An op-ed in The Indianapolis Star yesterday is definitely worth a look. It’s from the co-chairs of the Central Indiana Corporate Partnership’s Advanced Manufacturing and Logistics Initiative, in response to a recent Star editorial (April 2, subscription access only):

“…we take issue with one aspect of the editorial - the disparaging comments about Indiana’s “over-reliance” on manufacturing. This feeds a common misconception that manufacturing is part of our economic past, and has a marginal place in the high-tech future.”

They then lay out facts to help clear up the misconception:

“Manufacturing today is a high-tech, innovation-focused economic cluster; it may create a smaller number of jobs, but ones that demand 21st-century skills and command higher wages.”

“Manufacturing workers these days are more likely to be working with computers and robotic systems than standing on an assembly line for an eight-hour shift.”

“…nearly 80 percent of all patents filed in the U.S. originate from the manufacturing fields…products that represent more than 70 percent of current manufacturing sales will be obsolete in the next six years. That means that the manufacturing sector will have to become even more focused on research, product development and speed to market.”

“Manufacturing requires a strong work force, a critical mass of intellectual property and a solid technology base.”

They point out the glaring contradiction on the part of those who feel the loss of manufacturing jobs is inevitable.

“Ignoring the needs of today’s manufacturers would sacrifice many of the best high-tech, high-wage opportunities that we profess to be our economic development priorities.”

And, finally point out that “manufacturing isn’t the problem — it’s an important part of the solution.”

This entry was posted on Tuesday, April 17th, 2007 at 9:30 pm and is filed under Manufacturing in the U.S., Economic Security. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.