Written by: Joe Talarczyk, President, Innovate Technologies, Inc. November 24, 2020
Ford started resuming production and operations in the United States today. The company has implemented robust safety and care measures globally to help support a safe and healthy environment for the company’s workforce, including health assessment measures, personal protective equipment and facility modifications to increase social distancing.
We all can agree that 2020 has been a challenging year. The unforeseen wave of the COVID-19 pandemic coupled with the divided political environment has most American Manufacturing companies unsure what the future brings. With Thanksgiving around the corner, I wanted to remind American Manufacturers what they can be Thankful for today!
America Manufactures More Today Than Ever
America manufactured $2.4 trillion dollars’ worth of products in 2019 compared to $1.3 trillion worth of products in 1997. The decline in manufacturing is not the total goods produced but the number of people needed to produce the goods. It once took 25 workers to generate $1 million in output but today it now takes only 6.5 workers to generate the same $1 million in output. Although China represents $4 trillion of manufactured goods and 28% of the worlds manufactured output, the United States still represents 17% of the worlds manufactured output. The next countries are Japan at $1 trillion in manufactured goods and 7% of the worlds manufactured output and Germany at $806 Billion in manufactured goods and 6% of the worlds manufactured goods.
The American Consumer is the largest consumer market in the World
The American consumer market is by far the largest consumer market in the world representing $17 trillion dollars and 70% of Americas GDP. No other country is even close with European market at $8 trillion, China at $5.3 trillion and Japan at $3 trillion.
The largest Defense Budget in the World
The 2019 American defense budget of $934 billion is larger than the next 10 countries combined! The next 10 countries are China, India, Russia, Saudi Arabia, France, Germany, United Kingdom, Japan, South Korea, and Brazil. Most of these airplanes, ships, ammunition, tanks, missiles and many other items are mainly made in America.
America is the largest Medical Device Market in the World
The United States remains the largest medical device market in the world with $156 billion sold in the US in 2019. This represents 40% of the global medical device market. By 2023, the medical device market in the US is expected to grow to 203 billion. Many of these medical devices are designed and built in America.
A Strong Automotive Industry
The US new automotive manufacturing sector contributed 340 billion to the economy in 2019. Furthermore, the automotive aftermarket contributed an additional 290 billion dollars to the economy. In addition to the big three automotive companies of Chevrolet, Ford and FCA (Chrysler) most foreign car companies such as Toyota, Honda, Nissan, BMW, Mercedes, Hyundai, Volkswagen and Kia all have US manufacturing facilities and count on American manufacturers to supply some of their parts. Into the future, electric vehicle car companies such as the established Tesla and start-ups like RIVIAN, Lucid Motors, Lordstown Motors and Nikola will be driving the electric vehicle growth from a market share of 1.2% today to a projected market share of 7.6% by 2026. Each of these electric car companies are building these vehicles in America.
American Space Programs and Commercial Aerospace
America in 2020 will spend $41 billion dollars on space travel, satellites and exploration which represents 58% of the world’s total investment. Although the COVID-19 pandemic is a powerful headwind for Commercial Aerospace in 2020, Commercial Aerospace in America contributed $128 billion dollars to the US economy in 2019. There is no doubt that when a vaccine for COVID-19 is introduced, the commercial aerospace industry will reemerge.
Construction and Farm Equipment
America is home to some of the respected names in the construction/farm equipment industry such as Caterpillar, John Deere, and AGCO. In 2019 there was $35 billion dollars of construction equipment built in America and $34 billion dollars of farm tractors and agricultural equipment built in America.
Many..Many..others
There are so many other important industries that are made in America. From consumer products/packaging to home/industrial construction products, the scope and impact of American manufacturing is immense.
I think we can all agree that America is a powerful force in the world for manufacturing. The trend today is that manufacturers are looking to produce their products in each individual geographic market. With an American consumer market of $17 trillion, there is no question whatsoever that America is the place to be!
America offers us all the freedoms and the protections to make our own decisions and pursue our dreams. I see this everyday with manufacturing companies that started with a dream and today are growing and successful businesses. These opportunities that America provides us is what we should be Thankful for today. I hope after reading this you will be as Thankful as I am to be living the American dream.