Archive for the ‘manufacturing’ category

« Trend Lines home page

Self-Inflicted Economic Wounds

July 11, 2019

For most of the past four years manufacturing employment has grown faster than total non-farm employment in NH, that is until recently. More recently manufacturing job growth has stagnated. A big reason for manufacturing’s job growth was the rapid rise in merchandise exports from NH. On a percentage basis NH exports have grown much faster since 2016 than have overall U.S. exports or exports from the rest of New England.

Exports of transportation equipment, primarily aircraft/aerospace parts and equipment have been the largest contributor to NH’s export growth, accounting for almost $1 billion of the state’s $1.23 increase in exports between Q1 2016 and Q1 2019.

Trade frictions, a slowing world economy, and developments in key export industries worldwide (slower demand for new non-defense and defense aircraft) have more recently combined to slow export growth with concomitant impacts on NH’s manufacturing employment. In the past I have argued that when the economy is strong the biggest mistakes are made, e.g. business and consumers borrow and spend too much, or in this case the government creates unnecessary trade barriers. We have little control over a slowing world economy but we need not exacerbate it by limiting world trade.

Categories: Exports, International trade, manufacturing, NH Economy
Tags: , , , ,

Comments: Be the first to comment

R.I.P the American Made Sedan

November 28, 2018

In the last six years the share of light vehicle sales (sedans, station wagons, SUVs, pickups, minvans) in the U.S. that were autos (sedans and station wagons ) versus light trucks (pickups, minivans, SUVs) has declined by 20%.  Autos are now about 30% of all light vehicle sales, in 1990 the percentage was 65%.  Of the top 5 selling light vehicles in the U.S. in 2017, only the Toyota Camry is a sedan and there was not a single American made sedan in the top 20 selling vehicles.  Share of Autos

By far, the top selling vehicle is the Ford F series pickup, selling more than twice the number of the top selling sedan, and 60% more than the next best selling vehicle (the Chevrolet Silverado pickup).  The market has clearly changed, helped by lower gasoline prices, recent changes in CAFÉ (fuel efficiency) standards, and most importantly consumer preferences.  GM recently announced the closing of several manufacturing facilities.  I worked on 2 energy projects in Lordstown, OH where GM built its (once) popular Chevy Cruz and it is painful to hear that GM will be closing that facility after what was a period of renewed optimism in the region.

Categories: Automobiles, manufacturing, retail sales, Uncategorized
Tags: , ,

Comments: Be the first to comment

How Much Should We Pay to Save a Steel Mill Job?

November 16, 2018

There are about 86,000 steel mill jobs in the United States, down from a decade ago when it was about 100,000. At its nadir in early 2017, steel mill jobs were under 81,000. About 6,000 jobs have come back since tariffs were introduced, but the producer price index (PPI) for steel mill products also soared as a result. The value of U.S. steel mill output was about $78 billion before tariffs while the producer price index for steel mill products has risen just over 20% since tariffs . Those numbers imply a cost of tariffs to purchasers of U.S. steel mill products (U.S. companies and governments) of about $16 billion, as well as a cost per job saved of about $2.7 million. If instead of tariffs the U.S. had offered each of the 6,000 laid-off steel mill workers a generous $100,000 stipend per year for 3 years to replace lost pay and benefits and to retrain, it would have cost $1.8 billion, saving U.S. companies and governments $14.2 billion in tariff-related costs. A  less than 1% surcharge on imported and U.S. steel mill products could have paid for such a policy without adding to government debt. I’m not arguing for such a policy but that 1% seems like a small price to pay to avoid punishing 20% price hikes.

Steel Prices and Emp

Categories: International trade, manufacturing, Tariffs, Uncategorized
Tags: , , , , ,

Comments: 1 Comment

Protectionist Fallacies and Promises

October 11, 2018

Repetez moi: “tariffs are stupid.” Our President, who should know better, said the U.S. has collected billions of dollars from China as a result of the tariffs placed on imported goods. Well no, not exactly, actually not even close. Those billions of dollars have been collected from U.S. companies and manufacturers importing products and materials (like aluminum and steel, electronics, etc.) for use in the products and services that they sell. Tariffs have already cost Ford Motor Co. $1 billion in profit. U.S. consumers are also paying, until recently only on a few products (the CPI for laundry equipment was falling for about 10 years but is up 13% over the past year) but who will soon see prices on more products affected, as tariffs are placed on more products. Auto workers who were promised protectionist policies would spur manufacturing job growth must be disappointed as growth has fallen since 2017 and has been negative since mid-2017. Obviously, there are other influences on emp. growth in autos but protectionism isn’t helping. NAFTA version 2 (which looks a lot like NAFTA version 1) is hailed as the next savior for employment. Why not, those protectionist promises have worked-out so well thus far.

auto manuf emp

Categories: E, Employment Growth, International trade, manufacturing, Uncategorized
Tags: , , , , ,

Comments: Be the first to comment

Manufacturing’s Toughest Sell

October 12, 2012

The percentage of younger workers in the workforce is declining in NH, as it is across the country, but the trends are different for specific industries and occupations (more about that in a later post).  Simply put, some industries are capturing a larger share of a smaller cohort of younger workers and the key for any industry or occupation is to have appeal for younger workers and students.  How does an industry capture more younger workers?   Is it because the industry is perceived as being desirable or “cool,” or do younger workers respond to signals about the opportunities in an industry or an occupation?

Manufacturing is one industry that has been capturing a smaller share of younger workers (government and utilities are others).   The chart below shows that over the past 15 years the share of younger workers (age 25-34) declined in NH’s workforce (age 25-64).  But the chart also shows that the drop was more pronounced in manufacturing than in the workforce overall.

Government employment hasn’t been perceived as cool for some time but job opportunities have grown or remained steady (except in very recent years) over the years suggesting that “coolness” is a factor in the career choices of younger workers.  For manufacturing it is likely to be a combination o cool and opportunities.  While manufacturers now have good opportunities for young workers, that perception must overcome  decade s of    labor market signals showing large declines in manufacturing employment.  The decline in younger workers in manufacturing roughly corresponds to the change in manufacturing employment in the state (chart below).

Manufacturing employers are in a difficult position.  Fewer households have workers with a history of manufacturing employment, limiting the legacy effects that can contribute to career choices.  A “twist”  (changing occupational makeup) in the manufacturing labor market mean that much of the public and almost no  high school guidance personnel have an understanding of the types of jobs in manufacturing. A general lack of “coolness,” perceived lack of opportunities, and  limited understanding of the opportunities that exist in the industry all mean that manufacturing will have a tough time capturing a larger share of the younger workforce, but it is important to do so for a number of reasons. I just don’t know if manufacturers can do it alone.

Categories: Demographics, Educational Attainment, employment, job growth, Labor, manufacturing, NH Economy, Skills Gap
Tags: , , , ,

Comments: Be the first to comment

%d bloggers like this: