Technology and Talent Become Obstacles to U.S. Manufacturing Recovery

The current world pattern is very different from the past. The world no longer revolves around the United States. There are still obstacles to the recovery of U.S. manufacturing. The first is people, and the second is technology.

In his 2012 State of the Union address, Obama said, “In the moment, it is the best time for manufacturing to return to the United States. We must firmly seize this opportunity.” There are many experts on the Obama side, they believe that the United States is the key to prosperity again It is "Rejuvenation of the U.S. manufacturing industry."

On the second day after the State of the Union address was announced, Obama visited Intel’s computer chip factory built on the outskirts of Phoenix. This factory claims to invest 5.2 billion U.S. dollars is currently the world's largest architectural project. The factory will be put into production in 2013 and is expected to employ 1,000 employees. The construction of this factory has injected confidence into the United States that aspires to the fresh blood of manufacturing.

Obama made a passionate speech here. He promised to reduce tax exemptions for companies that bring jobs back to the United States, and set aside $7 billion for clean energy manufacturing companies and invest in new factories in economically depressed areas. enterprise.

Why is manufacturing so important? Because 60% of US exports, 90% of patents, and 70% of R&D involve manufacturing. This is a real industry. The data is not virtual.

Is it right? As long as the United States intends to allow the manufacturing industry to recover, then the United States can really become a manufacturing power again. The current world situation is very different from the past, and the world is no longer around the United States. There are still obstacles to the recovery of U.S. manufacturing. The first is people, and the second is technology.

Missing senior technician

The key to the rise of labor costs in the past ten years before China’s rise was a lot of people believe that the United States lost here. It cannot be denied that in the past decade, the United States lost millions of manufacturing jobs due to the low labor costs in Asia and South America. However, at the same time, it should be noted that labor costs are not an excuse for high unemployment, and other countries with high labor costs do not give up manufacturing. Since 2003, Germany’s total exports have surpassed that of the United States. Major export sectors include machinery, automobiles, chemicals, and metals. In Germany, where labor is equally expensive, the status of a manufacturing powerhouse has not been taken away by China. High-quality, high-priced products made in Germany and Japan still sweep the globe. U.S. manufacturing employment decreased by more than other developed countries. In the first decade of the 21st century, wages in 10 developed countries, such as Australia, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, and Sweden, were higher than those in the United States, and the number of manufacturing jobs in these countries was lower than in the United States.

Some people say that factories are becoming more mechanized and intelligent, and fewer employees are needed to produce the same number of products, so more people should not find jobs. This is not the case. Between 2000 and 2007, labor productivity in the United States increased by an average of 3.9% a year. In the 1990s, this figure was 4.1%. At that time, only 0.2% of jobs were lost in the manufacturing industry each year.

From 1997 to 2011, the manufacturing jobs in the United States never increased. In recent months, there has finally been good news. According to a report from the American Supply Management Association in January 2012, the US ISM index for December 2011 was 55.1. The ISM index is a barometer that reflects the comprehensive development of the manufacturing industry in terms of production, orders, prices, employees, and delivery. Usually, 50 is considered as the critical point. Above 50, it is considered that the manufacturing industry is in an expanding state, and is below 50. This means that the manufacturing industry is shrinking. In March 2012, the ISM index was 56.1, which means that in recent months there have been more people recruiting companies than layoffs.

In 1979, the number of manufacturing employees in the United States reached a record peak of 19.6 million. In 2011, after the unemployment rate fell for several consecutive months, the number of manufacturing employees was 11.8 million, which fell by 40% in 30 years. Since February 2010, the number of jobs in the United States has increased by 2.4 million, of which 300,000 are in manufacturing. Therefore, the increase in employment in the manufacturing industry has played a stable and stimulating role for the U.S. economy.

When people pay attention to the unemployment rate, many entrepreneurs say that in fact, there are jobs, and what is lacking now is the skilled workers who are suitable for these jobs. One thing is that China is the same as the United States, that is, people are not willing to be "workers." People regard the work in the factory as a shame, and such prejudice is deeply rooted in people's hearts. Therefore, the U.S. manufacturing industry is considered by some as a "dying industry."

A metal parts factory has been looking for assembly leaders and abrasive engineers since the fall of 2011; a factory hires high-level welders at high salaries; and an automotive grinding company has spent seven months looking for mechanics.

Corey Carolla, Mach's vice president of operations, said that our employees have worked 60 to 70 hours a week and they are very tired. There are 40 people in Mach Abrasives. "We need more people. The problem is how to find them."

What everyone knows is that the United States has lost nearly 4 million manufacturing jobs in the past 10 years. However, these lost jobs do not compensate for the shortage of skilled workers. On the contrary, factory automation and equipment improvements have higher demands on operators. Older workers who may have been familiar with the past may be familiar with the operation and maintenance of older machines, but they often do not have the skills to operate new equipment.

Matt Tyler, CEO of Precision Metals, said: “Politicians have made the unemployment rate a red line. Workers are on the side of the line. No job is called the reason they are unemployed. This is not the case.” One of my clients asked me to produce a pipeline. My biggest concern is not something else, but I can't find 6 mechanics to finish the job. I never thought that would be a problem for me in the past.”

Before the financial crisis, people have discovered a shortage of skilled workers, and the economic recovery has made this phenomenon worse. The "crisis" of lack of skilled workers spread throughout the United States.

A Deloitte survey showed that 600,000 jobs in the manufacturing industry are now vacant. By comparison, according to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, the unemployed population was 1.28 million. The report stated that people who are unemployed cannot solve the problem of vacant positions. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, although the number of mechanical technicians is insufficient, job opportunities should continue to maintain a good momentum, because many young people take the correct approach to job selection, rather than waiting for the second best or trying other areas.

MIT professor Thomas Levenson mentioned in the book “Measure for Measure: A Musical History of Science” that it is not easy for basic science and mathematics to “fall”. In the case of musical instruments, skilled musicians can tune the instrument. Using mathematics can also calculate the position and tension of each string. However, if you use a mathematical formula to tune the results, the results are often very different.

Regardless of the chaos and downturn in the financial industry and the real estate industry, the United States has always maintained its top position in the world in terms of high-end technology and product manufacturing. However, now in this field, the status of the United States is not permanent forever. The number of U.S. workers in the high-tech manufacturing industry peaked in 2000: 25,000 people. The “slight” economic downturn in 2001 brought the first “significant and permanent” wave of unemployment. Ten years later, more than a quarter of high-end technology jobs disappeared. In 2010, the trade deficit of high-tech products in the United States reached 81 billion U.S. dollars. Since 2000, the United States has lost 680,000 jobs in high-end manufacturing, a decrease of 28%.

R&D is no longer playing a leading role

In recent years, with the outsourcing of manufacturing, some of the United States’ R&D has also been outsourced. In the past few years, U.S. companies have experienced three times more spending outsourcing R&D than other countries. Statistics from the National Science Foundation show that in the three manufacturing industries: communications equipment, semiconductors and other electronic components, and automotive and automotive parts industries, the proportion of R&D employees in the United States is lower than the global ratio. In 2008, the proportion of domestic R&D employees in the United States only accounted for 55% of the global level. At the same time, about 280,000 SMEs located in other countries do not have the conditions for outsourcing R&D. They can only compete with foreign companies in R&D at home.

Data shows that outsourcing does not have to cause much concern. First of all, about 70% of U.S.-level R&D comes from manufacturing. In manufacturing, R&D and sales are much higher than those in other industries. Second, the growth rate of R&D budgets is higher than that of US GDP, especially in manufacturing. During the past 10 years, the R&D investment of foreign subsidiaries of U.S. multinational corporations has kept a slight upward trend. In 1999, the outsourcing of R&D in the United States accounted for 12.6%. In 2009, this figure increased to 15.7%. On the other hand, U.S. multinationals account for 37% of sales in foreign countries, and the primary task of outsourcing R&D is to develop products adapted to the local market. It is also worth noting that foreign multinationals that set up branches in the United States have a higher proportion of R&D investment in the United States than American companies have invested in outsourcing R&D. Then, the conclusion is that the United States is still the world’s most concerned with R&D.

Advanced manufacturing capabilities are indispensable to research and innovation. Most people should agree that the future of manufacturing depends on R&D, whether in the United States or other countries. It is not difficult to see from the rotation of manufacturing powers that the United States has become a major manufacturing country and is inseparable from many landmark inventions of the last century. Now, although the manufacturing industry in the United States is not as beautiful as it once was, most industry experts still believe that the future of US manufacturing must move forward with scientific research capabilities. Maintaining US competitiveness in the high-tech field is a resurgence of US manufacturing. Necessary conditions.

Many large companies build R&D centers in China and India and employ local talent. There is a concern that leaving the R&D department out of the country will weaken the US’s R&D capabilities. In addition, the R&D capabilities of manufacturing powers such as Germany and China have rapidly increased. China's higher education has been widely used in the past few years. Independent innovation has become a national policy, and annual research and development expenditures have increased at a rate of 20%. Under such pressure, the United States is bound to face difficulties in maintaining its world's first R&D capability. Therefore, people in the industry are concerned that US companies outsource so many R&D departments, which is a harm to the high-tech industry and manufacturing R&D capabilities.

Thomas Levenson's point is that scientists and engineers must connect theory with practice. If you cut R&D out of production, it may not be obvious at the moment, but it will always cause problems. In addition, many large companies outsource R&D to market areas. Such R&D is to meet the needs of the local market. This situation has a negative impact on the overall R&D level of the company.

On total R&D spending. The United States still has more investment than any other single country. If you look at Asia as a whole, its R&D investment has already surpassed that of the United States. In 2009, U.S. R&D spending was 40 billion U.S. dollars, and the Asian region was almost equal to the United States with an investment of 39.9 billion U.S. dollars.

Although outsourcing is not enough to shake up the US's number one innovation position, the rapid catch-up of the following countries cannot be ignored. The days when I was alone in the technology field are gone forever. According to a report published by the National Science Foundation (NSF) in 2012, Asian manufacturing countries such as China and South Korea have repeatedly increased their investment in R&D, and their research and development capabilities have also increased. These emerging manufacturing giants have stocked a large number of scientists and engineers, more than the United States. The report stated that since 2000: China's engineering doctorate has more than doubled, and the number has far surpassed that of the United States.

Asia’s large investment in research and development has benefited. Now, in international academic journals, every year Asian scholars publish scientific and engineering academic articles that are almost the same as those published by Americans. The NSF report also pointed out that in China, Japan, South Korea, Germany, and France, government-funded R&D is more inclined to manufacturing-related technologies such as engineering and physical sciences. In the United States, the government's R&D investment is more willing to support health-related scientific research and development.