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Thoughts about (the murder of) Manufacturing In the US
Posted 23rd June 2008 at 11:41 AM by Marc
I was reading an article recently that harkened back to Eisenhower and his warning about the rise of the military industrial complex in the US. The military industrial complex is not explicitly mentioned, but in the US most of the manufacturing that appears sustainable is related to military manufacturing, and even much of that is going to other countries. The article is titled The murder of US manufacturing (By Martin Hutchinson ). It's on the Asia Times Online web site, which I visit frequently.
The article starts our: "GE's announcement a week ago that it would accept offers for its appliances business marked the death-knell of yet another US manufacturing business, one among so many in US manufacturing's long and seemingly unstoppable downtrend since 1980.
That decline may seem an inevitable historical trend, and Wall Street's analysts would claim that the US economy can prosper just fine without it. Yet impartial analysts of the putrefying corpse of US manufacturing capability are forced into an inescapable question: did it die of natural causes or was it murdered?"
The article goes on to cronicle the evolution of business trends in the US going back about 80 years or so.
I went to the kitchen and inventoried. I have a GE microwave, but that's about it. But as to the article, I'm interested in your thoughts.
As other countries around the world take up the manufacturing slack, will the US be able to keep up by providing 'services' to the world?
The article starts our: "GE's announcement a week ago that it would accept offers for its appliances business marked the death-knell of yet another US manufacturing business, one among so many in US manufacturing's long and seemingly unstoppable downtrend since 1980.
That decline may seem an inevitable historical trend, and Wall Street's analysts would claim that the US economy can prosper just fine without it. Yet impartial analysts of the putrefying corpse of US manufacturing capability are forced into an inescapable question: did it die of natural causes or was it murdered?"
The article goes on to cronicle the evolution of business trends in the US going back about 80 years or so.
I went to the kitchen and inventoried. I have a GE microwave, but that's about it. But as to the article, I'm interested in your thoughts.
As other countries around the world take up the manufacturing slack, will the US be able to keep up by providing 'services' to the world?
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Comments
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Hi Marc,
I have worked (or I have tried to) as supplier with american companies some times in the past.
Well, one of the most frustrating thing was they didn't wont innovative/new products. Always the same question "how many millions of parts have you already sold in Europe?". It means american companies will use products only after one or two years they have be sold somewhere else! They are late! I hope I was unlucky and I have met the wrong part of the industries but they are a lot and quite big.Posted 4th July 2008 at 12:41 PM by zancky 
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You are right, I believe. I think that is one of the reasons the 'Big Three' US car manufacturers are so far behind. I attribute it to a goal of Short Term Profits vs. Long Term Survival and Profitability (aka Security). Recently, I posted How GM Plans To Dominate The Electric Vehicle Market... In The 1980s! They had the 'Vision' at that time. What ever happened, do you suppose?
As manufacturing slips away, every day we see the financial sector dive. Problem is, the US has become a 'Financial Sector' and 'Service' economy. I'm not sure about 'Services'. There are a lot of different types of services. None the less, I have a hard time envisioning 'Financial Sector' and the 'Service Industry' taking the place of manufacturing as the basis of the US economy.Posted 14th July 2008 at 12:09 AM by Marc 
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