In a February report that seeks to add some context to manufacturing's role within the U.S. economy, the Manufacturers Alliance for Productivity and Innovation Foundation (MAPI), Arlington, Va., suggested that the manufacturing value chain accounts for about one-third of the country's gross domestic product (GDP) and employment.
While national statistics indicate manufacturers account for about 11 percent of GDP and for about 9 percent of all full-time employment in the country, that data is based on a narrow definition of the manufacturing industry, according to an executive summary of the MAPI report by Dan Meckstroth, the foundation's vice president and chief economist. That narrow definition results in the implication that the manufacturing sector "is of only minor importance to economic activity," Meckstroth observed as well in the companion video report above.
According to Meckstroth, the national statistics don't take into account manufacturing activities such as R&D, corporate management, logistics operations, and advertising and branding.
"The MAPI Foundation finds that manufacturing’s footprint is much larger than merely the value added at the factory loading dock," Meckstroth continued. "Manufacturing plant activities lie near the center of a substantial and complex value chain that is composed of an upstream supply chain that gathers materials and services, and a downstream sales chain that moves goods to market and sells and services goods."
For more details, visit Meckstroth's report here: "The Manufacturing Value Chain Is Much Bigger Than You Think!"
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