Manufacturing in an Environment of Relentless Change

The globalization of manufacturing has been a hallmark of the past decade. Although the industrial base in developed markets will continue to erode as jobs transfer to emerging markets, fears of the demise of Western manufacturing are unfounded. Developed manufacturing economies will still hold an advantage in high-value and capital-intensive activities. Proximity to customers also will be critical for many.

Over the past few years, the world economy has been growing at a faster pace than the U.S. economy. North American producers have availed themselves of the benefits of that growth through higher foreign sales revenue and declining unit costs of production – the result of the longer production runs afforded by growing foreign demand.