Fifty years ago, a third of U.S. employees worked in factories, making everything from clothing to cosmetics to cars. Today, a little more than one-tenth of the nation's workers are employed by manufacturing firms. Four-fifths are in services.
The decline in manufacturing jobs has been accelerating. Since 2000, more than 2 million factory jobs have been cut — about 10% of the sector's workforce. During the same period, the number of jobs outside manufacturing has risen close to 2%.
Many of the factory jobs are being cut as companies respond to a sharp rise in global competition. Unable to raise prices — and often forced to cut them — companies must find any way they can to reduce costs and hang onto profits.
Manufacturing jobs are increasingly being moved abroad as companies take advantage of lower labor costs and position themselves to sell products to a growing — and promising — market abroad.
Some economists say the change in manufacturing, albeit painful, is healthy for the sector and for the overall economy in the long run. I believe that manufacturing is needed to maintain a healthy GDP, trade balance and middle class.
Many U.S. “manufacturers” are focusing on innovation, research and development, and moving actual production abroad. However, not all U.S. manufacturers are following this path. Some are keeping production in the U.S., increasing productivity, and creating innovative business models to remain competitive. We want to highlight these success stories and inspire others to take note and realize that moving production abroad is not the only option.
If you are a manufacturing fan, I hope you will find the information on this blog interesting. I will share ideas, best practices and success stories from companies, teams and individuals that are leading the way to resurgence of a strong manufacturing sector in this country. I hope to recruit some more contributors and perhaps spark some interesting discussion.
Enjoy,
Conrad
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