Death of Manufacturing in the US?
How much has American manufacturing declined in the last decade? After all, NAFTA and the giant sucking sound took all the jobs, China is making everything we buy, and American factories are ghost towns right?
Actually, American manufacturing hasn't declined over the past decade. It's doubled:As Stephen Manning of the Associated Press acknowledged in a rare "just the facts" story in mid-February, the U.S. "by far remains the world's leading manufacturer," producing goods valued at a record $1.6 trillion in 2007 — nearly double the $811 billion produced a decade earlier. Indeed, the AP writer noted, "For every $1 of value produced in China's factories [in 2007], America generated $2.50." Not bad for a country that doesn't produce anything anymore.
Not only is the U.S. still the world's leading manufacturer, but there are many good reasons that companies will continue to manufacture here and invest in new plants and equipment. According to the Census Bureau's 2007 Annual Capital Expenditures Survey, released on Jan. 22 of this year, U.S. nonfarm businesses invested $1.36 trillion in new and used structures and equipment in 2007, a 3.9 percent increase over 2006. More than $484 billion was spent on new structures alone.
This is the kind of news that, given our current economic climate, runs counter to what most people actually believe is happening in the US. I bet most do believe China outdoes us in this economic activity; it is nice to see that conventional wisdom is wrong.
