Labor+and+Industry



=From Wells Fargo Daily Advantage, April 2012:=

===“I heard it again last night … an ad on television saying "let's get America making things again." American manufacturing has been making things all along, adapting, growing, researching, innovating, and churning out products right through the great era of globalization. Sure, there have been changes. Many jobs have moved abroad and many countries have industrialized, making the competition fiercer. But change is part of nature, and we should be running with it, not resisting it. Right now, it's fair to say the U.S. is holding its own in an expanding industrial world and may even be well positioned for resurgence. Here are some little-acknowledged facts about American manufacturing. ===

===- The U.S. economy is seven times larger now than it was at the end of World War II, and our manufacturing sector has kept pace with that growth and is also seven times larger than it was. That's right: Manufacturing is growing apace with the economy, not shrinking. ===

===- In spite of the explosion of manufacturing activity in the developing world (now over the past three decades), our share of global manufacturing is almost unchanged at 22% of the total. The U.S. share of global manufacturing exports, however, declined from 19% in 2000 to 14% in 2007 but then began to rebound. ===

===- Exports of manufactured goods grew by 60% to $1.4 trillion between 2000 and 2008 and now represent 57% of our total exports; that is, the U.S. not only makes stuff, but the world buys it from us. High-tech products, like aerospace technology, semi-conductors, and medical equipment, account for 23% of exports. ===

===- We experience a lot of anxiety about the "outsourcing" of manufacturing jobs to other countries, but we pay little or no attention to the "insourcing" of jobs. But the fact is that the U.S. attracts more direct investments than any other country. (China is second and the U.K. is third.) Foreign manufacturers have built facilities in the U.S. that now employ more than 2 million Americans. ===

===So, the next time you hear people saying "We don't make things in America anymore," suggest politely that the speakers retool their thinking.” ===