The Future Of : Made In The USA

Watch it on CNBC tonight....Meeting of the Minds: Rebuilding America

Premieres Wednesday, December 2nd 8p ET

Manufacturing led the United States to become the richest nation in the world and has been the foundation of the middle class. But times have changed and today's economy values innovation and design over manual labor -- emphasizing mind over matter. This sea of change has spurred many questions: Are the manufacturing jobs in the US gone forever? Does an economy that doesn't produce anything have any real value and has 'Made in the USA' died, taking with it the soul of our country? CNBC’s Maria Bartiromo gathers some of the most influential leaders in manufacturing for a Meeting of the Minds at Carnegie Mellon University to answer those questions and plan for the industry’s future.

The CEO of GE points out an interesting fact: Germany exports are 40% of GDP and it has a more expensive labor force than the USA. The USA now only exports 7% of GDP down from 25% just 10 years ago. The CEO of Nucor points out that it's America's failed trade policies that has been distroying the middle class not the unions.

Here are just a very few moments from the business special. Forgive the commercial. I was unable to remove it from the free videos:

A steelworker asks GE CEO Jeff Immelt where the constant outsourcing of American jobs is likely to lead this country.


Unions are the focus of this comment by Bill Ford of the Ford Motor Company, who fields a difficult question from a student. Mr. Ford forgets to explain to the student VW is a higher cost Union shop than the USA.


GE CEO Jeff Immelt has a number of suggestions for how America can move beyond its current manufacturing crisis and get back on track.


Discussing America's once-great manufacturing base, and Nucor Steel CEO DiMicco's comment to one of the steelworkers in the audience, with CNBC's Maria Bartiromo.


Students, steelworkers and businessmen discuss the US manufacturing crisis. Bill Ford offers special advice to students.

Worldwide Bounce Back

The worldwide recession appears to have ended, with surveys showing manufacturing activity is on the rise nearly everywhere. “It is the emerging markets that are leading, with the U.S. following and Europe lagging,” said Chris Williamson, the chief economist of Markit, a company that surveys manufacturers in many countries.

The surveys, conducted in the United States by the Institute of Supply Management and in other countries by Markit, measure not the level of manufacturing output but the way it is changing. The surveys have a reputation for showing turns in the economy, often before other indicators do. In the charts above, the index figures have been converted to show the number of points over or under 50 for each of 12 countries, from the end of 2007 through September.

While details vary, the slump was sharp in nearly every country, reflecting the sudden decline that came after Lehman Brothers collapsed in September 2008. That worsened a credit squeeze, which meant some companies had no choice but to cut back on everything they could, from inventories to marketing expenditures to jobs. Others, fearing that the economic outlook could become much worse, cut back voluntarily.

It now appears that companies cut too much, and the surveys of manufacturing show that companies are expanding in most countries. Over all, the surveys indicate that the manufacturing sectors of China, Taiwan, South Korea and India had begun to grow by April, but that the United States did not follow suit until August.

Source: New York Times