The State of Manufacturing in the United States

The State of Manufacturing in the United States

Alexandria Knight

Southern New Hampshire University

‘Manufacturing is the backbone of America. It’s in our blood. Americans know how to build — it’s how we forged a nation, won two world wars, put men on the moon, and shaped the “new economy”’ (Crawford, 2014). Advances in technology are leading to better manufacturing techniques and practices giving the American manufacturing industry a competitive edge globally. The manufacturing industry in the United States is now becoming more competitive, cost wise, leading many who once offshored their products to now bring their business back to the United States (Crawford, 2014). January 2013 was the second consecutive month in which manufacturing productivity had increased according to the Institute of Supply Management (ISM) (Crawford, 2014). Manufacturers have reported increases in production for a consecutive eight months in a row, but December 2012 and January 2013 registered as the “second-best monthly expansion of output since April 2011” (Markit, 2014).

The Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) also showed an increase of 2.9 percent from December 2012 (50.2 percent) to January 2013 (53.1 percent) (Crawford, 2014). The PMI has five sub-indexes which are production level, new orders (from customers), supplier deliveries (are they coming faster or slower), inventories, and the employment level (Barnes, 2014). As of January, all five of the PMI sub-categories where above 50 percent “including employment, one of the most critical indicators” (Crawford, 2014). Due to many corporations bringing back their business to the United States, in terms of manufacturing, many state side manufacturers have had to hire more employees in order to keep up with demand. In January 2013 the PMI employment index increased by 2.1 percent (Crawford, 2014).

Manufacturing in the United States is gaining competitive advantage through improved technology, techniques, and...