Top Reasons Why the U.S. Manufacturing Industry is Growing

For years many feared that US manufacturing would soon perish to cheaper jobs overseas. However, the industry is now growing at a rapid pace and has become even more vital to the American Economy.

As we focus in on the American manufacturing sector apart from the other global manufacturing industries that are thriving, we will examine internal growth factors as well as outside factors contributing to growth. Changes in Chinese labor forces, fewer regulations on American factories compared to European counterparts, and the growing vitality of Manufacturing income to the US GDP are all major factors playing part in keeping the sector thriving.

For decades people feared that cheap Chinese manufacturing would beat out the jobs of American works. This was true for some time and many American companies outsourced to China for their manufacturing needs. As of recent, however, wages in China have jumped meaning that manufacturing has skyrocketed in price. Chinese goods used to easily outpace US made goods on price, but it is now only 5 percent cheaper to manufacture a product in China compared to here in the US. When you factor in all of the possible delays that come with international shipping and tariffs, many companies are now choosing to make their products here in America.

Apart from pricing, producing goods in the US is also meeting the growing needs of getting new products to consumers faster. Multiple companies, including Motorola, are now producing their goods within the US to decrease the time between production and delivery, ultimately helping the bottom line.

American manufacturing workers fall under different labor laws than those across the pond. Most notably, many European companies have harsh restrictions on closing down factories and terminating pay for employees, according to Quartz. German law can even require pay and steady work for employees for up to a year after being terminated. All in all, this makes European factories much harder to shut down than American ones. While this may sound like a bad thing for the American worker, it actually means that more companies are willing to invest in American factories. The fact that American factories are easy to shut down when they become unprofitable and along with equivalent worker wages means that US factories present a much smaller risk than many European ones.

Finally, as the US manufacturing industry has grown, it has become even more vital to US economic success. This ultimately means a greater focus from government regulatory agencies and lawmakers to create an environment easier for manufacturing to grow. There are an estimated 12 million manufacturing workers in the US – equivalent to 9 percent of the total workforce. Manufacturing makes up such a large portion of US GDP that it’s $2.1 Trillion dollar value alone makes it the 9th largest economy in the world. As the industry continues to become more vital to US growth, its growth will be pushed along as well.

All of these reasons and many more play into why the US manufacturing industry is growing. It’s a good time to be involved in the industry and invest in the future of the growing US economy. If you want to get involved, you can read what your career options are in the manufacturing industry here.

SEE MORE:Manufacturing as a Career Choice: What are Your Options

Sources: The Week, Quartz, MAM

Images: [1], [2]