Ask just about anybody about the state of U.S. manufacturing and you'll likely get a response along these lines: "We lost all those jobs to China and Mexico." "We don't make anything anymore.""We're a service economy now; our kids aren't going to grow up to be factory workers."
That's apparently what passes for conventional wisdom today. It should probably come as no surprise. Media reports constantly reinforce the notion that the U.S. economy has entered the postindustrial age, where business is no longer connected to the making of things. And it's not just the media. Schools across the country have replaced industrial education with tech ed classes that focus on the Internet and other innovations of the digital age. Our own government turns a blind eye to the manufacturing sector: When was the last time you heard a politician mention the country's industrial base—let alone praise its accomplishments or propose legislation that would help U.S. industry?
All that helps to explain why so many people now believe that we are no longer a leader in manufacturing—and, perhaps more incredibly—that it's a good thing. But that flies in the face of reality. Consider the following:
- It's true that millions of lower-skilled manufacturing jobs have disappeared from the U.S. industrial landscape—some "exported" to lowcost countries, others made redundant by automation (which has actually made U.S. manufacturers more competitive). But higher-skilled jobs are seeing double-digit growth. A 2006 study by the New York Federal Reserve Bank found that between 1983 and 2002, higher-skilled jobs in manufacturing—with average pay of about $24 per hour— increased by 36 percent.
That's raised concerns that demand for skilled workers will soon outstrip supply. Some 80 percent of manufacturers surveyed by Deloitte Consulting expect to run up against a shortage of welders, machinists, construction workers, and people to fill logistics-related jobs in the next three years.
In fact, these kinds of jobs have been in high demand for decades. For evidence, you need only look at the want ads in any major city's newspaper. It's always baffled me why our politicians and teachers don't pick up on this. Whether it's the result of ignorance or snobbery, the people who complain the loudest about unemployment and who are charged with preparing our youngsters for the future seem to be all but oblivious to the existence of the modern factory. - Statistics show that America remains the most productive economy in the world. True, some economists predict that China will overtake the United States in overall industrial output measured in dollars next year. All that means is that China's 1.2 billion people will make more stuff than our 302 million. Should that be any surprise?
- Manufacturers themselves admit that reports of the manufacturing sector's demise have been greatly exaggerated. The National Association of Manufacturers recently surveyed its members about their outlook for the rest of 2007, asking about everything from prices and sales to employment and wages. Their responses may not have reflected "endless optimism and boundless joy," as the study put it, but they were positive nonetheless.
So U.S. manufacturing is alive and well, and still leading the pack in many areas. You might want to let a politician or a teacher in on the news.
