tv Whatd You Miss Bloomberg January 21, 2022 4:30pm-5:00pm EST
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taylor: we are coming back from one of the worst weeks we have had. it has always been about the tech sector this week. that continues. we have blown through the 200-day moving average and on and oversold level, 25 rsi, which again you have not seen since march 2020. that's the market wrap. "what'd you miss?" starts now. caroline: we are focused on one of the key parts of the economic recovery -- finding solutions to lower inflation and fixing supply chains. one way that is being done, coordination, rising wages, and a search in demand to invest in more efficient methods of
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production and delivery. we give you perspectives from robot makers to manufacturing. what we will be talking about first and foremost is that rise in automation. romaine: we have been talking about this for a number of years. folks have been talking about robot density. this is a huge surge, but it gives you a sense of how much more ubiquitous this is becoming. it has gone from making a car, doing more menial tasks like janitorial work or other sort of little things here. i guess the big question is -- how far does it go? there's questions about the types of jobs they can do. the president of the manufacturing institute, carolyn lee, joins us now. i want to start off talking about the presence of automation on the factory floor, something that is now so ubiquitous, and there is still symbiosis between
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what we are seeing with robots and what we are seeing with actual human beings. ms. lee: absolutely. it is not an either/or proposition. what you see on the factory floor today is manufacturing workers working alongside automation. automation is additive to manufacturing workers and the manufacturing experience to ensure that humans are able to focus on those things that are higher skilled and the things that are inherently human that require imagination and creativity and teamwork and cooperation. you are also creating jobs, but for people who need to care and maintain this automation. it is not an either/or, it is an and. taylor: you could argue robots
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and automation -- they may get software viruses but do not get covid-19. they do not get human viruses. while people are working for home, robots for example could take over. did you see any pivot more toward automation? ms. lee: i saw that how we did our jobs changed, absolutely. over 95% of manufacturers were open and under peak production when the economy went through a standstill earlier in 2020. they absolutely make sure that we were keeping our employees safe. it was the first response ability of manufacturers, so they had people who did not need to be on the manufacturing floor be there virtually. it was how we used the technology that really evolved, and that is a good news story,
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right? it helps us in attracting people. it is exciting. it is the technology people want to work with. investments that were planned to bring automation on the floor kept going, and it was a challenge with making sure we had all the work force we needed . what i think we did was put to practice the model of having humans work with the automation to make sure we are able to produce. caroline: what industries could do more? which ones have got the memo and which have not? ms. lee: across the sector, we are seeing investments in automation. bigger companies were able to make investments sooner because there's a lot of infrastructure that goes into this. you have to make sure that even an autonomous vehicle that is moving supplies through a factory, you need to have infrastructure ready.
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we have been building toward this clearly since last year and 5g. we found that over half of manufacturers would be using 5g technology in their facilities. it has really been a ramping, and it is a good-news story, and we are teaching new workers have to utilize the technology, and the other good news story we often do not talk about what automation is it is empowering workers of all abilities. you don't have to be in a heavy labor intensive job anymore. you can use automation to do that, enabling workers of all abilities and strength levels to have these jobs. romaine: talk a little bit broader about manufacturing. a little earlier, we were interviewing the ceo of intel, pat gelsinger. there has been a lot of talk
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during the pandemic about how you reshore, onshore -- what has been sent to asia. i'm wondering how we move things to our soil and at the same time keep in mind the cost to make those things and the ultimate cost to consumer. ms. lee: manufacturing over the past couple of decades has made sure they are manufacturing the markets they are in. there is a lot of lessons learned during covid about things that could be brought onshore. that is something that i think the sector has talked a lot about. we have all learned a lot of lessons from covid on how to operate. the announcement today out of intel is enormous, a fantastic opportunity for ohio, a
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fantastic opportunity to increase the amount of supply of semiconductors, which are so ubiquitous now are even more central than ever before. that investment, that type of commitment to manufacturing here in the u.s. is fantastic, and that will continue as long as we continue to have the workforce ready to fill those jobs. it is not just hoping for the best. we've got to work together, and that is why the industry is leading, highlighting the fact that creators are wanted and there's jobs that are there, and seeking out talent is so critical so the investments can keep going. caroline: we are having that public/private conversation here on the show. , we will the -- we will be discussing -- up next, we will be discussing the public side of the situation with the white house. this is bloomberg.
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new taylor: manufacturing innovation can help reduce inflation in the long term, but in the short-term, what does that mean? let's ask the director of the national economic council to discuss how the white house is working innovation into the short term. we just spoke with a ceo to talk about manufacturing and chipmaking. i'm curious about what information you can give us about the increasing boosting productivity and the decline in inflation we can expect to see as you are thinking about some of the short-term and long-term implications.
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mr. deese: thanks for having me on. this was a big day for the white house and the country. intel was announcing an investment in building out new semiconductor fabrication ability, and it comes on the back of an investment in domestic semiconductor capability last year. this is the first time in decades we have actually seen companies investing in our domestic manufacturing capability for semiconductors. to your question, it is going to be a game changer in terms of our productivity, and will help reduce cost but also increase production capacity. we know clearly we are not building enough cars because we do not have enough computer chips. romaine: absolutely. we know there are components that go into that chip, and i'm curious how this project
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addresses that issue that even once you get the plant up and running, there will still be a sourcing issue that intel will have to deal with. mr. deese: this is a comprehensive supply chain challenge. one of the first things the president did was sign an executive order about rebuilding the resilience of our american supply chain. this has been under way for some time. we worked for six months and put out a comprehensive report because this is not just about semiconductors, it is about the components that go into it. it is not just about electric vehicles but having the supply chain for batteries and the components that go into it as well. the strategy for this approach is re-shoring where we can and partnering where we must to make sure we have reliable access to those input components and that we are working with countries that share our values as we do that. romaine: talk about those allies, if you will. a lot of the countries we rely
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on for raw materials to go into chips and a lot of the things weekend of manufacturing here, at least at the end level -- our relationship with those countries right now is somewhat fraught. mr. deese: that is not an accident. for the last couple of decades, we have not had a dedicated strategy to invest in building out our supply chain. for much of the decade, the focus has been on just in time and how quickly you could move goods through the supply chain without thinking about how close those goods were to you geographically and how secure they were in terms of reliability, so we have real work to do to rebuild that. if you look at semiconductors, that $80 billion investment in the united states is not just in fabrication chips. it is the ecosystem around them, training the workforce we will need, looking for how to source those input components. this is not a project that will happen over a day or month or as you have seen even the last
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year. it is a real seachange in companies' willingness to make those investments in the united states, and that is what we will need to see going forward. caroline: companies like intel are willing to spend $20 billion because they have anticipation the government will come in behind them and lend them support with the chips act. how secure are you you can get that past -- get that passed? mr. deese: you are absolutely right, the president came into office with a vision that we need to show a concrete strategy to the country about how we will be sure our supply chain and how to demonstrate the government will invest in these areas. because of that and because of the president's leadership working with members of congress, we have seen investments of $80 billion last year, more this year, and hopefully more in future. we are confident we can get legislation passed in congress in the short-term, but the
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infrastructure bill, for example -- those investments are critical for making this a more attractive place for companies like intel to invest. we talked today before the invent about -- before the event about the fact that having the infrastructure around the broader region makes intel more attractive to locate his facilities there. making sure they will be able to attract a trained workforce makes it more attractive as well. this is about to melding domestic resilience and strength, -- this is about building domestic resilience and strength. investing in ourselves, our infrastructure is important as well. taylor: it is also hinting at what else is going on, not only with productivity but inflation, which some economists say is a political problem as well. can you give us an estimate of what percent of inflation can be controlled or what percent you can reduce it by with some of these investments in the long
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term? mr. deese: i think the best way to think about that is to break down the core drivers of recent price increases. as i mentioned, one of the biggest factors that explains about 1/3 of the increase is in car prices. getting more semiconductors will allow car companies to build a greater supply. that will recalibrate the market , particularly for used cars, and have some positive impact. the key about semiconductors is they are input components for so many goods. if you look at the other elements of price increases going on now, in many cases, you hear people say they hang up is, "i have not been able to get the chips or the right chips or the right kind of chips." semiconductors are critical here. there are other important issues as well. that's why we are working on increasing the fluidity of moving goods within the supply chain. not only manufacturing more
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semiconductors, manufacturing more components, but making sure from the ships to the ports to the railways, the goods are moving more quickly. the more quickly they move, the cheaper it is for companies. romaine: we heard from the treasury secretary a little bit earlier. she talked about an economic agenda and specifically used the words "modern supply-side economics," talking about not only boosting labor supply but raising productivity. do you agree with that characterization? mr. deese: i do. the president described it this way -- his focus is how we can expand the capacity economy, how we can get more growth, produce more goods and services here in america, and create more opportunity. we've had a lot of political conversation about who is progrowth and supply-side economics. this agenda is about how we expand the capacity of our economy. it is about more labor supply,
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getting more people into the workforce. rings like investing in quality childcare will get more people into the workforce. it is about investing in infrastructure so we move goods more quickly. it is about investing in manufacturing capability so we make more here with more reliable supply chains. this is a deliberate strategy. the president has been active for some time. today is a milestone in the demonstration of the power of what we can do with semiconductors. caroline: speak to the worker, the labor who sees with some caution the rise of automation. how do you ensure this becomes a win-win for everyone as we look for a larger manufacturing society in the u.s.? mr. deese: that is a great question that the president has front of mind every day. intel is going to create 7000 construction jobs -- and not just for a couple of months or even six months. the ceo said today they are
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likely to have thousands of construction and trade workers on the job for 10 years as they build out this facility and expand their capability. 3000 workers the production and the i.t.. this is the kind of factory we want in the u.s. everyone from scientists down to entry level production workers, working together to build some of the most innovative high-tech manufacturing in the world, and that's what we in the united states are uniquely good at doing. we will not have every industry reshore to the united states, but some of these technologies make the u.s. more competitive -- make it more competitive to do manufacturing in the u.s. romaine: brian deese, director of the national economic council down at the white house today. we will continue this conversation with the triple take on automation and robotics
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technology, and who better than the vice president of robotics and nymex -- and economics from a robotics company? she has a wealth of experience in this area. i am curious about productivity. i'm curious how robotics and what you work on elders into the idea of creating a more productive manufacturing and more productive warehousing environment. melanie: thanks for having me. when you look at what automation really brings to the table today, it is the ability to get from the time of automation to getting productive work -- that is the first step. the second is how we make sure that depending on labor changes that happen day today in your environment, those are able to be supported by the automation -- changes that happen day to
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day. a lot of businesses work shut down during the pandemic, but using collaborative robots, were environment so that the robots were able to keep their workforce active and making product during that challenging time. i think a lot of it has to do with flexibility and enabling us to get people into automation and competitive with their automation very quickly. not 12 months, 18 months, but eight hours. taylor: people often fear that robots are going to take our jobs. how do you feature robots working alongside humans, maybe freeing up the human to do more creative thinking, automating more mundane tasks? is that a way to think about it?
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ms. wise: it is, but another way to look at it is we have an ever present labor shortage now, in which we do not have enough people to do the jobs. many people are aging out of the workforce. the other advantage robots provide, in addition to enabling us to do more creative tasks, is to enable us to stay on the job longer. many jobs in transportation, logistics, and manufacturing right now require a lot of heavy lifting or a lot of long walking , and robots enable workers to stay on the job because we eliminate some of the transit times, some of the lifting, and improve the ergonomics of the job. romaine: let's talk a little bit about the intelligence. we have talked about the ways machines cannot only do things on their own but react to
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changes in their environment without necessarily having humans steer the ship, so to speak. how far along are we in that capacity? ms. wise: in terms of manufacturing and logistics, for autonomous robots, we are already executing a level five economy today, which is autonomy that does not have any person in the loop. the robot makes all the decisions. when you look at it honey, you want the collaboration between the person and robot to be seamless and feel natural -- when you look at autonomy.
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o --romaine: we have obviously seen use cases in manufacturing. ms. wise: i think the next big up-and-coming exciting areas for robotics and automation are in construction and agriculture. i think that we have been just brushing the surface in the industries over the last five years, and i think we are out to see a large uptick in the adoption of robot automation in those areas, so that is a pretty exciting thing i think over the next five to 10 years. caroline: when we look at the expertise necessary, has the u.s. got it, and how does it stack up against the rest of the world? ms. wise: that's a complicated question. i think it has to do a lot with public policy.
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in terms of robotics automation, there is a lot of higher level education that goes into creating a great robot assist -- roboticist or people that create great robots, typically masters level education. in the u.s., there is not a strong push for individuals to go into masters programs, so that is something i think we need to concentrate more on if we want to see a strong push into robotics technology over the next few years. romaine: thank you so much, great insight from melanie weiss, vice president of technology at zebra. interesting view on technology. we heard from melanie, from caroline, the whole idea is you can actually have us working side-by-side with robots, not necessarily them replacing our
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