Francisco J. Sanchez There’s no doubt about it: Doing business in America is changing. And businesses with even the most loyal customers are finding that their customers are changing, too. In an increasingly global marketplace, business owners across the United States are realizing that their next major customer may no longer […]
Meghan Casserly Like so many small business owners, 2008 was the hardest year of Jen Guarino’s life. After moving to Minnesota from San Francisco and orchestrating the miraculous turnaround of a 100-year-old legacy handbag brand, the 51-year-old CEO of J.W. Hulme found herself in a near-empty factory and in debt up to her eyeballs. “Some people would […]
Consumer Reports When was the last time you bought something and it wasn’t what you thought it was going to be? Judging from all the complaints Consumer Reports receives, it probably wasn’t that long ago.Subway has long promoted its footlong sandwiches. So when customers caught the company serving shorter sandwiches, they took their complaints to […]
Kevin Coupe • Business Insider reports that Citi analyst Deborah Weinswig is saying that Walmart management seems to be focused on its Made in the USA initiative, and that this effort could lead to improved profitability. An excerpt: “While global sourcing remains a significant source of EDLC opportunity, we believe that the $50B commitment to increase domestic sourcing […]
George C. Ford Following a tour of a Cedar Rapids manufacturer on Friday, U.S. Sen. Tom Harkin, D-IA, unveiled a bill that would require the president to establish a national manufacturing strategy every two years and submit it to Congress. Harkin, in comments at American Profol, 4333 C St. SW, said his Rebuild American Manufacturing Act […]
Jim Tankersley All things being equal, you’d still rather be a factory worker in America today than a similarly skilled worker in another industry. That’s the conclusion of Commerce Department economists, who have combed national statistics and say the “wage premium” in manufacturing is alive and well. A typical […]
Tricia Rosenberg, an employee of Olsen Uniparts in Eldridge, measures a part from an piece of construction equipment. (John Schultz / Quad-City Times) Jennifer DeWitt Manufacturing, which has long been the backbone of the Quad-City workforce, again is flexing its muscle as area employers expand and rebuild their ranks. […]
March 2013 A majority of American adults believe that it is important to “buy American” across a variety of product types, according to results from a Harris Interactive survey, even if the definition of what constitutes an “American” product is not universally shared by respondents. Interestingly, while there were few gaps in the […]
Michael Stumo Obama keeps pushing a Trans Atlantic trade deal with Europe, despite the fact that other trade deals have helped make the trade deficit worse. One of the goals for Europeans is to get rid of Buy American rules in the U.S. In particular, the [European Union] wants […]
Francisco J. Sánchez There’s no doubt about it: Doing business in America is changing. And businesses with even the most loyal customers are finding that their customers are changing, too. In an increasingly global marketplace, business owners across the U.S. are realizing that their next major customer may no longer come […]
