot Factory, with a mission to find a better way to deliver a two-pound package that didn't require a two-ton vehicle. Wing focused on solving problems with deliveries to homes, where each route is unique and neighborhoods constantly change with new obstacles like pools, landscaping and parked cars.

Read more at Design & Development

Deere To End Production At 2 Iowa Plants To Align With Demand

Deere & Co. plans to close manufacturing operations at two plants and shift production from two other facilities as the company consolidates capacity around regional customer demand, according to a press release. The changes in Deere’s manufacturing footprint, per the Nov. 4 release, include:

• Closing its Ottumwa, Iowa, factory by Oct. 29, 2028, and moving its operations to the company’s Ankeny, Iowa, facility. The Ottumwa factory makes Deere’s round balers and windrower crop cutters.
• Halting production at its Clarion, Iowa, plant by Oct. 30, 2028, and moving manufacturing to Deere’s factory in Thibodaux, Louisiana. The Clarion factory makes Deere’s Hagie single-tank system sprayers.
• Shifting sugar cane harvester production from Thibodaux, Louisiana, to Catalão, Brazil, in FY2029, which runs from Oct. 30, 2028, to Oct. 28, 2029. The move aligns production closer to the largest concentration of customer demand in South America, the release says. The Thibodaux plant produces about 35 machines annually for the U.S. market.
• Relocating small planter production from Moline, Illinois, to Deere’s facility in Paton, Iowa, in FY2027, which runs from Nov. 2, 2026, to Oct. 31, 2027.

Read more at Supply Chain Dive  

Toyota, University of Chicago form R&D Partnership

Toyota and the University of Chicago have signed a research and development agreement to accelerate advancement of quantum technologies for “future mobility, sustainable transportation and secure vehicle systems,” according to a Nov. 3 press release. The collaborators are aiming to build a joint research portfolio in which Toyota will invest up to $1 million annually throughout the multiyear agreement. The automaker and university did not disclose how long the agreement spans. Toyota’s funding will also support up to eight University of Chicago graduate students across the university’s theoretical and experimental labs, enabling face-to-face interaction with “industrial research challenges as advanced mobility systems are designed from the ground up,” according to the press release.

The R&D collaboration will delve into core obstacles in transportation, including extremely precise sensing, in which quantum sensing will measure environmental changes with “unprecedented accuracy” in laboratory settings, according to the release. Researchers will examine how “translating” this technology could enhance vehicle capabilities “beyond what is possible with current sensor systems.”

Read more at Manufacturing Dive

AI Power Rush Sends Data Centres Hunting For Used Turbines And Jet Engines

Utilities, developers and firms racing to power AI data centres are scouring the world for second-hand gas turbines, reviving mothballed machines and converting retired jet engines, as lead times for costly new equipment ​stretch into the next decade. Despite growing skepticism over the perils of artificial intelligence technology and a recent selloff in related stocks, demand for energy-hungry data centres is soaring, creating a critical bottleneck for essential power ‌infrastructure and equipment, such as turbines.

That is prompting some companies to search for second-hand and refurbished equipment as well as turbines based on jet engines rather than wait for order backlogs to clear, according to more than a dozen brokers, service firms and suppliers. There are no reliable estimates of how much the secondary market is contributing to the global turbine supply worth about $25 billion a year. Its very emergence, though, attests to the profound impact the data ​centre boom has had across industries. AI infrastructure firm Crusoe, for example, in April ordered 13 so-called aeroderivative gas turbines from US-based ProEnergy — which are based on jet engines made by GE Aerospace — describing it as a strategic move to ​scale fast. The turbines, with a joint capacity of 650 megawatts (MW), will be deployed at Crusoe's AI data centre projects in the US.

Read more at Reuters

Daily Market Update Nov 10, 2026

The December ’26 natural gas contract is trading up $0.01 at $3.23. The December ’26 crude oil contract is down $2.54 at $84.31.

Read more at NRG

Learn more about the Council of Industry Energy Buying Group

Quote of the Day

"Pain and suffering are always inevitable for a large intelligence and a deep heart. The really great men must, I think, have great sadness on earth."

Fyodor Dostoevsky - Russian Author, frim his novel 'Crime and Punishment.' He was born on this day in 1821.

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