Month YEAR
This week at Commerce, Secretary Pritzker commemorated
the 700,000th design patent awarded by USPTO at a local elementary
school and joined the Girl Scouts of the National Capital Region in announcing
a new Intellectual Property patch. She also traveled to South Carolina to
celebrate BMW’s new billion dollar investment in their Spartanburg plant and
tour the Clemson University ICAR facility, a research and development center in
Greenville, South Carolina, partially funded by an EDA grant. Around Commerce,
Under Secretary Doms lays out the value of government data; Census Director
John Thompson highlights the Economic Census results unveiled this week; and
ITA caught the March Madness fever. I would like to extend a special thank you
to the NOAA employees who have been working since last week to help with the
cleanup of an oil spill in Galveston Bay. -Bruce
Secretary
Penny Pritzker Celebrates BMW’s Investment in U.S. Manufacturing - Foreign
direct investment (FDI) fuels U.S. economic growth and creates good,
high-paying jobs, which is why the Commerce Department is so focused on
attracting more FDI to the United States. At an event today at the BMW manufacturing
facility in Spartanburg, South Carolina, Secretary Pritzker applauded the
German automaker for announcing an investment of approximately $1 billion in a
new X7 production line at the plant.
Clemson
University’s Public-Private Partnerships Help Create Next-Generation Workforce
- A guest blog post by Dr. John Ballato, Clemson University vice president for
economic development, and Kris Frady, director of operations for the Clemson
University Center for Workforce Development, about the Secretary's visit to
Clemson University-International Center for Automotive Research (CU-ICAR).
Commerce
Secretary Penny Pritzker Supports IP Protection at Commemoration of 700,000th
Design Patent - Secretary Penny Pritzker joined USPTO Deputy Director
Michelle Lee and Commissioner for Patents Peggy Focarino for a ceremony
commemorating the 700,000th design patent. The patent was assigned to LeapFrog
Enterprises, Inc. for the design of “Leapster Explorer,” a hand-held learning
and play device for 4-to-9-year-olds, featuring a touch screen and 3D
graphics.
The
Commerce Department’s Strategic Plan: The Value of Government Data - Under
Secretary for Economic Affairs Mark Doms wrote that Commerce Department’s numerous
agencies provide data that are critical to the information economy, all for about
three cents, per person, per day.
NOAA’s
Modeling and Mapping Data Enhance Nation’s Ability to Provide Tsunami Warnings
Along U.S. Coastlines - NOAA leads the U.S. Tsunami Warning System, which
includes operating two, 24/7 tsunami warning centers; managing a network of
tide gauges and tsunami buoys, and monitoring seismic stations throughout the
world’s oceans; administering the TsunamiReady program; and leading the National
Tsunami Hazard Mitigation Program, a state-federal partnership that works
together to prepare America for a tsunami.
Fostering
Innovation through Strong, Sustainable Regional Partnerships - A guest blog
post by Deputy Assistant Secretary for Economic Development Matt Erskine, where
he wrote that earlier this week that he was honored to provide the keynote
address at the International Economic Development Council’s (IEDC) 2014 Federal
Economic Development Forum. Dr. Pat Gallagher, NIST Director performing the
duties of Deputy Secretary and Mark Doms, Under Secretary for Economic Affairs,
also participated in the forum. Both applauded the important work of the IEDC
in fostering economic growth in communities across America.
March
Madness Earns an A in Economics - Education is also a major service export.
The United States has some of the world’s best universities, hosting hundreds
of thousands of foreign students. Those students pay tuition and living
expenses, including room and board, transportation, books, and health
insurance. Since most of those expenditures come from sources outside the
United States, they are considered exports. Commerce data show that international
students contributed a record $24.7 billion to the U.S. economy, part of a
record $682 billion in services exports.
Spotlight
on Commerce - The spotlight on Commerce series continues with Kim
Glas, ITA’s Deputy Assistant Secretary for Textiles, Consumer Goods, and
Materials; Lisa
Casias, Deputy Chief Financial Officer, and Jeannette
P. Tamayo, Chicago Regional Director at EDA highlighted this week.
An
Update on Our Satellite Offices - Deputy Under Secretary of Commerce for
Intellectual Property and Deputy Director of the USPTO Michelle Lee provides a
status update on USPTO satellite offices in Dallas, Denver, Detroit, and
Silicon Valley.
Measuring
Our Economy—200 Years and Still Counting - John H. Thompson, Director of
the U.S. Census Bureau writes about the first results from the 2012 Economic
Census. A precursor to the modern-day Economic Census was initiated for the
1810 Census when Congress approved a bill requiring the collection of
information on manufacturing establishments.
Latest
Research Finds Serious Heart Troubles When Oil and Young Tuna Mix - In May
of 2010, when the Deepwater Horizon rig was drilling for oil in the open waters
of the Gulf of Mexico, schools of tuna and other large fish would have been moving
into the northern Gulf. This is where, each spring and summer, they lay
delicate, transparent eggs that float and hatch near the ocean surface. After
the oil well suffered a catastrophic blowout and released 4.9 million barrels
of oil, these fish eggs may have been exposed to the huge slicks of oil
floating up through the same warm waters. An international team of researchers
from NOAA, Stanford University, the University of Miami, and Australia recently
published a study in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of
Sciences exploring what happens when tuna mix with oil early in life.
Vessel
Collision and Spill in Galveston Bay - On March 22, 2014, at approximately
12:30 pm, the 585 foot bulk carrier M/V Summer Wind collided with the oil
tank-barge Kirby 27706. The incident occurred in Galveston Bay near Texas City,
Texas. The barge contained approximately 1,000,000 gallons of intermediate fuel
oil in multiple tanks. NOAA is providing scientific support to the U.S. Coast
Guard, including forecasts of the floating oil movement, shoreline assessment,
information management, overflight tracking of the oil, weather forecasts, and
natural and economic resources at risk.
Why
Tap into International Markets? - Bottom line: exporting increases your
sales and competitiveness. In 2013, American exports rose to $2.3 trillion.
Don’t miss out! If you’re not sure where to start, the best bet is to look
directly at the data. Every month, the U.S. Census Bureau releases detailed
information on over 9,000 export commodities and 18,000 import commodities.
A
More and More Metropolitan America - Census Bureau population estimates
released reveal a nation becoming increasingly metropolitan. The percentage of
our nation’s population living in a metropolitan area ticked up from 85.3
percent in 2012 to 85.4 percent in 2013. While this may not look like much of
an increase, it’s worth noting that the population living in such areas grew by
2.3 million over the period.
Sports!
How Sporting Events like the NCAA Tournament Support U.S. Travel Exports - Sporting
events like the NCAA Tournament support export industries by drawing
international visitors. Data show that of the 51.2 million international
visitors the United States hosted in 2011, nearly 8 percent of them attended a
sports event while they were here. That means more than 4 million people attended
U.S. sports events while visiting from overseas. In 2013, that number is
estimated to increase to 4.4 million people.
The Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) wrote that real
consumer spending rose in February, GDP
growth slowed in the fourth quarter and the value
of both foreign investments in the United States and U.S. investments abroad
increased in fourth quarter 2013 on their blog this week.
Personal
income in February 2014 increased 0.3 percent. Nominal personal consumption
expenditures (PCE) rose 0.3 percent while real PCE grew 0.2 percent. Nominal
and real disposable personal income (DPI) rose 0.3 percent. The personal saving
rate as a percentage of DPI was 4.3 percent in February.
Real
gross domestic product (GDP) increased at an annual rate of 2.6 percent in
the fourth quarter of 2013, according to today’s third estimate. For 2013
overall, real GDP grew 1.9 percent.
New
orders for manufactured durable goods in February 2014 increased 2.2
percent, to $229.4 billion. Excluding transportation, new orders rose 0.2
percent. Overall shipments increased 0.9 percent, while capital goods shipments
fell 0.1 percent. Unfilled orders rose 0.3 percent, and inventories increased
0.8 percent in February 2014.
Sales
of new single family houses in February 2014 were 440,000 at a seasonally
adjusted annual rate, down 3.3 percent from January’s revised rate and down 1.1
percent from February 2013.
Commerce Data in the News: Under Secretary for Economic Affairs Mark
Doms briefed reporters Wednesday on the release of the 2012 Economic Census Advance Report which was covered in The Wall Street
Journal twice in 5 Things We
Learned in the Economic Census of Businesses and Privacy Worries, Data Breaches Weigh On
Participation in Government Surveys, in The Washington Post’s “Big Data” needs a
helping hand in Washington
and in The Financial
Times Technology Shakes up US economy.
USA Today cites Census Bureau population estimates
showing the growth of metropolitan areas in “See
Ya, Suburbs: More Want to Live in the Big City.”
The Washington Post’s analysis of population
estimates from the Census Bureau shows nearly one in seven
Americans lives in the metropolitan areas of the country’s three largest
cities: New York, Los Angeles and Chicago in the editorial, “Metropolitan Areas are Now Fueling
Virtually All of America’s Population Growth.”
The Associated Press uses the Census Bureau’s
latest population estimates to note that eight of the 10 fastest-growing
counties are near oil- and gas-rich fields of the Great Plains in writing, “Energy
Boom Spurs Growth West of the Mississippi.”
Data Releases Next Week: Construction Put
in Place: February (Census); Manufacturers’ Shipments, Inventories, and Orders:
February (Census); International Trade: February (Census and BEA)
On Saturday, BEA Director Steve Landefeld will speak at
the annual conference of the Society of American Business Editors and Writers
in Phoenix, Arizona. He will discuss “Measuring and Understanding the Economy:
Old Favorites, Hidden Gems and New Data.”
Starting on Monday, EDA’s Deputy Assistant Secretary Matt
Erskine, ITA’s Deputy Assistant Secretary for the Western Hemisphere Walter
Bastian, and SelectUSA Executive Director Vinai Thummalapally will participate
in the first “America’s Competitiveness Exchange on Innovation and
Entrepreneurship” that will showcase advanced technology centers, innovation
hubs, and public-private partnerships and investments in urban and rural
America.
On Tuesday, USPTO Deputy Director Michelle Lee
will speak at the First-Inventor-to-File (FITF) Anniversary Forum and webcast
at the USPTO campus in Alexandria, VA.
On Wednesday, MBDA Acting National Director
Alejandra Castillo will deliver keynote remarks at the National Bankers
Association’s 2014 Legislative and Regulatory Conference in Washington, DC.
This conference which brings together bank owners to discuss the challenges and
concerns of the financial industry as well as share best practices.
On Friday, Census Director John Thompson will
visit and tour the Virginia Tech Research Center in Arlington, VA, which is
designed to further the university’s mission to expand its research portfolio
in the National Capital Region.
Commerce Secretary Penny
Pritzker and a student at the Langdon Education Campus explore a LeapFrog
handheld device, the 700,000th design patent awarded by the United States
Patent and Trademark Office.
Bonus
Photo of the Week
Secretary Pritzker and John Ballato, Clemson University
vice president for economic development, toured
the Clemson University-International Center for Automotive Research
(CU-ICAR)
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