Manufacturing Trends in the United States

The health of the U.S. manufacturing sector has been a long-standing concern of Congress. Although Congress has established a wide variety of tax preferences, direct subsidies, import restraints and other federal programs with the goal of retaining or recapturing manufacturing jobs, only a small proportion of U.S. workers are now employed in factories. Meanwhile, U.S. factories have stepped up production of goods that require high technological sophistication but relatively little direct labour. Labour productivity in manufacturing, as measured by government data, has grown rapidly, suggesting that the manufacturing sector as a whole remains healthy. This book explores manufacturing trends in the United States with a focus on job creation in the manufacturing revival; the manufacturing extension partnership program; globalised supply chains and offshore outsourcing.