For instance, read the Congressional Research Service Report for Congress, titled: China's Trade with the United States and the World, published on January 4th of this year. U.S. manufacturing jobs declined in the 10-year and 7-year periods ended this past July, by approximately 14 and 18 percent respectively.
At the same time, in the ten-year period ended July 2007 jobs in the U.S. In the economy, the service industries grew by approximately 22%. Given the comparative labor rates between the U.S. and the emerging economies do you really expect this dismal trend to be reversed?
I know of one American company that produces a wonderful product that assists in the "green revolution" that is taking place in most western democracies. I really didn't think the price for this "made-in-America" item was so bad. Heck, it did a great job, conserving energy and solving a nasty problem at the same time...it was worth the price ...and then some.
However, I was perturbed and saddened to hear that the price of this equipment would be coming down drastically because it would soon be made in China. That might be good ?competitive news' to the small American firm making this product in the U.S. It sure didn't brighten my day. Obviously this firm will then be more price-competitive. But this then starts a chain of dominos falling ? in my opinion ? backwards. Sooner than later, this small firm will be copied by others who will produce their prodct in Asia. In order to survive, the smaller firm will be forced to do likewise. As consumers of this particular product, we will go happily along, stroking ourselves for having generated so much more earnings per share for us and our shareholders. Our short term orientation is only to the bottom line.
But in the long term....don't you think we might be headed down 'Smith's Creek' without a paddle?
Maybe I'm all wrong here; but if we're going to export most of our manufacturing jobs, who the heck is going to provide employment for all the displaced workers? Who is going to have the money to buy the inexpensive (read: cheaper) similar items that are deliberately made in those countries with much lower labor and manufacturing costs? If we don't have many jobs left, there certainly won't be enough money to buiy the hamburgers we'll be selling to ourselves in this predominantly service economy....as mentioned by Thomas Friedman in 'The World is Flat'. I've been involved in the services industry my entire career and from my own experience, I believe services cannot possibly replace the manufacturing sector in this economy.
So one might say it is now obvious that America's dependence on other economies is growing...much too quickly. Historically, if a country or society is not strong enough, economically, it usually is not be strong enough to protect itself. Speaking of all those manufacturing jobs, do you remember just how the United States and Canada were able to arm themselves quickly and efficiently in the early 1940s? They each had a heavy manufacturing sector that was quickly transferred over to wartime equipment and materiel production to provide the items necessary to take on the 'Rome-Berlin-Tokyo Axis'.
If we keep exporting our industries and our jobs, what happens if we run into a group of enemies who can out-produce us? What if we have almost ?forgotten' how to produce heavy equipment, ships, aircraft, vehicles, armaments or even soldiers' army boots? What if the average consumer has so little buying power, he can no longer afford even the cheap goods flowing in from Asia? Can you see where this might be going?
Food for thought, I'm sure.
?Copyright, Roy MacNaughton, 2007
Your desire to find a manufacturing job needs to be tempered with an honest assessment of your skills. Factories and manufacturing facilities may work toward one uniform product but the employees involved in this work are highly specialised. There are few generalists in the field of manufacturing since assembly lines require intense focus and expertise on a specific aspect of a product. You need to match your talents, your interest and your long term career goals to find manufacturing jobs that will fulfil your needs.
Manufacturing professionals who want to stay close to the action while avoiding tedium at the assembly line can find work as inspectors. Inspectors are trained by the company and appropriate government agencies to review products for safety and performance before they hit retail outlets. An inspector spends his days looking through every product off the line based on a prescribed checklist to ensure that consumers are getting a quality product. This line of work is ideal for people with an intense eye for detail and an ethical commitment that is above reproach.
The modern assembly line has been in place since the days of Henry Ford and Frederick Taylor. Companies are constantly looking at ways to make individual aspects of the assembly line more efficient and less expensive. A professional with manufacturing experience and knowledge of manufacturing processes can act as a consultant to help increase production efficiency. Consultants spend time watching individual workers and the machines used in creating a product to time out how long these steps should take. These results help a consultant decide if a recommendation for additional employees, fewer employers or a turn toward automation is necessary. Consultants at manufacturing plants also look at daily examples of efficiency including waste management, energy use and corporate expenses to create a growth-oriented business environment.
Young professionals who want to break into manufacturing jobs need to look for the right industry to gain experience and build a reputation as a quality employee. A professional who is new to manufacturing but desires a unique challenge should spend time with a computer manufacturer. The constant path in computing is toward smaller devices with greater storage, video capabilities and speed. Another unique challenge for manufacturing novices is the creation of automobiles. Automotive companies desire a brand name that will last for decades which means that manufacturing professionals need to balance design, safety, fuel efficiency and other standards during production.
Both Roy Macnaughton & Astute are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.
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