From the Editor It should come as little surprise, that after the year that we have had, the manufacturing industry is still trudging ahead. Now, a full year after much of the country, and the world itself, has been in various stages of shut down or reduced capacity, we find ourselves on the verge of returning to a sense of normalcy that many of us had before the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. Manufacturers had closed out the year with above average technology orders in December, according to the latest US Manufacturing Technology Orders (USMTO) report from the Association of Manufacturing Technology (AMT). While January’s orders were down by 29 percent from the previous month, with a total of $322.5 million spent, this is up 12 percent from the same time last year. It also marks the first third consecutive month of year-over-year gains, which we haven’t seen since late 2018. The manufacturing industry was already poised for a rebound due to many of our readers returning to work as essential businesses early on, but let’s not get too ahead of ourselves. All of the problems in terms of the ever-growing skills gap, and the continuing loss of knowledge as experienced workers make the decision to retire, are still present. It’s not just a matter of us “returning to normal” any longer. In a recent study by Pew Research, 82 percent of Americans say that by 2050, robots or computers will be performing most of the work currently done by humans. The same study also indicated that 76 percent of Americans, think automation will have a more negative effects than positive as these solutions continue to be further implemented. Why is that? The truth is that automation will eliminate some jobs, but the overall goal is to redeploy those workers in positions that are safer, less repetitive, and often times more specialized or complicated than the work that automation would replace. For 2021, Industrial Machinery Digest has made the primary focus of our quarterly editions on the many different applications of automation, from integration of robotic systems, to the ever-expanding world of end-effectors that are pushing the boundaries of what can be accomplished with automation. From manufacturing and fabricating operations large and small, we look forward to delivering you the latest news and information that could help take your business to the next level. Best regards,
Nick Boliek
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Alabama Automotive Manufacturers Association
6 | IMD | Q1 2021
