Hopefully your mileage will be better. But I wouldn't count on it.
Here is the graphic referred to in the article that, for me, makes the case that U.S. manufacturing is quite healthy and growing (despite the hit we took in 2008.)
And why should we believe anything out of the executive department, again?
Production and output doesn’t necessarily translate to jobs. Modern plants rely on automation. The problem is theses plants are moving outside our borders.
I’ve seen the Samsung plant in Mexico. It’s the size of a medium city. It employs tens of thousands of people. They plan on doubling in size. They are in the process of building FOUR gas turbine generators to power it.
The town that it is located in has 3 Korean language TV stations, none in English.
Where do you think the appliances made at this factory are sold? Wouldn’t it have been nice if Samsung had located this factory in Texas?
We make more electricity since 1920. We drill for more oil? Whoda thunk?
So, if you put a couple things that wildly up in a graph with something that has trended down what do you get? This.
U.S. Cutting Tool YTD Consumption down 9.1% in May
May U.S. cutting tool consumption totaled $165.68 million according to the U.S. Cutting Tool Institute (USCTI) and AMT – The Association For Manufacturing Technology. This total, as reported by companies participating in the Cutting Tool Market Report (CTMR) collaboration, was down 4.6% from April’s $173.64 million and down 4.1% when compared with the total of $172.81million reported for May 2015. With a year-to-date total of $855.45 million, 2016 was down 9.1% when compared with 2015.
These numbers and all data in this report are based on the totals reported by the companies participating in the CTMR program. The totals here represent the majority of the U.S. market for cutting tools.
Brad Lawton, chairman of AMT’s Cutting Tool Product Group said “The cutting tool industry continues to show negative results for month to month and year to date sales performance, which reflects the anxiety in the nation’s manufacturing industry. This condition will more than likely continue through the end of 2016.”
“While cutting tool orders contracted for the 13th month in a row, the rate of contraction has slowed down in recent months. In fact, the annual rate of change appears to have peaked and should contract at a slower rate in upcoming months.” said Steve Kline, Director of Market Intelligence at Gardner Business Media. “The trend of decelerating contraction is likely to continue as interest rates remain low and durable goods new orders have grown in recent months.”
The Cutting Tool Market Report is jointly compiled by AMT and USCTI, two trade associations representing the development, production and distribution of cutting tool technology and products. It provides a monthly statement on U.S. manufacturers’ consumption of the primary consumable in the manufacturing process – the cutting tool. Analysis of cutting tool consumption is a leading indicator of both upturns and downturns in U.S. manufacturing activity, as it is a true measure of actual production levels.
Historical data for the Cutting Tool Market Report is available dating back to January 2012. This collaboration of AMT and USCTI is the first step in the two associations working together to promote and support U.S.-based manufacturers of cutting tool technology.
The problem is that many Americans (including certain politicians) keep claiming they will bring back “traditional” manufacturing jobs that require limited skills, but will pay high wages and offer full benefits.
The sector that is growing is advanced manufacturing; it’s the type of operation described in the article and other posts on this thread. Lean, hyper-efficient operations with extremely skilled workers who have mastered skills ranging from IT and production planning, to trouble-shooting and team management.
It’s not the type of job you can enter directly out of high school—but with 6-18 months of highly specialized training, you can get in on the ground floor. Entry-level technicians with a Siemens Mechatronics certification (Level I) start out at about $50K a year, plus overtime and full benefits. With a Level II credential in the same field, your starting salary moves up to $70K a year, plus a complete benefits package and overtime.
At any given time, there are roughly 500-600,000 advanced manufacturing jobs that are unfilled in this country. Unfortunately, too many people have been taught that manufacturing is an “inferior” career and you must have a four-year degree to be successful. There’s also the matter of our “government” schools. Too many kids graduate and lack the basic skills needed to make it through an advanced manufacturing program. But for the kids with the right educational foundation (and the drive to succeed), they can transition into a solid career while a lot of their classmates—with worthless undergraduate degrees—are ringing up orders at Starbucks.
Notice it grew slightly during the depression in the twenties and had a WW2 bump - but by the chart, not much. Manufacturing even grew during the Carter administration.... Wow! And, what about all the factories closing and our trade deficit?
If you want a true picture, overlay charts of our trade deficit and population growth - then list everything they consider industrial production. Answer? It's all about population baby! Millions up millions of new people will move the chart even as our manufacturing jobs are shredded and moved overseas or to Mexico.
There are freepers and there are freepers. Some are like you and me and we work for a living. Others remind me of what goes way back to the time of the founding fathers -
“To argue with a man who has renounced the use and authority of reason, and whose philosophy consists in holding humanity in contempt, is like administering medicine to the dead, or endeavoring to convert an atheist by scripture.”
It’s worse than deaf ears and disbelief. These points are often met with profanity and accusations of lying or deceit.
