I like the stats in this nice balanced article on the state of manufacturing in the US and ideas to boost it going forward. It is based on data published in a recent Booz & Company and University of Michigan report.
Don't let the pessimists scare us to believe that the US has permanently lost its manufacturing edge. However, there is reason to be concerned. If manufacturing continues to be neglected, the US capabilities could erode to a point of no return.
Some of the points in the article that caught my attention:
* Currently, U.S. factories competitively produce about 75 percent of the products that the nation consumes.
* Manufacturing should be viewed in the future as a regional business. There might not be room for a single global manufacturing provider. The factories must locate close to their markets.
* A strong manufacturing base is essential to reducing the U.S. trade deficit.
* In 2008, 67 percent of all private-sector R&D was conducted by manufacturing companies, according to the National Science Foundation.
* US Manufacturing's decline did not start in to 70s, it started around 2000. The ratio of exports to imports fell and the number of manufacturing jobs fell as well. Capital investments in factories also declined.
* US Industries that still lead globally include Aerospace, Medical Equipment, Machinery, Chemicals, and Semiconductors.
* Four considerations drive manufacturers’ choices about where to place factories: (1) The skill level and quality of factory employees, (2) The presence of high-impact clusters, in which many companies can learn from one another and innovate more readily, (3) Access to nearby countries with emerging consumer markets and lower-cost labor (for the U.S., this means building a future with Mexico) (4) A reasonably competitive regulatory and tax environment (for the U.S., this means simplifying and streamlining the current tax and regulatory structure).
Some of the ideas in the report include building a competitive edge and revitilizing education for manufacturing.
Great article:
http://booz.com/media/file/sb64-11306-Manufacturing's-Wake-Up-Call.pdf
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