The Tariff Dumpster Fire

NPA Insights, November 2024

The State of Manufacturing

The Manufacturing PMI Index contracted for the seventh consecutive month in October with 46.5%. 0.7% lower compared to the readings of September and August.

The New Orders and the Production Index remained in contraction territory.

The Price index returned to expansion.

Employment in U.S. manufacturing has exceeded pre-pandemic levels — just not in Massachusetts.

Massachusetts lost more than 7,000 manufacturing jobs between 2019 and 2023, a nearly 3% drop, per an analysis of government data from the Economic Innovation Group.

Manufacturing jobs are the latest example of how Massachusetts is losing to lower-cost Sun Belt cities.

The European Union (EU) increased tariffs on electric vehicles made in China to as much as 45.3%, after unsuccessful negotiations with the country.

The bloc formally approved tariffs ranging from 7.8% to 35.3%, in addition to the EU's standard 10% car import duty.

Beijing said it had lodged a complaint with the World Trade Organization over the move

Harvard Innovation Labs has announced the selection of 19 new ventures for its alumni accelerator program, Launch Lab X, chosen from over 200 applicants worldwide. Launch Lab X is a virtual, equity-free, eight-month accelerator open to ventures led by Harvard alumni across all industries and regions.

Locus Robotics has reached an unprecedented 4 billion units picked, cementing industry leadership. They also unveiled their new global headquarters, Locus Park, in Wilmington, Mass, which is now fully operational.

Boston Dynamics teams with Toyota Motor Corp. to bring AI smarts to the Atlas humanoid robot. The cooperation will focus on fundamental research with an eye toward eventual commercial use.

Applications are open to the MassRobotics Jumpstart Fellowship Program.

This program is dedicated to educating high school girls about different aspects of robotics and preparing them for careers in STEM.

Applications can be found here.

Boston startups raised $1.16 billion in October, a nice increase from September's $761.8 million. Funding for life sciences and biotech remains a key focus of the investment community, while cleantech, hardware, and tough tech continue to struggle to attract new and additional funding.

Check all the October M&A deals in Boston.

Massachusetts saw a notable drop in venture capital (VC) activity in Q3, with deal counts falling by 23% and capital invested down by 7% compared to the previous quarter.

This trend, reported by PitchBook and the National Venture Capital Association, reflects a challenging environment due to rising capital costs, limited exit options, and delayed distributions, which together are bottlenecking VC deal flow.

The U.S. manufacturing and distribution industry is undergoing significant transformation, driven by technological advances, economic changes, and global challenges.

A robot could do your next eye exam. The Boston-based Eyebot is launching a do-it-yourself electronic kiosk that makes eye tests almost as simple as buying soda from a vending machine. RoboticPuffMachine

(Source: Boston Globe)

Important leaders have been put in danger due to their security guards' use of Strava, the sports social media app. An investigation was able to track the locations of world leaders like Putin, Macron, and Biden. StravaLeaks

(Source: Le Monde)

Google Maps will soon integrate AI features with more detailed parking options, walking directions, and restaurant recommendations.

Don'tDisobeyGoogleMaps

(Source: AP News)

Cheers,