Weaker Productivity Is a Worrying Sign. U.S. Manufacturing Is a Bright Spot for the Economy. How Many Manufacturing Jobs Can U.S. Realistically Maintain? | PBS NewsHour | Jan. 26, 2012. MARGARET WARNER: Now, the prospects for creating a more robust manufacturing sector in the U.S. It’s a theme both President Obama and the Republican candidates are sounding this week as they talk about reviving a stronger economy. Ray Suarez explores the challenges ahead, beginning with some background. RAY SUAREZ: A conveyor belt manufacturing plant in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, yesterday was President Obama’s first stop on a three-day tour — a major part of his economic message: The U.S. needs a renewed commitment to manufacturing.
PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA: So, we’re going to keep boosting American manufacturing. We’re going to keep training workers with the skills they need to find these jobs. RAY SUAREZ: The U.S. remains the world’s largest manufacturing economy. But as jobs have increasingly moved to Asia and elsewhere, the role of manufacturing is down sharply from the industry’s heyday. But Republicans say the president’s economic policies have contributed to the decline. Bringing Manufacturing Back to the United States. Press Release - Transportation Goods, Electrical Equipment, and Furniture Are Among Sectors Most Likely to Gain Jobs as U.S. Manufacturing Returns, Predicts The Boston Consulting Group. CHICAGO, October 7, 2011—Transportation goods such as vehicles and auto parts, electrical equipment including household appliances, and furniture are among seven sectors that could create 2 to 3 million jobs as a result of manufacturing returning to the U.S.
—an emerging trend that is expected to accelerate starting in the next five years, according to new research by The Boston Consulting Group (BCG). The BCG analysis identifies those broad industry clusters that are most likely to reach a “tipping point” by around 2015—a point at which China’s shrinking cost advantage should prompt companies to rethink where they produce certain goods meant for sale in North America. In many cases, companies will shift production back from China or choose to locate new investments in the U.S. The U.S. is also expected to become a more competitive export base in these sectors for Europe and Canada.
The new analysis spells out what these cost swings will mean to specific industry clusters. Made in the USA. IN ECONOMICS as in apparel, most fashions come and go. But like the navy blazer or the little black dress, bewailing the decline of American manufacturing never seems to go out of style. “They’re closing down the textile mill across the railroad tracks Foreman says these jobs are going boys and they ain’t coming back.’’ So sang Bruce Springsteen in “My Hometown,’’ a hit song from his 1984 album, “Born in the U.S.A.’’ More than a quarter-century later, that sentiment (if not the song) is as popular as ever. “You know, we don’t manufacture anything anymore in this country,’’ says Donald Trump in an interview with CNNMoney. The Donald has his idiosyncrasies, but on this issue he is squarely in the mainstream. A recent Heartland Monitor survey finds “clear anxiety about the decades-long employment shift away from manufacturing to service jobs,’’ National Journal’s Ron Brownstein reported in December.
There’s just one problem with all the gloom and doom about American manufacturing.