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Global Competitiveness

Author
IndustryWeek, OnRamp Manufacturing Conference

The findings in this research report demonstrate opportunities for more strategic alliances, including third-party investments and partnerships. This is particularly true for smaller firms and startups as they try to keep pace with larger competitors in 2021 and beyond.

MAGNET’s report, Make It Better: A Blueprint for Manufacturing in Northeast Ohio brings together insights from hundreds of manufacturing CEOs, community and business leaders, academics, workers, students and nonprofit leaders, with a vision to revitalize Northeast Ohio as a leader in smart manufacturing, create thousands of jobs and transform the industry.

The Illinois Manufacturing Excellence Center (IMEC) announced this new book which is described as a guide and valuable resource to help manufacturing companies become successful competitors on the global stage. Within the book, readers gather insights from leaders from Illinois-based companies such as Motorola, Watchfire Signs, and Ace Metal Crafts. Some of the subjects covered include the value of customer relationships, and integrating technology for greater process innovation.

Author
Marc Jarsulic

There are two major challenges facing U.S. manufacturing. The first is building competitiveness with global manufacturers, especially for small- and medium-sized U.S. enterprises (SMEs), and the second is overcoming strategic risks to health care, national defense, and other areas where the United States depends on global supply chains.

Author
IndustryWeek, OnRamp Manufacturing Conference

The findings in this research report demonstrate opportunities for more strategic alliances, including third-party investments and partnerships. This is particularly true for smaller firms and startups as they try to keep pace with larger competitors in 2021 and beyond.

Author
Heartland Forward

The COVID-19 pandemic has had overwhelming impacts on our economy, not to mention the impact on lives and personal wellness. The critical lack of medical equipment to treat and protect those affected highlights the over-reliance of United States manufacturing sector on overseas production. The offshoring issue extends beyond current pandemic concerns, however, reaching far larger and more permanent concerns over industrial supply chains, worker training and even national security.

Author
International Trade Administration

The International Trade Administration, as well as other organizations, publishes a variety of trade-related statistics and tools for public use.

Author
Robert D. Atkinson, Caleb Foote

The State New Economy Index uses 25 indicators to measure the extent to which state economies are knowledge-based, globalized, entrepreneurial, IT-driven, and innovation-oriented.

Author
Ball State University

The Manufacturing Scorecard shows how each state ranks among its peers in several categories that are of particular interest to site selection experts for the manufacturing and logistics industries.

Author
David Moschella, Robert D. Atkinson

China will likely be the biggest business disruptor of the 2020s, but the discussion about how to respond has yet to take shape. A strategic framework should rebalance the global supply chains, bolster competitiveness, adjust to China’s market size, and solidify the West’s appeal. While much of today’s fast-changing debate is focused on China’s competition with the United States, we believe this paper’s findings will prove relevant for many years to come.

Author
Désirée Rückert, Reinhilde Veugelers, Christoph Weiss

Using the EIBIS Digital and Skills Survey on digitalisation activities of firms in the EU and the US, this study confirms the trend toward a growing digital divide in the corporate landscape with, on one side, many firms that are not digitally active, and on the other side, a substantial number of digitally active firms forging ahead. Old small firms, with less than 50 employees and more than 10 years old, are significantly more likely to be persistently digitally non-active.

Author
IU Manufacturing Policy Initiative, Hudson Institute

The IU Manufacturing Policy Initiative, in partnership with the Hudson Institute, organized a spring 2020 conference, to bring together leading thinkers to identify concerning trends and discuss policies that will enable domestic manufacturing to remain internationally competitive. The conference was postponed due to the emerging pandemic. Four academic papers from noted experts were commissioned for this conference. Taken together, these four papers describe weaknesses in U.S. manufacturing cap

Author
Ball State University

The 2019 Manufacturing and Logistics National Report shows how each state ranks among its peers in several areas of the economy that underlie the success of manufacturing and logistics. These specific measures include: manufacturing and logistics industry health, human capital, cost of worker benefits, diversification of the industries, state-level productivity and innovation, expected fiscal liability, tax climate, and global reach.

Author
Robert D. Atkinson

This paper examines the nature and prospects of robotics and associated production technologies, reviews the literature on their impact on spatial dynamics, reviews recent data on robotic adoption, including controlling for robot adoption rates by domestic worker compensation rates, and speculates on future trends in the spatial distribution of manufacturing.

Author
Michel Girard

Canadian industry and thought leaders view digitization as a way to enhance the competitiveness of the economy; digitization can also improve the delivery of services such as health care. In order to achieve this vision, new data value chains are needed. Data value chains would allow participants in existing supply chains to share data, gain new insights, solve problems and become more efficient. Standards are required to clarify the roles and responsibilities of participants.

Author
Josh Bivens

This policy memo focuses on one major economic argument in favor of increased infrastructure investment—that it would increase demand for American manufactured goods and, in turn, generate American manufacturing jobs. As this memo shows, more jobs will be created if policymakers take steps to reduce the yawning U.S. trade deficit that allows jobs to “leak” outside the U.S. economy as U.S. spending increases.

Author
Georgetown University Center on Education and the Workforce

The Way We Were: The Changing Geography of US Manufacturing from 1940 to 2016 explores how manufacturing has lost ground in many places and is now the largest employer in only two states.

Author
Marcela Escobai, Ian, Seyaljose Morales-Arilla, Chad Shearer

Although today’s U.S. labor market is strong and unemployment is low, many working-age American remain marginalized. As communities across the country grapple with the challenges of an ever-evolving labor market, this report provides a framework for local leaders to grow good jobs through industrial development strategies that are based on their regions’ unique capabilities.

Author
Manufacturing Policy Initiative School of Public and Environmental Affairs Indiana University

Smart manufacturing depends critically on information governance: rules (formal and informal) concerning the collection, flow, and analysis of information, often in digital form. To explore information governance issues in depth, the Manufacturing Policy Initiative at Indiana University hosted a roundtable event in Washington, DC, with executives from nearly 20 manufacturers. Policy experts from academia were asked to contribute to papers on specific topics including AI in manufacturing.

Author
David Reinsel, John Gantz, John Rydning

The data-driven world will be always on, always tracking, always monitoring, always listening, and always watching – because it will be always learning. Data is at the heart of digital transformation, the lifeblood of this digitization process. This study by IDC, looks into how companies are leveraging data to improve customer experiences, open new markets, make employees and processes more productive, and create new sources of competitive advantage – working toward the future of tomorrow.

Author
Dr. Michael Mandel

This report focuses on an emerging alternative digital future for manufacturing, the “Internet of Goods." Three trends could lead to a manufacturing sector that uses information technology to boost productivity and create new markets.

Author
National Center for the Middle Market

The growth of middle market manufacturing has brought both unique challenges and new opportunities. This new report serves to better understand the environmental conditions, challenges, and opportunities middle market manufacturers currently face; uncover what the best-performing middle market manufacturers are doing to mitigate risks and capitalize on opportunities; and present key findings and best practices manufacturers can use to navigate the shifting environment.

Author
Stephen Ezell

This report explains how digitalization is transforming manufacturing globally, detailing what exactly smart manufacturing (or “Industry 4.0”) is and examining the productivity impacts that digitalized manufacturing promises to deliver. The report examines the small- to medium-sized enterprise (SME) manufacturing support programs and policies of ten nations—Argentina, Australia, Austria, Canada, China, Germany, Japan, Korea, the United Kingdom, and the United States.

Author
Manufacturing Institute, MAPI, National Association of Manufacturers

The 2012 Edition of the Facts of Manufacturing is a collection of the key facts and figures that define the state of the U.S. manufacturing industry. The report provides 65 figures that show the importance of the manufacturing sector and challenges that our industry faces.

Author
Gary Yakimov, Lindsey Woolsey, Contributions from MEP Staff

Focused on addressing the common myths and perceptions about manufacturing and identified the characteristics of successful manufacturers as: innovate constantly to adapt to economic and technological changes; embrace green and green lean; recognize and navigate opportunity in the global value chain; develop and retain current and future talent.