One bright spot of US economy: Manufacturing
The Economic Times
For the first time in many years, manufacturing stands out as an area of strength in the U.S. economy. When the Labor Department reports December employment numbers on Jan. 6, it is expected that manufacturing companies will have added jobs in two consecutive years. Until last year, there had not been a single year when manufacturing employment rose since 1997.More

Manufacturing employment increases in December
IndustryWeek
Both the overall economy and the manufacturing sector received some good news on Dec. 6. The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that nonfarm payrolls increased by 200,000. This drove the unemployment rate down to 8.7 percent. Manufacturing employment jumped by 23,000.More

North American HVACR sales down 1.7 percent in November
Modern Distribution Management
North American HVACR average distributor sales for November 2011 were down 1.7 percent from the same month last year, the first such decline since October of 2010, Heating, Air-conditioning and Refrigeration Distributors International (HARDI) reported in its monthly Targeted and Regional Economic News for Distribution Strategies report. However, this year's modest November decline is in comparison to a record-setting 24 percent average growth rate in November of last year.More

Energy outlook sees efficiency, growth, and natural gas reshaping demand
ACHR News
Demand for energy will rise through 2040 as global economic output doubles and prosperity expands across a world where population will grow to nearly 9 billion people, Exxon Mobil Corp. states in The Outlook for Energy: A View to 2040. Extending its annual long-term energy forecast to 2040 for the first time, ExxonMobil said this year's outlook reveals several trends that will influence how the world uses energy over the coming decades.More

US manufacturing continues to shrug off eurozone woes
IndustryWeek
Manufacturing surveys for December suggest the U.S. economy continued to resist the slowdown in Europe right up to the end of 2011. Although US growth is likely to slow this year, we expect this divergence between the U.S. and Europe to persist throughout 2012 and 2013.More

Survey: Healthy manufacturers tend to export
IndustryWeek
If your business isn't exporting, then why not? That's one key takeaway from the most recent McGladrey Manufacturing and Distribution Monitor, a quarterly survey of executives to assess the state of industry. In the latest McGladrey Monitor, 71 percent of executives surveyed said their firms are exporting to countries outside the United States, and those export sales comprise 16 percent of total company revenue.More

US beats expectations saving energy
Renewable Energy World
Americans tend to beat themselves up over their imperfections. We eat too much, watch too much TV and owe China too much money. Despite all of our sloth, we can feel good about one area: our progress saving energy. A report issued this week by the Institute for Electric Efficiency found that we saved enough electricity to power almost 10 million homes in 2010 (about 112 MWh). That's 21 percent better than we did the previous year. And it looks like when 2011 data comes out, we'll have done even better.More

2012 outlook: Expectations by the hydrocarbons industry
hydrocarbons21
hydrocarbons21.com has talked to industry representatives from the U.S., Europe and Australia about their expectations in 2012 regarding natural refrigerants and hydrocarbons in particular. Read on for their insights regarding opportunities, threats and policy developments that could impact the market update of hydrocarbons in North America's HVAC&R sector, Europe's automotive sector, and China's AC sector.More

Measures of efficiency
Consulting-Specifying Engineer
Imagine driving a car without a speedometer, gas gauge, or tachometer. You could get from point A to point B, but would have no feedback on compliance with speed limits or the efficiency of your driving. No one would think of buying a car today without instruments to measure the most basic operational parameters. So, why should you settle for a building without such basics? More

Gallup: US economic confidence in December best since June
Appliance Magazine
Economic confidence in the United States, as measured by Gallup's Economic Confidence Index, rose in December 2011 to -38, to reflect more optimism than consumers have demonstrated since June 2011.More

New orders for manufactured goods increased in November
Shopfloor
The Census Bureau reported that new orders for manufactured goods rose 1.8 percent in November, reversing the declines experienced the previous two months. Durable goods increased 3.7 percent, with nondurables up 0.3 percent.More

Chinese smart grid storage project could be a template for US
Smart Grid News
Want to see the future of smart grid storage? Look to China, which just completed a project that could be a template. It uses a 36 MWh energy storage system to integrate 140 MW of wind and solar, making it the country's largest smart grid storage facility. Plus, it helps provide support to the transmission system.More