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... if you ask actual manufacturing executives, they're far more bullish on America's future than many of its political leaders. On Thursday, professional services firm Deloitte teamed up with the Council on Competitiveness to release its 2016 Global Manufacturing Competitiveness Index, showing that the United States is the second most competitive manufacturing economy after China. What's more, global manufacturing executives predict that by 2020, the United States will be the most competitive manufacturing economy in the world.
So why has the United States been shooting up the ranks? Long gone are the days when cheap labor was the most important input for manufacturers. Total manufacturing employment in China peaked during the 1990s and has been falling ever since. And as manufacturing continues to reduce the number of workers needed, the important ingredients to success in the sector are whether advanced technologies and materials are available, and whether or not intellectual property protections are strong. The United States beats out China on both of these scores.
This is not to say that anxiety over the decline of manufacturing employment is misguided. While it's good that manufacturing firms think that the United States is a great place to do business, their success in America will not have the same impact, in terms of providing a huge number of well-paying jobs, as they did a half-century ago.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday January 01 2017, @10:45PM
US will not be getting a flood of manufacturing jobs back. China has the expertise now! The entire supply chain is China. US has nothing. That's like saying "by 2020 silicon valley will move to ", which is same bullshit. Expertise doesn't move because you want it to move.
What US manufacturing is basically "value added" stuff. You get parts from China for $5, put them together, sell gadget for $100. Then you have "$95 US manufacturing!". Now you have, $5 parts put together in China, cost $10, shipped to US and sold for $95. But while economists will view the $85 as sales and first scenario as manufacturing, in reality, both are the same thing, and China still will make most of the stuff.
Like the bullshit with "make iPhones in US!!". Where do you think all the parts are made? Where do you think those factories will remain? Exactly. You can move part of final assembly, but not the specialized factories for all the components.