To hear the talking heads in the media, the manufacturing in the USA is all but done. Jobs have gone to China. There is no manufacturing left in the US. Manufacturing jobs are gone forever. Nothing could be further from the truth. While the US did lose it's top spot as the largest manufacturer in the world to China in 2011 we are still the most productive manufacturer in the world and seconf only to China in total manufacturing production. We still make stuff here.
The discrepancy between wages in China and the US is closing fast. Wages in China a five times what they were in 2000 and are expected to continue to rise about 18% per year. Add to that the energy costs, gas averages $3.30/mbtu in the US while in Asia it is 4 times as high. In addition, inventory costs, transportation costs and logistics combines to drive the costs of manufacturing overseas upwards while lower energy costs, automation and productivity increases continue to drive our manufacturing costs down. That is not to say that that is good news for job seekers. Continued automation, while driving costs down also reduces ot eliminates the need for low skilled workers.
What this means is this 1) low skilled workers who have a job MUST upgrade their skills either through their employer with OTJ training and tuition support or 2) off duty education that improves skill levels to either get promoted to a better paying position with the present employer or find a better job elsewhere. Low skilled jobs will eventually go away. Walmart cannot charge enough for produce to pay a greeter $20/hour. Prospective employees MUST upgrade their skills and prospective employers MUST help.
Manufacturing supports an estimated 17.2 million jobs in the United States—about one in six private-sector jobs. Nearly 12 million Americans (or 9 percent of the workforce) are employed directly in manufacturing.
Manufacturing in the United States produces $1.8 trillion of value each year, or 12.2 percent of U.S. GDP. For every $1.00 spent in manufacturing, another $1.48 is added to the economy, the highest multiplier effect of any economic sector.
In 2011, the average manufacturing worker in the United States earned $77,060 annually, including pay and benefits. The average worker in all industries earned $60,168.
Having said all that there are lots of manufacturers in the US. We make everything from electric motors to airplanes and rubber rafts to microprocessors. We make drugs (pharmaceuticals) and we make windows, we make steel and plastic, we make wire and rope and farm equipment, we make chemicals and soap, we make clothes and carpet and locomotives. We make wind turbines and solar panels and steam boilers and jet engines. Manufacturing is important to this country.
To be continued...
In dollars, wages in China are some five times what they were in 2000—and they are expected to keep rising 18 percent a yea In dollars, wages in China are some five times what they were in 2000—and they are expected to keep rising 18 percent a year In dollars, wages in China are some five times what they were in 2000—and they are expected to keep rising 18 percent a yearIn dollars, wages in China are some five times what they were in 2000—and they are expected to keep rising 18 percent a year
The discrepancy between wages in China and the US is closing fast. Wages in China a five times what they were in 2000 and are expected to continue to rise about 18% per year. Add to that the energy costs, gas averages $3.30/mbtu in the US while in Asia it is 4 times as high. In addition, inventory costs, transportation costs and logistics combines to drive the costs of manufacturing overseas upwards while lower energy costs, automation and productivity increases continue to drive our manufacturing costs down. That is not to say that that is good news for job seekers. Continued automation, while driving costs down also reduces ot eliminates the need for low skilled workers.
What this means is this 1) low skilled workers who have a job MUST upgrade their skills either through their employer with OTJ training and tuition support or 2) off duty education that improves skill levels to either get promoted to a better paying position with the present employer or find a better job elsewhere. Low skilled jobs will eventually go away. Walmart cannot charge enough for produce to pay a greeter $20/hour. Prospective employees MUST upgrade their skills and prospective employers MUST help.
Manufacturing supports an estimated 17.2 million jobs in the United States—about one in six private-sector jobs. Nearly 12 million Americans (or 9 percent of the workforce) are employed directly in manufacturing.
Manufacturing in the United States produces $1.8 trillion of value each year, or 12.2 percent of U.S. GDP. For every $1.00 spent in manufacturing, another $1.48 is added to the economy, the highest multiplier effect of any economic sector.
In 2011, the average manufacturing worker in the United States earned $77,060 annually, including pay and benefits. The average worker in all industries earned $60,168.
Having said all that there are lots of manufacturers in the US. We make everything from electric motors to airplanes and rubber rafts to microprocessors. We make drugs (pharmaceuticals) and we make windows, we make steel and plastic, we make wire and rope and farm equipment, we make chemicals and soap, we make clothes and carpet and locomotives. We make wind turbines and solar panels and steam boilers and jet engines. Manufacturing is important to this country.
To be continued...
In dollars, wages in China are some five times what they were in 2000—and they are expected to keep rising 18 percent a yea In dollars, wages in China are some five times what they were in 2000—and they are expected to keep rising 18 percent a year In dollars, wages in China are some five times what they were in 2000—and they are expected to keep rising 18 percent a yearIn dollars, wages in China are some five times what they were in 2000—and they are expected to keep rising 18 percent a year
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