Unlike myriad pundits bemoaning the impending demise of U.S. manufacturing, and the ultimate loss of every American manufacturing job, Clare Ansberry makes a strong case for survival and long-term health. Writing in The Wall Street Journal recently, Ansberry says that much of the high-margin technology-intensive production will remain in the United States, helping jobs here to become steadily better, safer and higher-paid than in earlier generations.
Demand for basic goods like washing machines, cars and telephones will also escalate in parts of the world where people have never had them, says Ansberry. This will keep global assembly lines humming, as well as fueling demand for ever-more automated systems to operate them efficiently. In short, demand for manufacturing will remain robust for both the developed and developing world, according to a recent study by the Manufacturers Alliance/MAPI (Arlington, VA).