Latest news related to the Metal Stamping and Metal Fabricating Industry

"Made in America" : The Comeback

U.S. exports hit a record $173 billion in March, up 15% from a year-ago and 37% from 2009. The good times for "Made in America" are just getting started, according to a new study from The Boston Consulting Group (BCG).

In fact, BCG predicts 2015 will be a tipping point of sorts, when global manufacturers will view the U.S. as equal to if not better-than China, senior partner Harold Sirkin tells me in the accompanying video.

"We're not saying the world's going to suddenly change and U.S. companies are going to manufacture here for shipment to China," Sirkin says. "But the U.S. will be a very important place if you're going to sell into the U.S."

In making this seemingly outrageous forecast, Sirkin cites the following:

  • Rising wages in China plus the strengthening yuan are eroding China's cost advantage vs. the U.S.
  • America's "very productive, motivated and flexible workforce" is attractive to employers and all aspects of U.S. society - including unions and state governments -- are "focused on creating jobs."
  • Intangibles such as the length of the supply chain and the challenges of communicating over multiple time zones work to the advantage of the U.S Read More

U.S. Manufacturing's Comeback: A Tale of Innovation, Reliability and Competitive Advantages

The U.S. manufacturing industry has long been a poster child for recession, "offshoring," job losses, and a changing way of life for the middle class. Manufacturing is one of the industries that has been hardest hit by the recent economic downturn as jobs move to countries like China that have lower labor costs.

And yet, recent news indicates that the U.S. manufacturing sector might be making a comeback. According to this article from Wired.com ("Made in America: small businesses buck the offshoring trend") many smaller U.S. manufacturing companies are making the decision to give up on China and relocate their production centers to within the United States.

MFG.com survey of manufacturing executives, 19 percent of U.S. companies have brought all or part of their operations back to the U.S.

There are several lessons to be learned from these U.S. manufacturers who are able to thrive in the face of lower-cost competition.


Quality counts:

One of the challenges that many U.S. manufacturers have had in dealing with Chinese companies is that it is often difficult to meet the U.S. companies' quality requirements. The Wired article mentions a U.S. manufacturer that grew frustrated with their contract factory in China after numerous production glitches and nearly-missed deadlines. Lower-cost labor doesn't really save money if the quality of the work is not up to standards. Higher quality can be a competitive advantage for American manufacturers Read More