Locating American Manufacturing: Trends in the Geography of Production
With the slight resurgence of U.S. manufacturing in the recent years—termed a potential “manufacturing moment” by some—it is important to consider not just the future of manufacturing in America but also its geography says a new report from The Brookings Institution. Geographic considerations are, in fact, central to whether the slow growth of U.S. manufacturing jobs during the last two years signals a renaissance of American manufacturing or merely a temporary respite from long-term decline.
General Electric CEO Jeffrey Immelt recently stated: [T]oday at GE we are outsourcing less and producing more in the U.S. . . . When we are deciding where to manufacture, we ask, ‘Will our people and technology in the U.S. provide us with a competitive advantage?’ Increasingly, the answer is yes.
The people and technology that Immelt sees as crucial to his company’s decisions to increase manufacturing in the United States are place-specific. Those locations—especially metropolitan areas— help create the conditions that give firms such as GE a competitive advantage from manufacturing in the United States.
For the complete report (.pdf) click here
