TPT September 2017

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G LOBA L MARKE T P L AC E
96 SEPTEMBER 2017
A third bill, HR 2910, passed by a 30-23 vote, aims to improve
coordination among the US Federal Energy Regulatory
Commission and other agencies in siting interstate gas
pipelines.
These, and five other energy and infrastructure bills, will now
pass to the House floor.
Energy advocacy, by any other name
On the tenth anniversary of the formation of the Institute
for 21st Century Energy, the US Chamber of Commerce
broadened the energy advocacy group’s focus and renamed
it the Global Energy Institute. Speakers at the 20 June event
affirmed the redesignation as reflecting the country’s energy
progress since 2007, and placing a new emphasis on using
its position as “the world’s top oil and gas producer” to help
other countries grow.
“Some things have changed. Some haven’t. We still wake
up each morning determined to build the country’s global
energy presence,” observed Karen A Harbert, president
of the institute, while others applauded the organisation’s
contributions in helping build a more robust domestic energy
dialogue.
Daniel Yergin, vice chairman of industry watcher IHS Markit,
said that the institute’s focus, analysis and advocacy are
vital during a period when the US is undergoing an energy
renaissance. “When it was launched, the peak oil debate was
strong. Even at that time the shale revolution had begun, but
the news hadn’t travelled far yet,” he recalled, continuing:
“That revolution changed the global energy outlook and was
recognised sooner outside the US than in. Now, at a time
when US influence in the world supposedly has declined, this
is one area where it definitely has increased.”
Senate Energy and Natural Resources committee chair Lisa
Murkowski (Alaska) noted that 20 June was also the 40th
anniversary of the Trans-Alaska Pipeline System (TAPS).
“Our task today is to refill TAPS, which is only one-quarter
full today. That’s unacceptable when it’s close to so much
potential oil production.”
Industr y
Macron’s old-school policy?
Reuters correspondents report that President Emmanuel
Macron’s government, apparently looking to “liberate”
France’s economic forces and transform it into a country
of entrepreneurs, is hardly breaking with tradition in its first
big industrial test. The report said that, while Macron likes
to spend time talking about France as a ‘start-up nation’,
his government is using a time-honoured recipe of taxpayer
cash, and leaning on big companies in which it has a stake, to
rescue the car parts supplier GM&S.
Benjamin Griveaux, the secretary of state for economic
affairs, is hopeful a buyer has been found for GM&S, but
the deal demands the state supplies $5.7mn to finance
investments, with a further similar sum each from the buyer
and the carmakers Renault and PSA Peugeot Citroën.
“It’s not up to the state to do everything,” Griveaux told RTL
radio: “It’s also not up to the state to stump up the totality of
the funds in this case. Its role is to get everyone involved and
around the table.”
Though Macron’s economy minister, Bruno Le Maire, has
been instrumental in the efforts to save GM&S and preserve
the 277 jobs in a rural area where work is scarce, he stated
irritably: “It’s typical of the French system. A company was
set up in the 1970s… to bring activity to a region. There is no
industrial network around, there’s only a few big clients for a
small company. It’s just not solid.”
Originally a children’s scooter maker, GM&S adapted to supply
mainly Renault and PSA with car parts, but gradually became
uncompetitive. The government, which holds sizeable stakes
in both Renault and PSA, has encouraged the carmakers to
continue to keep orders flowing to GM&S.
Manufactur ing
Bankruptcy in the manufacturing sector
exceeds all others
Business credit analyst Creditsafe USA has reported its
findings from an analysis of the US manufacturing industry.
Despite recent overall consistent performance, the study
highlights several areas of concern across the entire sector,
in particular the rate of bankruptcy, signalling the possibility of
an industry slowdown. With the manufacturing industry being
the major employer in the US, any decline is likely to impact
on the overall US economy.
According to data from the Bureau of Economic Analysis,
manufacturing is the largest sector in the US with approxi-
mately 600,000 actively traded companies. Representing 16.35
per cent of all companies in the country, it is the biggest sector
for both number of people employed and annual sales revenue.
In 2016 US manufacturers contributed $2.18 trillion to the US
economy, representing 11.7 per cent of the overall GDP.
Manufacturing’s overall bankruptcy rate of 0.34 per cent,
while an improvement from recent years, is higher than
the overall national average. In addition, the industry faces
increasing pressures from cheap offshore imports and the
increasing cost of raw materials. Recent bankruptcy filings by
companies such as the industrial storage tank manufacturer
CST Industries Inc, and Suniva, a manufacturer of solar cells,
hint at the potential future of the sector.
The majority of US manufacturing businesses have been
in existence longer than those in other industries, with
more than 23.88 per cent operating for two to five years,
compared to only 2.32 per cent nationally. 2012 to 2015 saw
a 35 per cent decrease in the number of bankruptcies in the
manufacturing sector, but the overall bankruptcy rate remains
significantly higher than that of other business areas. At 362,
manufacturing industry ranks third in the highest number of
bankruptcies per 100,000 companies, behind construction
with 459 and other services at 412.
Matthew Debbage, CEO of Creditsafe USA and Asia,
concluded: “The sheer size and nature of this industry makes