Support manufacturing; share your successes

You might have missed it, but as of the end of June, the U.S. celebrated 121 months of economic growth. That’s 121 months of sidestepping two consecutive quarters of negative GDP growth, breaking the old record of 120 months, which took place from March 1991 to March 2001.

In that time manufacturing has expanded at a rapid pace. In fact, the manufacturing sector stands at 12.9 million workers as of June 2019, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. That’s about 300,000 more than were employed in the sector in June 2009, the end of the Great Recession. Recovery has been good for manufacturers as they have added jobs, building up the manufacturing workforce to 2009 levels. Business has been—and continues to be good for metal fabricators.

If only the rest of the world knew about that. In a June 2019 survey of 2,001 adult internet users, conducted by the Brookings Institution, people didn’t share the same enthusiasm for manufacturing’s place in the modern world. Only 17 percent indicated that they are very confident about the future of manufacturing, while 48 percent are somewhat confident. Meanwhile, 14 percent are not confident at all, and 21 percent are unsure.

Not surprisingly, the confidence in manufacturing changes significantly with age. In the same survey, 71 percent of the people over the age of 55 indicated that they see manufacturing as being “very important” in the U.S. economy; only 45 percent of those aged 18 to 34 believe the same thing.

Why is that so? Manufacturers are into making things, not impressions. The problem with that approach, however, is that it allows the image of manufacturing to be shaped by others—laid-off workers, citizens of towns who have seen factories close, and the news media that report these stories. Anecdotal and news stories shape perception of manufacturing, and that becomes the reality.

The best way to boost manufacturing’s image is to share success stories, and The FABRICATOR is giving metal fabricators the opportunity to do just that. Visit here and let us know about your company’s operational improvements, market success, and community involvement. If your company is selected as the winner, you’ll be featured in the cover story in the February 2020 issue of The FABRICATOR, and you’ll be invited to attend The FABRICATOR’s Leadership Summit in San Antonio, March 3-5, 2020.

The battle to improve the image of manufacturing is not won overnight. It’s won one story at a time. Support manufacturing and share your success story with the world. People need to know what modern metal fabricating is all about.