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The recission of every harmful regulation will look different, as will any subsequent legal challenges. Here is one potential scenario for a crucial regulation that the 51�Թ��� has urged President Trump to undo: the Biden EPA’s overly strict air quality standards.

The background: In February 2024, the EPA the standard for particulate matter, or PM2.5, in its National Ambient Air Quality Standards rule by 25%, down from 12 micrograms per cubic meter of air to nine.

• This reduction put the level of acceptable particulates at almost the equivalent of the level found in nature, as 51�Թ��� Vice President of Domestic Policy Chris Phalen pointed out.
• An 51�Թ���-commissioned  by Oxford Economics found that a standard at this level could reduce GDP by nearly $200 billion and cost as many as 1 million jobs through 2031.
• Furthermore, the new rule put huge swaths of the country in “nonattainment,” meaning that they would not meet ambient air quality standards and would have to cease operating.

What could happen: The rule has not taken effect due to the current lack of compliance requirements. However, it will take the Trump administration some time to achieve a recission, which will have to begin with a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking to solicit public comments.

What the EPA should do: The EPA decided against lowering the air quality standard in 2020, but the Biden administration pushed through this change anyway, without the scientific support required by the Clean Air Act.

• The 51�Թ��� is asking the Trump administration to reverse course by instituting an NPRM and doing the appropriate research and consideration of public comment to develop a more reasonable standard.

51�Թ��� in action: The 51�Թ��� is the regulation in court, alongside a number of other business associations.

President Trump will soon “ramp up” workplace immigration status checks, according to incoming border czar Tom Homan ().
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What’s going on: The incoming administration intends to increase U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement raids of workplaces shortly after Trump’s inauguration, Homan told NBC News late last week.

• “We’re going to do it in a smart way,” Homan said. “We’re still working on how exactly we want to roll this out, but [worksite] operations have to come back again because it’s the No. 1 place we find victims of forced labor being run by many cartels.”

Funds needed: ICE has a $230 million budget shortfall, which the Trump administration plans to address by requesting more funding from Congress.
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Other ideas: The new administration is considering additional actions, Homan said, including:

• Tripling the number of beds in detention facilities, from 34,000 to at least 100,000;
• Creating a hotline people can call to report undocumented immigrants they believe have committed crimes;
• Holding weekly press conferences with updates on deportations; and
• Potentially expanding ICE’s 287(g) program, which allows the agency to partner with local law enforcement.

Title 42: Whether the administration will reinstate Title 42—the COVID-19-era immigration restriction measure that made deportations on public health grounds easier—remains to be seen, according to Homan.

• “I don’t know whether [Trump] has made a decision, and I would not get ahead of him,” Homan told NBC News. “But I think there could be a case made for it.”

National security: Stricter immigration policies will act as a deterrent to those considering coming to the U.S. illegally, Homan continued.

• “I think the American people have spoken,” he said. “This is the No. 1 issue. They went to the voting booth. I think Congress is paying attention. They’ll give us the money to do this job. It’s not so much about illegal immigration. It’s about national security.”

Our take: “Manufacturers support a comprehensive approach to our country’s immigration challenges, both to ensure that they have the workforce they need to support economic growth and to enforce our laws and secure our border,” said 51�Թ��� Senior Director of Technology Policy Franck Journoud.

• “Securing the border is a crucial step toward ensuring that America’s immigration laws support safe and prosperous communities across the country.”

One of the most popular current uses of generative artificial intelligence among businesses: taking “chatbots to the next level” (, subscription).
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What’s going on: “Software companies from Salesforce to ServiceNow, Microsoft and Workday last year all announced their own AI agents, which they say can help businesses be even more hands-off in areas like recruiting employees, contacting potential sales leads, creating marketing content and managing their information technology.”

Why it’s important: If the bots work the way they’re expected to, they could finally yield the return on investment the business world has been seeking.

• The technology is being used for chatbots in everything from manufacturing to finance and ecommerce.

AI agents in manufacturing: New Jersey–based health care company Johnson & Johnson is using the bots to help it during the new drug discovery phase.

• “Once a promising pharmaceutical molecule has been identified, according to Chief Information Officer Jim Swanson, it needs to be measured for its cost effectiveness and reliability. … The solution: an autonomous AI agent that can determine the best time to conduct a solvent switch, a process where one solvent is swapped for another to crystallize a molecule and actually create the drug, Swanson said.”

A caveat: J&J is optimistic about the technology’s potential but moving forward cautiously. It is still working on improving the flow of employee review of the automated agents’ output, Swanson told the Journal.

Congressman Mike Carey (R-OH-15) recently visited Armstrong World Industries’ Hilliard, Ohio, facility to talk about innovations and tax policies critical to the manufacturing sector with company leaders, employees and local officials. Ohio Business Magazine recently recognized the Hilliard plant, which employs 175 workers, as one of the state’s top workplaces.

The tour: AWI’s Senior Vice President and General Counsel Austin So and Plant Manager Dave Muth took Rep. Carey on a tour of the plant, showcasing their energy-saving ceiling products for commercial spaces.

• Rep. Carey also met with longtime employees on the shop floor, some of whom have worked at the facility for more than 30 years.

Appreciating innovation: During the visit, AWI highlighted their innovative Templok��ceiling panels, which use phase-change material technology to regulate indoor temperatures and reduce HVAC energy consumption by up to 15%.

• “These panels not only help reduce energy costs but also contribute to a greener environment,” Muth explained.

Policy needs: So stressed that policymakers are essential to American manufacturers’ competitiveness, saying, “If we want U.S. manufacturing to stay ahead internationally, we need policies that encourage innovation and allow companies like AWI to thrive here at home.”

• “The Inflation Reduction Act’s tax incentives are essential for advancing innovative energy solutions, and technologies like our Templok��panels should be included among the products covered by the 48E tax credit. These incentives not only help reduce carbon emissions and energy costs but also strengthen U.S. manufacturing competitiveness by supporting groundbreaking technologies.”

Tax priorities: Rep. Carey, So and Muth also discussed upcoming tax opportunities and challenges, especially with the impending expiration of provisions in the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act.

• Rep. Carey emphasized the importance of restoring full R&D expensing to ensure manufacturers can continue to innovate. “Products like Templok��show the importance of supporting investment in research and development,” he said.
• So agreed, noting that tax policy has a direct impact on AWI’s ability to reinvest in new technologies and expand its operations in Hilliard. In particular, So emphasized that “tax incentives would encourage the mass adoption of new technologies like Templok,��which would create new jobs in Ohio, reduce the stress on our national electric grid and save our customers money.”

Strengthening community ties: Former Ohio TV anchor Chase Evans from the City of Hilliard joined the visit, reinforcing the importance of manufacturing to the local economy and praising AWI’s contributions to the community.

The last word: “It’s essential to create an environment where companies like Armstrong can continue to thrive and provide good-paying jobs,” Rep. Carey concluded.

They say all you need is love, but in fact, you need a lot of magnets, too. Computers, appliances, electric generators and cars are powered by permanent magnet motors. Yet, most of the permanent magnets that make our modern life possible rely on rare earth materials, which are expensive, unsustainable and typically mined and processed in China.

To fix this bottleneck, Minneapolis-based Niron Magnetics is producing a new kind of magnet that uses two abundant raw materials: iron and nitrogen. By taking rare earths out of the equation, Niron’s Clean Earth Magnets® provide superior cost and supply chain stability to the countless manufacturers that depend on reliable access to high-powered magnets.

Why it matters:��According to Niron, the demand for rare earths for critical magnets is outstripping the supply, and the problem is only getting worse.

• “When you look at the amount of magnets that are needed over the next 10 years, it’s triple the amount that are available today,” said Niron Magnetics CEO Jonathan Rowntree.
• “There’s only enough rare earth materials to double the amount of rare earth magnets manufactured every year. So there’s going to be this big imbalance later this decade. We’re well positioned to [meet] the shortfall of permanent magnets using iron nitride technology.”

The value proposition:��Niron’s technology has several exciting upsides, according to company leaders.

• First, it relies on materials that are far more abundant and accessible than rare earths.
• Second, the supply chains for components like nitrogen and iron salts are very stable—and not centered in China.
• Finally, the production of a kilo of rare earth magnets generates 2,000 kilos of waste, according to Niron. By contrast, the production of Niron’s rare earth–free magnets is much more environmentally friendly.
• “Depending on which part you look at, whether it’s water or waste or greenhouse gas emissions, our production process is between 70% and 90% more efficient than the current rare earth processes today,” said Rowntree. “We’re excited about solving the environmental burden from the energy transition.”

Next steps:��Niron is planning its first large-scale production facility in the United States, a 10,000-ton facility that it hopes will be operational by 2027.

• While its leaders are still considering different locations for the plant, they anticipate that the facility will ultimately result in 680 to 700 full-time jobs, not including the construction and infrastructure roles needed to build it.

• “We’re growing very quickly here in terms of our capability,” said Rowntree. “We’ve doubled the number of employees this year, and we will likely double that number again over the next several years.”

The bottom line:��“There’s a growing awareness of critical materials and the rare earth supply challenges, and the risks posed by U.S. reliance on China to supply those magnets. But there isn’t a lot of awareness around the fact that there is an alternative solution,” said Rowntree. “There is alternative technology that we’re aggressively scaling and that will be commercially available by the end of this year.”

Washington, D.C. – Today, the 51�Թ��� voiced manufacturers’ support for efforts led by Rep. Buddy Carter (R-GA) to bring much-needed reform and transparency to pharmacy benefit managers. The 51�Թ��� is a champion for PBM reform given that these underregulated middlemen drive up health care costs for manufacturers and manufacturing workers.

Following a press conference hosted by Rep. Carter to announce a bipartisan effort with dozens of members of Congress to push for PBM reform in the lame-duck session of Congress, 51�Թ��� Managing Vice President of Policy Chris Netram released the following statement:

“Manufacturers and manufacturing workers are facing increasing and unsustainable health care costs as a direct result of PBMs. Manufacturers agree with Rep. Carter and the bipartisan, bicameral members of Congress calling for reform: Congress must act urgently—in the lame-duck session—to increase transparency, lower health care costs and protect manufacturing workers.”

Background: Last month, the 51�Թ��� launched a urging Congress to pass PBM reform legislation this year.

The 51�Թ���’s Q3 2024 found that 78% of small manufacturers with fewer than 50 employees cite rising health care costs as a primary business challenge—the top concern among small business respondents in the survey.

To view the 51�Թ���’s latest digital ad, click .

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The 51�Թ��� is the largest manufacturing association in the United States, representing small and large manufacturers in every industrial sector and in all 50 states. Manufacturing employs nearly 13 million men and women, contributes $2.91 trillion to the U.S. economy annually and accounts for 53% of private-sector research and development. The 51�Թ��� is the powerful voice of the manufacturing community and the leading advocate for a policy agenda that helps manufacturers compete in the global economy and create jobs across the United States. For more information about the 51�Թ��� or to follow us on Twitter and Facebook, please visit��

The rose 2.2 points in October to 93.7, marking the 34th consecutive month below the 50-year average of 98. Meanwhile, the Uncertainty Index rose seven points to 110, the highest reading ever recorded. This high level of uncertainty is making small business owners hesitant to invest in capital and inventory, with 54% of owners reporting capital outlays in October and a net 9% of owners reporting inventory reductions compared to gains. However, uncertainty is expected to fall with the election over.

Although price increases have slowed in recent months, inflation is the top concern for small business owners, with 23% identifying higher input and labor costs as their primary issue. Filling job openings continues to be a top issue for small businesses. In October, 35% of small business owners reported jobs they could not fill, up 1% from September.

A net 26% of small business owners planned price hikes in October, up 1% from the month prior. A net 31% of small business owners reported raising compensation, down one point from September and the lowest reading since April 2021. Following the Federal Reserve’s September interest rate cut,��a net 5% of owners reported paying a higher rate on their most recent loan, down 7 points from September and the lowest reading since January 2022. Profitability remained under pressure, mainly due to weaker sales.

The outlook for general business conditions remains negative but has improved significantly from earlier in the year. While small business owners are still facing unprecedented economic adversity, owners remain hopeful as they head toward the holiday season.

state grew significantly across most indices in November, with the headline general business conditions index rising 43.1 points to 31.2, the highest reading since December 2021. The new orders index increased to 28.0, rising 38.2 points, and the shipments index grew 35.2 points to 32.5, reflecting sharp increases in both. Unfilled orders fell to -10.3, while inventories improved from -7.5 to 1.0. Delivery times lengthened slightly, while supply worsened to -4.1.

Despite the sharp increase in business activity, employment decreased slightly, with the index for the number of employees falling to 0.9 from 4.1. The average employee workweek��improved some, from 4.7 to 6.1, signaling a slight increase in hours worked. Input and selling price diverged, as reflected in the prices paid index falling 1.2 points to 27.8 and the prices received index moving up 1.6 points to 12.4, which means some cost improvement for manufacturers that have been operating in a weakened pricing environment.

Although expectations for future business activity decreased 5.5 points to 33.2 after the previous month’s index hit a multiyear high (38.7), firms continue to feel optimistic about the future. The capital spending index also continued to increase, rising 3.7 points to 13.4 in November.

fell 0.3% in October after declining 0.5% in September. The decline in October was influenced significantly by the strike of Boeing workers, with a smaller impact from the lingering effects of two hurricanes. Manufacturing output decreased 0.5%, with aerospace and miscellaneous transportation equipment dropping a dramatic 5.8%. At 102.3% of its 2017 average, total industrial production in October was down 0.3% from the same month last year. Capacity utilization fell to 77.1%, 2.6 percentage points below its long-term average from 1972 to 2023, but was up 1.2% from the same month last year.

In October, major market groups saw mixed results. Among consumer goods, the production of durables decreased 1.4%. On the other hand, the index for nondurables increased 0.4%, with growth in both energy and nonenergy goods. The business equipment index declined 2.7% in October, weighed down by the sharp 13.9% drop in the production of transit equipment, affected for a second month by the strike.

Durable goods manufacturing decreased 1.2%. Apart from the large drop in aerospace and miscellaneous transportation equipment, declines occurred in primary metals (down 3.3%), motor vehicles and parts (down 3.1%) and furniture and related products (down 1.1%), with slight declines in numerous other durable industry groups. Nondurable goods manufacturing, on the other hand, inched up 0.1% in October, with the largest gain in petroleum and coal products (up 0.9%) and the largest drop in printing and support (down 2.6%).

Manufacturing capacity utilization decreased 0.5% to 76.2%, which is 2.1 percentage points below the long-term average.

Nominations for the Manufacturing Leadership Council’s flagship awards are now open.

What’s going on: The Manufacturing Leadership Awards—given annually by the MLC, the 51�Թ���’s digital transformation arm—honor manufacturing companies and leaders for the groundbreaking use of digital manufacturing. Those interested in submitting company and/or individual names for consideration for the 2025 awards can do so through Jan. 17, 2025.

• Awards will be given in nine project categories and three individual categories. New for 2025 are Business Model Transformation (for projects) and Women in Manufacturing 4.0 (for individuals).

How they’re evaluated: For the individual categories, the judges—a panel of established digital manufacturing experts from outside the MLC—assess whether nominees have advanced digital transformation at their companies and whether they meet the criteria for being role models to other manufacturing leaders.

• For the project categories, judges evaluate how each undertaking improved manufacturing processes, furthered business goals and advanced company strategy.

What happens next: Finalists will be notified in March 2025 and announced shortly afterward. Winners will be announced at the Manufacturing Leadership Awards Gala next June.

• “The Manufacturing Leadership Awards give the MLC the chance each year��to honor some of the remarkable people and endeavors in manufacturing today,” said MLC Senior Content Director Penelope Brown. “We look forward to reviewing the nominations and learning more about the incredible innovation taking place in our industry.”

Get involved: Have a person or project in mind for the 2025 Manufacturing Leadership Awards? Submit their names .

• MLC members receive one complimentary project entry and one complimentary individual entry.