UP FRONTA LETTER FROM THE EDITOR Note to Self: It’s the Technology, Stupid! u B
etween 2000 and 2011, the US lost 5.7 million manu- facturing jobs as more than 65,000 manufacturing establishments closed their doors. Like many people,
I thought I had a pretty good grasp on the reasons for that decline: low wages in foreign countries, trade deals, etc. Then I came to SME in 2011, and learned that I was miss-
ing a pretty big part of the story—a part that, quite frankly, I had never even heard mentioned before: the role that Ameri- ca’s weakness in manufacturing technologies has played. A few decades ago, this nation was a leader in the technologies used to make things. But today, the US largely imports these technologies. The trade defi cit on machine tools, for example, was $3.9 billion last year, and America continues to import more and more of the technologies it needs to manufacture goods.
On one hand, the US should be grateful for these impres- sive, advanced technologies, for they are enabling the US, and its highly productive workforce, to reshore an increasing amount of manufacturing work.
But the truth is that the US manufacturing sector and economy would be performing a whole lot better if our nation was better at developing and commercializing the technolo- gies needed to manufacture things. There are a lot of rea-
EDITORIAL STAFF
EDITOR IN CHIEF SARAH A. WEBSTER 313-425-3252
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PATRICK WAURZYNIAK 313-425-3256
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6
AdvancedManufacturing.org | June 2015
sons for this, of course, but here’s the most important one in my mind: As advanced manufacturing technologies continue to dramatically reshape the way manufacturing is done, be- ing a leader in these technologies is the best way for the US to hold onto the economic value that manufacturing creates. Today, the United States government is taking an impor-
tant fi rst step to rebuild the nation’s strength in manufacturing technologies. With the bipartisan creation of the National Network for Manufacturing Innovation (NNMI) in December, the US is taking a moonshot at securing a leadership position in a few key manufacturing technologies so that it can secure US leadership in manufacturing for the 21st Century. Manufacturing Engineering has prepared a special digital
report on this effort—why it’s necessary and how you can get involved—that is available at
tinyurl.com/usmfgnetwork. Michael Molnar, the Director of the Advanced Manufactur- ing National Program Offi ce and a past SME President, also writes about the network on page 10 of this issue. The NNMI is an important national project that everybody in manufacturing should know about, and support, so we never have to lose tens of thousands of factories and millions of jobs ever again. More importantly, let’s lead this manufac- turing revolution!
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ENGINEERING
Although reasonable efforts are taken to ensure the accuracy of its published material, SME is not responsible for statements published in this magazine. Readers are advised that SME shall not be liable to any person or company for losses or damages incurred as a result of accepting any invitation or offer contained in any advertisement published in Manufacturing Engineering®. Copyright © 2015 by SME. Photocopy information: Users registered with the Copyright Clearance Center, 21 Congress St., Salem, MA 01970, can purchase copies at $2.00 each referring to serial fee code 0361-0853/88/$2.00. All other photocopying without the permission of SME is prohibited. Reprint information: For tearsheets, reprints, and bulk orders, write the Production Manager, kstebbins@sme. org. Available on microfi lm/ microfi che from University Microfi lms International, 300 N. Zeeb Rd., Ann Arbor, MI 48106. Canada Post Publication Mail Sales Agreement No. 1436813
Sarah A. Webster Editor in Chief
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