Radioisotopes and U.S. manufacturing integration are among the topics examined in the current issue of Industry Trade and Technology Review (ITTR), a periodic publication of the U.S. International Trade Commission's (USITC's) Office of Industries.

Industry Trade and Technology Review contains articles originating from research and analysis conducted by USITC staff as part of its responsibilities to provide advice and technical information on industry and trade issues. The ITTR provides analysis of important issues and insights regarding the global position of U.S. industries, the technological competitiveness of the United States, and how trade and policy developments affect U.S. business.

The ITTR is a publication of the Office of Industries. The opinions and conclusions it contains are those of the authors and are not the views of the Commission as a whole or of any individual Commissioner.

The current issue (December/January 2005) includes the following articles:

• Radioisotopes: Medical Breakthroughs But Concerns About Availability, Foreign Dependence, and National Security -- The U.S. Department of Energy (USDOE), private firms, major research universities, and medical facilities produce most radioisotopes for U.S. medical, research, and industrial applications. Given provisions of existing law, increasing production demands, and more stringent cost-recovery requirements, industry sources are concerned that the scaled-back USDOE isotope production and distribution enterprise is not adequate to meet U.S. medical needs and is not sufficiently competitive. Industry is also concerned about greater dependency on foreign sources for many radioisotopes. The already highly regulated U.S. radioisotopes industry faces new challenges with stricter security requirements. However, buoyed by new growth opportunities and potential for medical breakthroughs, both private industry and the USDOE in association with nuclear medicine specialists are addressing these challenges and opportunities. This article examines applications, market-size potentials, challenges to the U.S. industry, and industry efforts to overcome barriers to expanded use of medical and industrial isotopes.
• Production Sharing Update: Developments in 2003 -- Investment in production sharing operations are part of global efforts to reduce manufacturing costs that contributed to cross-border integration of manufacturing in North America and the Caribbean Basin. Most U.S. imports of manufactured goods from regional partners incorporate U.S. and other foreign inputs. Import trends for manufactured goods from Mexico (the leading low-labor-cost production sharing partner) are closely linked to U.S. manufacturing trends. Among sectors that draw on assembly operations in Mexico, growth in U.S. manufacturers' shipments of medical and measuring instruments, computers, and semiconductors in 2003 was offset by declining shipments of power transmission equipment, electrical equipment, motor vehicle parts, and apparel. Liberalized U.S. market access through U.S.-regional free-trade agreements helped apparel assembly plants in the Caribbean Basin and Colombia increase production despite intensified competition from China. This article highlights the continued role in 2003 of regional manufacturing integration in meeting the challenges to North American industrial competitiveness.

In addition, the publication includes an appendix charting key performance indicators for the steel, automobile, aluminum, flat glass, and services industries, as well as for North American trade.

Industry Trade and Technology Review (USITC Publication 3762, December/January 2005) will be posted on the USITC's Internet site at www.usitc.gov. A cumulative list of articles published in the report series is also posted. The ITTR will also be available at regional federal depository libraries in the United States. To request a printed copy of the ITTR or to be added to the mailing list, contact the Office of the Secretary, U.S. International Trade Commission, 500 E Street SW, Washington, DC 20436. Requests may also be faxed to 202-205-2104.