Conventional wisdom has it that the U.S. does not make anything anymore.
“This has always been a nation of builders. We are craftsmen. We are men and women for whom straight stitches and clean welds were matters of personal pride. We made skyscrapers and the cotton gins; colt revolvers; Jeep 4x4s… This was once a country where people made things; beautiful things. And so it is again.”
In truth, there is a lot of stuff made in the U.S.A. ... which is still a mighty giant in manufacturing.
According to a recent report called U.S. Manufacturing: Still the One, the U.S. remains the world’s leading manufacturer by far. If the U.S. manufacturing industry were a national economy, it would be the eighth largest in the world, worth $1.6 trillion.
All by itself, the U.S. is 22% of global manufacturing. As an exporter, it ranks third behind only China and Germany with 8% market share.
This is a pretty big blow to the idea that the U.S. doesn’t make anything anymore.
We all see the same headlines, such as the big failure of U.S. automakers.
We see the “Made in China” label slapped on nearly everything. We know Japan makes all kinds of electronics that the U.S. no longer makes. We hear about companies moving plants overseas.
However, this is where things get more interesting.
Since, 1983 manufacturing output in the U.S. has more than doubled. However, it did so with about 26% fewer workers. As a result, 50 years ago, about 28% of all workers got their paycheck from manufacturing. Today, only 8% of the work force does.
That work force, though, is very productive. It is doing a lot more with less. According to the recent report previous mentioned, “U.S. manufacturing workers are the most productive… 50% more productive than workers in the 11 next-best nations.
So it is like the headlines about shark attacks that were common some summers ago. All the news made it seem as if shark attacks were more common than they were. The public failures of big manufacturers and the headline grabbing job losses have obscured the real story.
The real story is that the services sector has grown much faster than manufacturing. So when you look at manufacturing’s share of the U.S. economy, it has fallen from 28% in 1953 to only 12% today.
We may weep over the fact that the U.S. economy is so service driven but that is not the same as saying that U.S. manufacturing is in decline. The U.S. is still the world’s largest manufacturer.
The nature of that manufacturing base is also changing. One change is that the companies populating the forest now tend to be smaller. There are fewer giants. According to the CATO Institute, for every one U.S. manufacturing industry that is suffering a decline in revenue and profits, two U.S. industries, led by small companies, are growing.
The above are just some of the highlights on the manufacturing scene in the U.S. My main point is to leave you with a different perception of American manufacturers. They are not like dinosaurs on their way to extinction. In fact, some of them are great investments.
I trust this post has provided some background and evidence that now is a good time to benefit from investing in the fast growing players in the U.S. manufacturing market.
It is wise to monitor the U.S. manufacturing sector as there are truly exciting developments underway. I will continue to monitor developments and provide updates in future articles and at my blog.
Finally, I want to thank Chris Mayer of Capital & Crisis, published by Agora Financial, as he was the source of some of the materials about the manufacturing industry mentioned in this post.
As mentioned previously, manufacturing output has doubled with about 26% fewer workers. The looming question is what do the 26% fewer workers do to make a living and maintain their lifestyle?
The imperative is for the displaced autoworker to retool their career, rebuild their life, and restore their financial success.
Just like the displaced autoworker, something changed in my life recently and I was forced to search for a 'new game to play' in order to earn a living.
If you can relate and are like-minded, be sure and join me here as it is a way to get back in the game … Passionate Professionals… Rebuilding Careers.
In closing, be sure to Read More of my Posts, on my Internet Marketing blog at aspenIbiz BlackBox; Learn How to Get Self-Employed, at my HomeBizSocial website; Obtain Some Tips About Being No 1 on Google, at aspenIbiz My Go-To-Market Partners my Affiliate website; Learn How to be Savvy with Your Money Like the Insiders, at aspenIbiz The Conspiracy For Your Money blog, and How to Live Longer, at aspenIbiz My Life’s Advantage Today site.
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