U.S. Remains Largest Manufacturer in the World

Seeking Alpha ^ | 12-21-2009 | Mark Perry

[blam]

U.S. Remains Largest Manufacturer in the World

by: Mark Perry
December 21, 2009

According to the Federal Reserve, the value of U.S. manufacturing output in 2008 was $2.946 trillion, measured in 2000 dollars. Converted to 2008 dollars (link), that would be about $3.7 trillion, and the chart above shows how the U.S. manufacturing sector compares to the entire output, or GDP, of the top five largest economies in the world in 2008 (data): Japan ($4.9 trillion), China ($4.3T), Germany ($3.7T), U.K. ($2.7T) and Italy ($2.3T).

Bottom Line: If the U.S. manufacturing sector were a separate country, it would be tied with Germany as the world's third largest economy. It would also be larger than the entire economies of India and Russia combined. As much as we hear about the "demise of U.S. manufacturing," and how we are a country that "doesn't produce anything anymore," and how we have "outsourced our production to China," the U.S. manufacturing sector is alive and well, and the U.S. is still the largest manufacturer in the world.

[Toddsterpatriot]

Facts are hard, whining is easy.

[familyop]

Manufacturing that actually takes place in the USA, or manufacturing around the world that is owned by US companies? To the globalists, only the latter is of essence.

[1rudeboy]

[groan]

[junta]

money

[Toddsterpatriot]

The Chinese make as much money as we do? How far did you get before you failed out of math class?

[1rudeboy]

I don’t know about the Chinese, but I know that Asians in general love U.S. sweet corn, and buy a lot of it. It’s probably easier to ship in bulk and have it canned over there, though.

[dcgst4]

Well, you can probably find out for yourself. It’s one of the largest companies in the world so I don’t think it would be too hard to get. We recently moved a line back here because it’s cheaper at our new plant. I don’t know what the average for the rest of China is, but most of our employees only stay about 5 years, save their money, then move back to their home villages and start their own businesses.

I’m not saying our trade policy isn’t effed up, but it’s so because we don’t have free trade and we have a big government, anti-business climate here that China doesn’t suffer from.

[catfish1957]

I could look it up, but I don't think it is relative to this dicussion. What ever the ongoing inflation rate is probabkt a good guess

I think the best first hand account of how much it has changed is my own perspective. Living in SE Texas, and coming of age in the '70's meant almost any kid could get a job at a petrochemical plant for the asking. Now those jobs are very had to get, and extremely competitive. Yes, many jobs are being lost to automation, but think about...... when is the last time you heard of a grassroots refinery being built in the U.S.? Prob. in the '70's.

[familyop]

Or perhaps converting total Chinese renmimbi yuan to dollars at the going currency rate—very dishonest.

[NVDave]

One more source of stats, then I have to go freeze my buttocks off whilst working on a car in an unheated shop:

The BLS publishes stats by NAICS code as well. Here’s the top level for the 31-33 economic sectors that are considered “manufacturing:”

http://www.bls.gov/iag/tgs/iag31-33.htm

OK, to get useful information out of this, pick a NAICS sub-sector from the listing on the middle of the page. Let’s pick one of my favorites, Machinery Manufacturing, NAICS code “333.” Click on “Machinery Manufacturing” and you get the NAICS 333 page, which is here:

http://www.bls.gov/iag/tgs/iag333.htm#workforce

Now, scroll down to “Workforce statistics” and “Employment.” To get a table of the BLS stats for the last 10 years of employment, click on the little dinosaur thingy in the column labeled “Back Data.” Use the “Employment, All Employees” to get the widest picture of the 333 sector.

You then get a table of employment for the last 10 years.

Now you get a picture of the employment in that sector, which is what we’re really up against in this country.

Go ahead folks, play around with the tables for the whole of the manufacturing sector (31 to 33). There’s very little good news in there as far as jobs.

OK, so someone wants to make an argument that heavy metal manufacturing is a thing of the past? Then click on NAICS 334 for computers and electronics products. Tell me why we’re losing jobs there too.

The idea that we’re still a huge manufacturing base and that people screaming about the loss of jobs in the manufacturing sector are just henny-pennies who don’t understand modern economic theory and the “real benefits of free trade” is unctuous twaddle - and to not put too fine a point on it - utter bullcrap. The reason why Obama and his Ivy League lackies are out there, warning people that it will take “some time for employment to recover” is that these sophistic economists and elites have suddenly realized that the US economy has very little with which to organically generate new jobs again. Whole industries are just drying up and blowing away, possibly never to be replaced.

A large portion of the blame for this can be laid at the feet of MBA’s who increasingly know less and less about the real world, coupled with bureaucrats and policy makers who are of the same academic and social milieu - ie, they wouldn’t know the difference between a screwdriver and a chisel and moreover, they don’t give a rat’s ass about said difference. These are the people now running our companies, investment funds, government policy, economic “think tanks” and the like. Not all of these clowns are liberals or Democrats - people like Larry Kudlow are representative of the GOP’s elitist notions of how economics works, and I don’t think Kudlow could find his ass with one, the other or even both hands.

Such is the state of “elite” thinking in the US.

[familyop]

Or perhaps converting total Chinese renmimbi yuan to dollars at the going currency rate—very dishonest. ...in re. calculating total Chinese GDP and comparing it to US GDP (which includes US consumer purchases of foreign products).

[junta]

We could start with border adjusted taxation reform, not tariffs.

[junta]

see post 67

[cioto]

I read something like this not too many months ago. I seem to recall it was on National Review. That particular article was taking those to task those that complain U.S. manufacturing is down due to shipping jobs overseas. It was noted that in terms of the share of the U.S. GDP it is less than it was 30 years ago, but there are entire sectors of the economy that didn't exist or were very small 30 years ago (think IT as an example). In terms of factory output the U.S. has been very consistent over the decades maintaining roughly a quarter of the world output. China, on the other hand, is only about 10%. Hard to believe right? Think of it this way though. China makes consumer goods that decades ago were luxuries. Today, as a result of that arrangement everyone can own one. On the other hand, in my research lab, most of the high end research equipment is U.S. made. No made in China at all. No doubt there has been a shift in focus, but I was quite proud of the U.S. placement in terms of world manufacturing after reading that article. Perhaps it is just wishful thinking on my part, but considering how our leader constantly berates and degrades the U.S. I grab on to any report about the greatness that is the United States.

[Svartalfiar]

“US manufacturing has dropped big-time over the past 30 years. If US manufacturing was so strong....how come everything we buy says “Made In China”?”

Have you tried buying a car or a jet, maybe an industrial robot? Instead of a shirt or sandals?

As 1rudeboy mentions later, In a developed economy your lower-end products are usually shipped out and replaced with much more advanced technologies and items. While there are a few US places that make jeans or shoes or toy cars, the majority of these are made in China, where people are willing to make such ‘crappy’ products for lower wages. But how many Chinese places are building robotics or vehicles or XRay machines? Toyota is putting more of their plants in the US. Who competes with Lockheed-Martin? France’s Airbus, and thats about it.
As an economy develops, basic tasks like making clothing or chairs tends to become something you buy from other cources, while your own jobs begin revolving more around service and technology.
While that chart does seem to exaggerate, I would think it is decently accurate.

[TChris]

Who competes with Lockheed-Martin? France’s Airbus, and thats about it.

Airbust? Umm... no. Airbus competes with Boeing, not Lockheed.

[Toddsterpatriot]

very dishonest. ...in re. calculating total Chinese GDP and comparing it to US GDP

Yeah, you can really trust the stats those Commies put out, can't you?

[Toddsterpatriot]

Does it have the facts you haven’t posted yet?

[dennisw]

You gotta be shi**ing me. Most people don’t consider making jellybeans manufacturing. Manufacturing means making hard and durable products not Sara Lee chocolate cakes that are gobbled down and gone in a day or two

Look at the lighting in your house. Just about all made in China/Asia I’ll bet. That is manufacturing, not jellybeans, cakes and donuts or hungry man frozen dinners

[dennisw]

Like you always say——

“The USA is a mighty importing super power!”