Manufacturing Output News

A Canadian Coast Guard (CCG) icebreaker is helping to keep shipping moving on the Great Lakes throughout the winter with a set of Thordon Bearings’ propeller shaft bearings that were fitted more than 30 years ago.Canadian Coast Guard Ship (CCGS) Griffon, the oldest vessel of the CCG’s Type 1100 series, was retrofitted with a set of four Thordon XL polymer stave bearings in 1990, 20 years into her service life. Sister ships received Thordon bearings from new throughout the 1980s.

Aluminum workboat builder Silver Ships, Inc. said it was awarded an $8.2 million delivery order as a result of being awarded a firm-fixed-price indefinite delivery, indefinite quantity (IDIQ) single award contract by the Naval Sea Systems Command for the construction and delivery of up to 110 Naval Special Warfare (NSW) Surface Support Craft (SSC) and U.S. Coast Guard Special Purpose Craft, Law Enforcement (SPC-LE) vessels, in addition to other accessories, parts and training.

The Baltic Exchange's main sea freight index rose to its highest since early November on Tuesday, helped by stronger rates across vessel segments.The Baltic dry index, which tracks rates for capesize, panamax and supramax vessels, was up by 38 points, or about 3%, at 1,273, its highest level since Nov. 2.The capesize index rose 102 points, or 6.9%, to 1,583, its highest since Nov.

San Francisco Bay-based container ship facility Port of Oakland said its containerized import volume jumped 7.3 percent last month over January 2019 totals.Exports were up, too, the Port said, lifting hopes for recovery from a U.S.-China trade war. One question remained, however: would concern over the fast-spreading coronavirus dampen trade growth?“It’s possible,” said Port of Oakland Maritime Director John Driscoll. “The uptick in January was encouraging but we’re hearing from shipping lines that cargo volume could moderate over the next few months.”Oakland’s year-over-year import volume increase in January followed three straight months of decline, the Port said. Exports rose 3.3 percent in January, up for the fourth straight month. The Port said consumer demand – both in the U.S.

Singapore's first-quarter growth could be revised higher after data on Friday showed unexpectedly strong industrial output in March, double the pace of market expectations, with output in marine and offshore engineering +45.1% y/y. Manufacturing output in March surged 12.1 percent from a year earlier, far exceeding expectations in a Reuters poll for growth of 6.3 percent. Output rose 6.1 percent on a month-on-month, seasonally adjusted basis, quicker than the median forecast of 1.5 percent. Helping to drive the surprising strength in industrial production was a surge in output in the marine and offshore engineering segment, which jumped 45.1 percent year-on-year.

The intent is to establish a Joint Lab facility with A*STAR’s Institute for High Performance Computing (IHPC) to co-develop applications and solutions in the marine and offshore sectors. This arrangement will promote R&D activities in modelling and simulation, providing bespoke technical solutions for companies in these sectors. To encourage the development of technical expertise and young engineers, PhD students will be trained at the GTC during the program’s initial five-year period.

New Calculator Tool Provides Return-on-Investment Estimates for Safety Automation. Engineers, plant managers and environmental health and safety (EH&S) professionals now have a tool to calculate the potential annual return they’ll receive if they invest in an integrated safety automation system. Rockwell Automation developed the free Safety Return on Investment (ROI) Tool with J.B. Titus, a machine safety consultant and owner of J.B. Titus & Associates. The new Web-based tool, launched on Nov.