Tuesday, January 8, 2013

What's up with Manufacturing in the US?

Here is one man's opinion....
http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/6709cc5c-58ed-11e2-b59d-00144feab49a.html#axzz2HQ2Db8lE

3 comments:

  1. Despite the negative views expressed by Washington the facts in this post that suggest America has a chance for a “manufacturing renaissance” are convincing. It is a fact that companies such as GE are insourcing manufacturing jobs into America, a clear and obvious first step. Also, although the U.S did experience a decrease in manufacturing in the past decade so too did many other advanced economies. Observing other nations with similar conditions is not a guaranteed indicator of what will happen in the U.S but it is a good technique. By Comparing Sweden, a nation that is recently increasing its manufacturing, to the U.S, one can see that an American manufacturing renaissance is not impossible. Like Sweden the U.S currency has dropped in value and the American wages have decreased all while manufacturing has boomed by 69%, key signs that American can once again return to being a manufacturing giant.

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  2. I agree with Jonathan that an American manufacturing renaissance is possible. However, I think we need to be careful about using the word "renaissance" at this point. While the signs do point, albeit somewhat depressingly (like our weakened currency), towards the possibility for a boom in manufacturing in the U.S., it is difficult to say whether there will be a true renaissance. It is certainly feasible, however it is important to recognize that despite our advances the world continues to advance as well, with other countries on manufacturing upswings that have been going on longer than ours. The BRIC countries (Brazil, Russia, India, and China) are good examples of nations that are really advancing in the manufacturing world. I really hope we see a US manufacturing revival, which could help our economy tremendously, however I am curious to see how things actually turn out with respect to the rest of the world.

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  3. I agree with both of the previous comments as well as with the author of the article that a significant increase in American manufacturing may indeed be on the horizon. Like Marino, I would agree that the increase may not end up being as drastic as the article seems to hint or, in fact, may not actually happen at all. While are conditions do seem to be very similar to Sweden’s (i.e. the weakened currency and productivity boom), it does not necessarily mean that the US will respond in the same way as Sweden. It would have been very interesting if the author had included and contrasted other examples of countries that have gone through changes in manufacturing similar to those in Sweden. Have these factors been associated with a manufacturing boom in other places as well or are there any other significant factors that could potentially come in to play in this situation?

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