« Privatize It | Main | A Note On My Anti-Anti-Immigration Argument» Don Boudreaux
September 15, 2007
The State of Manufacturing in the U.S.
Don Boudreaux
I have never believed that making things is inherently better -- inherently more likely to produce widespread prosperity, inherently more noble, inherently more meaningful -- than is the supplying of services. And until I notice a widespread pattern of parents hoping that their children grow up to become factory workers rather than to become doctors, lawyers, and bank presidents, I'll continue to believe that, whether they know it or not, most Americans value jobs in the service sector pretty darn highly.
Nevertheless, the state of manufacturing in the U.S. is quite strong. To learn more, take this quiz:
1) In what year did
U.S. Manufacturing output reach its all-time peak?
a. 1966 b.
1976 c. 1986 d. 1996 e.
2006
2) In what year did
U.S. Manufacturing revenue reach its all-time peak? (inflation
adjusted)
a. 1966 b.
1976 c. 1986 d. 1996 e.
2006
3) In what year did
U.S. Manufacturing profits reach their all-time peak? (inflation
adjusted)
a. 1966 b.
1976 c. 1986 d. 1996 e.
2006
4) In what year did
U.S. Manufacturing exports reach their all-time peak? (inflation
adjusted)
a. 1966 b.
1976 c. 1986 d. 1996 e.
2006
5) Average annual
compensation (wages + benefits) for US manufacturing jobs is
a. $36,000
b. $46,0000 c. $56,0000 d. $66,000
6) What are the
relative sizes of the US and Chinese manufacturing sectors?
a. China outputs 2.5
times the US b. Equal c. The US outputs 2.5 times
China
7) Which country
produces the largest share of total world manufacturing
output?
a. China b.
Japan c. Germany d. France e.
US
Answers:
1) e. 2006 (Source: Economic Report of the President, 2007)
2) e. 2006 (Source: Bureau of the Census)
3) e. 2006 (Source: Bureau of the Census)
4) a. 2006 (Source: U.S. International Trade Commission)
5) d. $66,414 (Source: National Association of Manufacturers)
6) c. The U.S. output is 2.5 times as much as China (Source: U.N. Industrial Development Org.)
7) e. U.S. manufacturing output is 21 percent of world total (Source: U,N. Industrial Development Org.)
(HT: David Boaz)
This study by Cato's Dan Ikenson has the fuller story.
Posted by Don Boudreaux in Myths and Fallacies, The Future | Permalink
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Comments
Good article, but "fuller"? You probably meant "complete".
Posted by: JimVAT | Sep 15, 2007 2:09:22 PM
Don,
The answers to your first three questions are d) d) and d) (2006). Your answers were correct, but you mis-identified the letter.
Posted by: George | Sep 15, 2007 3:15:55 PM
George,
Either that or he was making predictions for 2007.
John
Posted by: Shakespeare's Fool | Sep 15, 2007 10:59:47 PM
I have to show this to friends and co-workers of mine who keep telling me "we don't make anything in America anymore".
Posted by: SaulOhio | Sep 16, 2007 6:32:22 AM
Don:
Technically, you are correct with the 2006 answers.
However, if you adjust for the loss of purchasing power of our currency (related to gold or the other precious metals) I think you will find 2006 to be not the correct answer.
I'm so happy to find an economic realist on the web.
Posted by: Frontlinegrunt | Sep 16, 2007 9:32:36 AM
Waiting for commentary from save_the_rustbet.
Posted by: Ohio_liberty | Sep 16, 2007 12:33:40 PM
I'm surprised these facts aren't common knowledge. The ISM manufacturing index has been averaging well above 50 (signaling expansion) since the 2001 recession. People also don't seem to know that total exports hit an all-time high in 2006. The biased news coverage given to outsourcing and trade deficits have clouded economic reality for much of the public.
Posted by: AE | Sep 17, 2007 4:44:40 PM
Parents do raise children to be the factory workers: we are the engineers (myself), chemists, biologists, industrial pharmacists, management, supervisors, health and environmental specialists, occupational medicine (doctors), researchers, skilled mechanics and electricians, and yes - highly skilled workers who can make $20+/ hour and in addition receive comprehensive benefits and a pension.
Posted by: Ellen | Sep 20, 2007 1:51:11 PM
Go to the Southside of Detroit and tell me all the closed factories don't look like ruins from a once great civiliztion. The US cannot even produce a television.
Posted by: Danny L. McDaniel | Sep 24, 2007 3:09:24 PM
Because, Danny Boy, the jobs moved elsewhere and *improved*. Instead of laboring in factories, we make Microsoft software and Boeing airplanes, and perform investment banking. Surely that's better work and produces greater value than your mere televisions, or do you disagree?
So what if the U.S. can't produce a television? That's beneath our capabilities. I could be mopping floors for my job, but type on keyboards instead, yet nobody laments that I'm doing hard work.
Posted by: Perry Eidelbus | Sep 24, 2007 5:02:49 PM
That is, I should have said, "yet nobody laments that I'm not doing hard work."
Posted by: Perry Eidelbus | Sep 24, 2007 11:45:45 PM
Please share your manufacturing stories.
We’re a national, non-partisan group dedicated to strengthening U.S. manufacturing. Our blog, ManufactureThis.org, covers issues related to trade policy and saving U.S. manufacturing jobs. As of today, we’ve begun compiling firsthand accounts of the carnage left behind when factories close and jobs leave the country.
We’re asking you to please sound off, and share your stories. You can either email me at scapozzola@aamfg.org to send a article or story (to be featured on the blog), or go directly to the blog and post a comment.
The launch of this new story feature is available at:
http://www.manufacturethis.org/2007/10/01/and-the-stories-start-rolling-in/
Thanks.
Posted by: Steven Capozzola | Oct 1, 2007 3:02:19 PM
Question is this:
Can you put a dollar value on the size of the United States manufacturing sector? How much do we really manufacture in terms of dollars?....What are all our manufactured goods worth in a year of time. It is not the GDP or the GNP. And you haven't answered that most important question above.
Please answer in English please. NO MUSH!
thank you!
Posted by: john lafrance | Mar 14, 2008 4:06:02 PM
I'd like to see more detailed info to buy into those numbers.
For example, they don't appear to be adjusted for inflation/size of our population, but absolute numbers; and things like 'manufacturing' weapons might be a big part of the story.
Unfortunately, the info lacks details and it lacks links to details.
Posted by: Craig | Apr 27, 2008 3:23:19 PM
This is very interesting and a subject that deserves more attention. Is there a means of subscribing to your updates?
Posted by: Manufacturing In China | May 10, 2008 9:13:00 PM
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