The jury may be out on precisely how the Internet of Things will bring benefits to manufacturing and operations. But because IoT will transform Operational Technologies (OT) and more tightly integrate them with enterprise Information Technologies (IT), analysts and observers all agree that IoT is a game changer in the world of manufacturing.While many readers of this newsletter are perfectly well versed in all things IoT, I’m guessing plenty of others are still looking for clarification. Fortunately, a primer of sorts is readily available from Hilscher, the Germany-based developer of networking and connectivity solutions to the automation industries. Actually it’s a white paper written by Hilscher Business Development Manager Armin Puhringer. It’s titled “How ‘Industrial Cloud Communications’ delivers the benefits of Internet-Connected Manufacturing.” Highlights include the following:
Source: Packaging World
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Global market share of S. Korean machine, petroleum, and electronics industries all rose over the past decade; steel and metal dropped slightly
South Korea has increased its global competitiveness in four leading industries, but China is narrowing the gap, a new report says. South Korea’s competitiveness has improved in three out of four of its leading export industries (all but steel and metal), according to a report titled “An Analysis of South Korean and Chinese Competitiveness and Recommended Countermeasures.” Published on Jan. 26, the report was composed by No Won-jong, head of the emerging economy team at the Bank of Korea. The report shows that the global market share of South Korea’s machine industry increased from 3.7% in 2005 to 4.9% in 2013, while the petroleum chemistry industry and electronics industry saw their shares grow from 2.0% to 2.6% and from 5.3% to 5.7%, respectively. The steel and metal industry, by contrast, was down slightly from 3.1% to 3.0%. But these major South Korean industries were growing at a slower pace than their Chinese counterparts, which means that South Korea’s competitiveness vis-a-vis China has weakened. An analysis using the revealed comparative advantage (RCA) index (which is widely used for assessing the comparative advantage of export products) confirmed that South Korea’s competitive lead was shrinking in most of these areas, the report said. Specifically, South Korea’s lead decreased in the electronics industry, machine industry and steel and metal industry, while its lead in the petroleum chemistry industry grew slightly. The growth in the petroleum chemistry industry’s competitive edge resulted from South Korea gaining a bigger share of the Chinese market in aromatic hydrocarbons and propane and from South Korea improving its RCA in petroleum products, propane, and synthetic rubbers more than China did, the report concluded. South Korea’s shrinking competitive edge in these leading industries has already been reported in analyses by other government agencies. A study by the Korea Institute of Science and Technology Evaluation and Planning (KISTEP) suggests that the time China needs to catch up with South Korean technological expertise decreased from 3.4 years in 2008 to 1.8 years in 2014 in the electronics industry, from 3.4 years to 1.7 years in the machine industry, and from 1.9 years to 0.4 years in the petroleum chemistry industry. In the steel and metal industry, South Korea’s lead over China fell from 1.1 years in 2011 to 0.9 years in 2013. The results were the same in the various stages of production, according to the Bank of Korea’s report, with South Korea’s competitive lead over China shrinking in the areas of parts, consumer goods, and capital goods. In the area of semi-finished goods, however, results were mixed, depending on the product. Based on this analysis, the report concluded that South Korea’s leading industries are losing the technological advantage they have had over China, which represents a rapidly growing threat to the foundation of South Korea’s future competitiveness. Even so, the report suggested, South Korea should be able to maintain its competitive advantage over China for a considerable amount of time provided that the South Korean government takes the appropriate countermeasures. As evidence for this, the report pointed to South Korean advantages such as R&D investment and the corporate capacity for innovation, and the vulnerability of the Chinese economy. “There is a need for adopting a selective and focused approach to helping leading industries maintain or secure their competitiveness and for providing smaller companies with access to an augmented R&D foundation,” said No, the report’s author. Source: The Hankyoreh Factory growth across the euro zone slowed at the start of 2016 as incoming orders failed to show any meaningful increase, even though companies cut prices at the deepest rate for a year, a survey showed on Monday.
Markit's Purchasing Managers' Index will be disappointing reading for the European Central Bank, which left policy unchanged in January but hinted more easing more could be coming within months. The manufacturing PMI for the euro zone dropped to 52.3 from December's 53.2. That was in line with an earlier flash estimate and still above the 50 mark that separates growth from contraction. An index measuring output, which feeds into Wednesday's composite PMI, also fell. It registered 53.4 compared with December's 54.5, up from the flash 53.2 estimate. Global markets have been battered since the start of this year, hitting stock markets, commodities and oil prices, as concern grew that the Chinese economy, the world's second largest, is struggling. "The euro zone's manufacturing economy missed a beat at the start of the year. Growth of order books, exports and output all slowed," said Chris Williamson, chief economist at survey compiler Markit. "If the slowdown in business activity wasn't enough to worry policymakers, prices charged by producers fell at the fastest rate for a year to spur further concern about deflation becoming ingrained." January's weakening came as companies offered steep discounts on their goods. A sub-index measuring output prices sank to 48.3 from 49.8, its lowest reading since January 2015. Consumer prices rose just 0.4 percent last month, official data showed on Friday, nowhere near the ECB's target of close to but just below 2 percent. With inflation so low and growth remaining muted, the ECB is almost certain to cut its deposit rate even further into negative territory when it meets next month, a Reuters poll found last week. There is also an even chance it will increase the 60 billion euros a month currently spent on buying bonds. Source: Reuters.com |
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