U.S. Manufacturing Obituaries Premature

Campus Report ^ | December 3, 2007 | Heyecan Veziroglu

[bs9021]

U.S. Manufacturing Obituaries Premature

by: Heyecan Veziroglu, December 03, 2007

Instead of mischaracterizing the significance and meaning of the U.S. trade deficit and assuming that the loss of 3 million manufacturing jobs four years ago requires a tough response today, policymakers should try to attain a better understanding of the condition of U.S. manufacturing, Cato Institute policy analyst Daniel Ikenson pointed out in a Capitol Hill briefing that the think tank held recently.

While the U.S.-China trade deficit for goods and services combined has been growing at approximately 23% per annum, the United States remains the world’s most prolific manufacturer, producing two and half times more output than those vaunted Chinese factories in 2006, Ikenson noted. He has analyzed the data and emphasized that U.S. producers still churn out 2.5 times the product coming from Chinese factories although China’s share of world manufacturing output more than doubled between 2000 and 2005.

“The U.S. is the world’s largest manufacturer,” said Frank Vargo, VP from the National Association of Manufacturers. “We’ve emerged from the worst recession decades and production is now at record levels.”

[Obadiah]

Great post. This article is so counterintuitive to what many people believe. It seems that the MSM has attempted to persuade us that we do nothing but sell burgers and pizza to each other while the billions of people in China produce everything we own and consume.

[Spktyr]

But but but but but but but but... we can’t be making anything! All the union jobs are gone!!! They must just be assembling parts made overseas!!!! [/idiotpessimisticunionspporter]

[kc8ukw]

I wonder how consumption was measured. Boeing makes some expensive planes here, but they don’t make many of them. Toys from China are cheap, and there are millions of them.

[thackney]

The U.S. is the world’s largest manufacturer

bump

[thackney]

Full Paper referenced above

Thriving in a Global Economy
The Truth about U.S. Manufacturing and Trade
http://www.freetrade.org/files/pubs/pas/tpa-035.pdf

[thackney]

Consider the following facts. In 2006, amid record imports of manufactured products:

• Real U.S. manufacturing output reached an all-time high.

• Real manufacturing revenues reached an all-time high.

• Real manufacturing operating profits reached an all-time high.

• After-tax profit rates for manufacturing corporations reached an all-time high.

• Return on equity for manufacturing corporations reached an all-time high.

• The value of U.S. manufacturing exports reached an all-time high.

• U.S. factories remained the world’s most prolific, accounting for over a fifth of world manufacturing value added.

[hermgem]

Add the following to your facts.
Germany turned out to be the world’s largest exporter both in monetary values and in percentage comparisons.
They have of course two significant advantages.
Lower corporate taxes, as well as value added taxes which are at a stealth 20%, but do not apply to exports outside the European Union.
Value added taxes alone are at the 20% level, which means exports are at a 20% discount on top of lower corporate taxes.