No surprise: March's manufacturing supply chain and unemployment reports show a significant downturn amid COVID-19 crisis. And April's numbers are only expected to continue the decline.

It’s been a busy month on the trade and tariff fronts. The Trump administration expanded Section 232 tariffs on various steel and aluminum products, while China has cut back its tariffs in the face of the Phase 1 trade deal and spreading coronavirus. What does it mean for metal fabricators?

The first PMI report of 2020 from the Institute for Supply Management (ISM) indicates that manufacturing, including the metal fabrication sector, grew in January. It’s the first sign of industry expansion since July.

From steel market instability to the manufacturing skills gap to EV evolution to welder pay to machine learning, here are the 15 most-read articles and blogs on thefabricator.com in 2019.

In another twist to the ongoing trade war, Trump threatened to slap Brazil and Argentina with Section 232 steel and aluminum tariffs in a tweet Monday morning.

Two recent reports underscore the trends in manufacturing technology and workforce development: Industrial automation investment is up, and the interest level in trade school among young adults is down.

In a letter to the Senate Finance Committee, a coalition of U.S. metalworkers and members of other manufacturing sectors have reignited pressure to put an end to the ongoing Section 232 steel and aluminum tariffs.

Days 2 and 3 at FABTECH were chock-full of activity. What stood out? The launch of LestaUSA and its self-learning finishing technology; ESAB’s partnership with renowned metal artist David Madero; and Bystronic’s creative metal U.S. map structure.

Day 1 of FABTECH couldn’t be slowed down by an unseasonable polar vortex in Chicago. The first day was busy as Amada unveiled two new high-powered fiber lasers and MetalForming introduced game-changing automation for folding large metal parts.

The Dickinson High School welding program near Galveston, Texas, is much more than just an AWS learning space around Halloween. It also becomes a horseshoe pumpkin operation to help raise funds for welding students to buy equipment and materials.

A key economic manufacturing indicator has hit its worst slowdown in a decade. ISM not only registered a contracted PMI for the second consecutive month, but the 47.8 reading is the lowest it's been since the end of the Great Recession. Industry analysts, however, say recession talks are premature.

The battle to solve the mounting skills gap rages on. One solution? Better collaboration between manufacturing/fabrication companies and training programs. Industry leaders and educators weigh in on the topic.

U.S. Vice President Mike Pence stopped by Sargent Metal Fabricators during a visit to South Carolina to rally support for the Trump administration’s USMCA trade deal.