Manufacturing

The Current State of Manufacturing in the United States

Abstract

This research paper aims to identify the current state of manufacturing in the United States. By using national data related to GDP, unemployment, manufacturing, productivity, and workforce statistics the paper frames the economic condition of the manufacturing industry. Other economic and social issues are also visited in order to provide insight into the economic climate.

The Current State of Manufacturing in the United States

Introduction

Manufacturing has steadily been declining in the United States over the past 60 years (Heizer & Render, 2008, p. 12); however it still accounts for 13% of US GDP ("GDP," 2012). As the economy begins to recover from the great recession, the manufacturing sector is seeing continual growth. Some of the increase can be associated with the business cycle. Another factor is the increase in efficiency due to technology and operations management. Although data indicates that in the near term manufacturing is increasing, the long-term state of manufacturing will continue to decrease. Through operations management the manufacturing industry can continue to prosper by increasing efficiency.

Productivity

Productivity is defined as the ratio of outputs divided by one or more inputs (Heizer & Render, 2008). The Bureau of Labor Statistics website states that productivity in manufacturing rose over the past year by 1.9 percent ("Productivity," 2013). The basis for this increase in productivity can be based on the manipulation of the variables (outputs/inputs). For the same period of time employment in manufacturing has remained relatively flat ("Workforce," 2013), so it can be ruled out as a contributing factor to the increase. Therefore the increase in productivity must be attributed to another input/output. One such possibility is the implementation and use of sound operation management in order to better utilize manufacturing processes.

Competitiveness...