IWS Documented News DAILY POSTINGS

IWS Documented News Service

_______________________________

Institute for Workplace Studies----------------- Professor Samuel B. Bacharach

School of Industrial & Labor Relations-------- Director, Institute for Workplace Studies

Cornell University

16 East 34th Street, 4th floor---------------------- Stuart Basefsky

New York, NY 10016 -------------------------------Director, IWS News Bureau

________________________________________________________________________

 

Congressional Research Service (CRS)

 

U.S. Manufacturing in International Perspective

Marc Levinson, Section Research Manager

February 11, 2013

http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/misc/R42135.pdf

[full-text, 22 pages]

 

Summary

The health of the U.S. manufacturing sector has long been of great concern to Congress. The

decline in manufacturing employment since the start of the 21st century has stimulated particular

congressional interest. Members have introduced hundreds of bills intended to support domestic

manufacturing activity in various ways. The proponents of such measures frequently contend that

the United States is by various measures falling behind other countries in manufacturing, and they

argue that this relative decline can be mitigated or reversed by government policy.

This report is designed to inform the debate over the health of U.S. manufacturing through a

series of charts and tables that depict the position of the United States relative to other countries

according to various metrics. Understanding which trends in manufacturing reflect factors that

may be unique to the United States and which are related to broader changes in technology or

consumer preferences may be helpful in formulating policies intended to aid firms or workers

engaged in manufacturing activity. This report does not describe or discuss specific policy

options.

 

The main findings are:

 

• The United States remained the largest manufacturing country in 2010, although

its share of global manufacturing activity has declined in recent years.

 

• Manufacturing output has grown more rapidly in the United States over the past

decade than in most European countries and Japan, although it has lagged China,

Korea, and other countries in Asia.

 

• Employment in manufacturing has fallen in most major manufacturing countries

over the past two decades. The United States saw a disproportionately large drop

between 2000 and 2010, but its decline in manufacturing employment since 1990

is in line with the changes in several European countries and Japan.

 

• U.S. manufacturers spend far more on research and development (R&D) than

those in any other country, but manufacturers’ R&D spending is rising more

rapidly in China, Korea, Mexico, and Taiwan.

 

• A large share of manufacturing R&D in the United States takes place in high-technology

sectors, particularly pharmaceutical and electronic instrument

manufacturing, whereas in other countries a far greater proportion of

manufacturers’ R&D outlays occur in medium-technology sectors such as motor

vehicle and machinery manufacturing.

 

Contents

Introduction ...................................................................................................................................... 1

How the U.S. Manufacturing Sector Ranks ..................................................................................... 2

The Role of Services in Manufacturing ........................................................................................... 7

Manufacturing Work ...................................................................................................................... 10

Technology and Research in Manufacturing ................................................................................. 14

 

Figures

Figure 1. Value Added in Manufacturing ......................................................................................... 3

Figure 2. Selected Countries’ Shares of Manufacturing Value Added ............................................. 3

Figure 3. Share of Manufacturing in National Economies .............................................................. 4

Figure 4. Change in Value Added in Manufacturing, 2000-2010 .................................................... 5

Figure 5. Domestic Value in Exports of Transport Equipment ........................................................ 6

Figure 6. Domestic Value in Exports of Electrical and Optical Equipment..................................... 6

Figure 7. Investment in Manufacturing Fixed Capital as Share of GDP, 2009 ................................ 7

Figure 8. Service-Sector Inputs into Manufacturing ........................................................................ 8

Figure 9. Services-Related Occupations in Manufacturing Industries ............................................ 9

Figure 10. Manufacturing Employment ......................................................................................... 10

Figure 11. Manufacturing Employment ......................................................................................... 10

Figure 12. Real Output per Labor Hour in Manufacturing ............................................................ 11

Figure 13. Importance of High-Tech Industries ............................................................................. 15

Figure 14. R&D in Manufacturing, 2008 ...................................................................................... 16

Figure 15. Growth in Manufacturing R&D ................................................................................... 16

Figure 16. Manufacturers’ Research Intensity in Selected Countries ............................................ 17

 

Tables

Table 1. Hourly Compensation Costs in Manufacturing................................................................ 13

Table 2. Hourly Compensation Costs in Selected Manufacturing Industries ................................ 14

Table 3. Comparative Research and Development Spending by Industry ..................................... 18

Table 4. Manufacturers’ R&D Spending by Sector ....................................................................... 18

 

Contacts

Author Contact Information........................................................................................................... 19

 

 

________________________________________________________________________

This information is provided to subscribers, friends, faculty, students and alumni of the School of Industrial & Labor Relations (ILR). It is a service of the Institute for Workplace Studies (IWS) in New York City. Stuart Basefsky is responsible for the selection of the contents which is intended to keep researchers, companies, workers, and governments aware of the latest information related to ILR disciplines as it becomes available for the purposes of research, understanding and debate. The content does not reflect the opinions or positions of Cornell University, the School of Industrial & Labor Relations, or that of Mr. Basefsky and should not be construed as such. The service is unique in that it provides the original source documentation, via links, behind the news and research of the day. Use of the information provided is unrestricted. However, it is requested that users acknowledge that the information was found via the IWS Documented News Service.