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I think it is important to keep in mind that manufacturing output has actually been increasing over the last 50 years. It is just manufacturing employment that
by cjy 15y ago
I think it is important to keep in mind that manufacturing output has actually been increasing over the last 50 years. It is just manufacturing employment that has fallen. That is a natural consequence of becoming more productive.
See: http://mercatus.org/publication/us-manufacturing-output-vs-j http://mercatus.org/publication/us-manufacturing-output-vs-j
The Forbes author is arguing that it is hard to innovate when all the manufacturing expertise leaves. To support this he argues that some Kindle parts are made in China, others Taiwan, others South Korea. To me this is evidence that innovation occurs at a decentralized level. Innovation occurs when companies specialize and focus on a better battery, or screen, or lens instead of a better device. Most people on HN seem to believe that small decentralized start-ups are more innovative than bigger companies. Why is decentralization good for software innovation, but bad for hardware innovation?
- coliveira 15y agoThe problem is not decentralization, but that all manufacturing is outside the US. The part of the process left here is the design. But what if the design is done by somebody else tomorrow? Then companies in this country will have no role to play.
- derobert 15y agoWhen you say "all manufacturing is outside the US", you have a very interesting definition of all. You may want to check UNIDO's industrial statistics, for then you'd find that the largest manufacturer country is not China, Japan, Taiwan, etc… it's the US.
- bzbarsky 15y agoThe US does different sorts of manufacturing from China/Japan/Taiwan. There is not that much electronics manufacturing in the US. But yes, by value of output, the US is a major manufacturer; we especially specialize in manufacturing large expensive stuff.