#Manufacturing Is Alive And Well In The United States

Contrary to popular belief, manufacturing is doing fine. Output is up, productivity is up and sales are up. So why does everybody think everything is made in China?

We get a bad rap because of two fallacies:

• Manufacturing is unimportant to our economy.  Not true!  When I hear this one, I know the person saying or thinking this has been in the basement for the last 125 years. Most of the wealth “created” in this country was made either by mining, farming or manufacturing. Everything else just moves the money around or services these industries. 

Even with the rise of technology companies like Google, Yahoo and Amazon that don’t really make anything, only the cheap stuff (yes, its stuff) is made in China. Oh, and one more thing. Yes, the iPhone is assembled in China, but most of the value added parts are made in the USA and shipped to China for them to put together. Another fun fact to know and tell!

• Manufacturing is not a career to make any money and is unstable.  Not true! Most of the dungeons have gone away. But does it make sense to go to college for four years hoping for a job on Wall Street or some fancy boutique PR firm and wind up working for Starbucks? Not everybody needs to go to college to work in a manufacturing plant. Sure, we need shop floor folks, but we also need supervisors, managers and trained graduate engineers. Not sexy but these jobs can provide a lifetime of steady employment and a good paying job. 

As an industry and for the health of our nation, we must begin to embrace manufacturing as the base for sustainable growth of our GDP. If we do not, we will lose this vital sector of our economy and risk our primacy and security in the world. Scary stuff but true!

I’m proud to be in the field of manufacturing and I’m looking forward to sharing more great ‘morale boosting’ information in the coming months so watch your inbox for this newsletter.  And feel free to send me news you come across that tells the truth about our great profession.  I’ll be happy to pass it along.

Be sure to check out our "Exhaust Notes" video using the link under the picture of my 1967 Chevelle to the right. In this month's video, you'll come to understand why I believe that American manufacturing is poised for a huge comeback.