Boatbuilding (pleasure boats) is still American Made...the only major company owned by foreign company is RecBoat Holdings, (Glastron) which is owned by the French company Bettaneau.
We’re in Toffler’s third wave, but our profits from technological advances isn’t sufficient enough to make up for the loss of the blue collar manufacturing jobs.
On top of that we keep giving the family jewels away as gestures of good will and good intent.
It is not time to “bring” manufacturing back home to the US. It is way way past time to shred the mountains of regulations and remove or drastically lower the taxes on businesses and capital so that businesses can return to the US and remain solvent.
I can’t blame any company for outsourcing jobs from the increasingly hostile to business environment in this country.
Re: “There are now 5.1 million fewer American manufacturing jobs than in 2001.”
The author does not mention that the total inflation adjusted value of manufactured goods produced in the USA in 2014 was the highest in American history!
No matter how many manufacturing jobs we “bring back” from China, automation and computer software will keep job growth in USA manufacturing near or below zero!
Re: “[USA] societal demand for local, sustainable, and responsible manufacturing is rising.”
Really?
Here in Seattle, any manufacturing facility that pays less than $15 per hour has a workforce that is at least 50% foreign born!
The same fact is true for “locally” grown food.
So, exporting our jobs to foreign countries is bad, but importing foreign citizens to work in our local factories and farms is good?
Yeah, right.
Re: “A final factor is free-falling energy costs...Yet most companies don’t seem to list energy costs as a primary driver of their re-shoring efforts.”
That's because most business managers know that the price of oil and natural gas could go right back to record highs because of embargoes, environmental extremists, or deranged government policies.
-—— Moreover, while these jobs will be more rewarding and better paid, they will restore only a fraction of the number of jobs lost-——
His opening statements plainly state that while there will be some return of manufacturing, the status quo ante is not returning. His statements seem to contradict his thoughts further doen in the article.
There will not for instance see a return of the textile industry. We will likely no longer manufacture paint brushes made by Italian manufactured machinery that was shipped to China.
SAP will continue to integrate the efforts of far flung elements of companies operationg on a global scale
Can we start with manufacturing a few billion rounds of 22lr please? The fact that America has not been able to get this product on the shelves for five years now is just embarrassing.