Musicmystery
Posts: 30259
Joined: 3/14/2005
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quote:
ORIGINAL: pahunkboy
MM, WTF do "we" manufacture anymore?
Actually, the U.S. is the world's largest manufacturing economy!
Nearly 12 million Americans work directly in manufacturing--about 10% of the overall workforce.
The average U.S. manufacturing worker earns $72,000 annually, including pay and benefits. The average non-manufacturing worker earns $57,000.
The United States by far remains the world's leading manufacturer by value of goods produced, at a record $1.6 trillion - nearly double the $811 billion in 1987. For every $1 of value produced in China's factories, America generates $2.50.
So what's made in the USA these days?
The United States sold more than $200 billion worth of aircraft, missiles and space-related equipment in 2007. And $80 billion worth of autos and auto parts. Deere & Co., best known for its bright green and yellow tractors, sold $16.5 billion worth of farming equipment last year, much of it to the rest of the world. Then there are energy products like gas turbines for power plants made by General Electric, computer chips from Intel and fighter jets from Lockheed Martin. Household names like GE, General Motors, IBM, Boeing and Hewlett-Packard are among the largest manufacturers by revenue.
High-end products
Several trends have emerged over the decades:
-- America makes things that other countries can't. Today, "Made in USA" is more likely to be stamped on heavy equipment or the circuits that go inside other products than the TVs, toys, clothes and other items found on store shelves.
-- U.S. companies have shifted toward high-end manufacturing as the production of low-value goods moves overseas. This has resulted in lower prices for shoppers and higher profits for companies.
-- When demand slumps, all types of manufacturing jobs are lost. Some higher-end jobs - but not all - return with good times. Workers who make goods more cheaply produced overseas suffer.
Now that this recession has run its course, surviving manufacturers will emerge more efficient and profitable, economists say. More valuable products will be made using fewer people. Products will be made where labor and other costs are cheaper. And manufacturers will focus on the most lucrative products.
As the world's single largest manufacturer (accounting for more than 20% of the world's total manufacturing output), the U.S. makes -- among many other things -- aircraft (Lockheed Martin, Boeing), missiles, space-related equipment, autos and auto parts (Ford, GM), farming equipment (John Deere), gas turbines for power plants (GE), and computer chips (HP, Intel).
The United States is the world's largest manufacturer, with a 2007 industrial output of $2.69 trillion.
Main industries include petroleum, steel, motor vehicles, aerospace, telecommunications, chemicals, electronics, food processing, consumer goods, lumber, and mining.
[Note--all of the above is quoted from the links provided. I'm not going back to put quotation marks around every paragraph.]
< Message edited by Musicmystery -- 4/11/2010 1:02:11 PM >
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