This resulted in another large generation being born in America: more than 70 million millennials. In the 1990s, America’s birth rate remained stable, at a little over two children per woman. One way in which boomers are unique, however, was the number of children they had compared with later years. That generation is now reaching retirement years – not just America’s baby boomers, but also their counterparts in Europe and East Asia. many countries experienced baby booms throughout the 1950s and 60s, as economies began to recover and eventually flourish after World War Two. The aging populations around the world have become a major point of importance in economics. In the long run, American energy generation potential promises to keep American manufacturing cost competitive and continue to draw energy intensive industry to the United States. Already, European manufacturers – faced with crushing energy prices – are beginning to move production to the United States. The implication of these diverging energy prices is a radical boost to American cost competitiveness. Spot prices for natural gas in both Asia and Europe have consistently been more than 10 times as high as U.S. America’s advantages in natural gas are even more substantial. businesses faced an average electricity cost of 11.5 cents per kilowatt hour, compared with 16.1 cents in Japan, 24.6 cents in the United Kingdom and 31.6 cents in Germany. This gives the country a tremendous competitive advantage in energy prices. have self-sufficient indigenous production of all the current key energy sources, but it also has generation potential in future sources. – unlike many countries in Europe and Asia – has geographic advantages that allow cost effective use of renewable energy sources like solar and wind. The United States has an advantage among several industrialized countries with its indigenous production of oil, natural gas and electricity, making the country essentially self-sufficient in all three of these energy products. Given the intense energy consumption of industrial production, energy prices play an enormous role in determining the competitiveness of a country’s manufacturing sector, and global trends indicate that America will enjoy a substantial advantage in this regard. Energy Information Agency reported industrial energy consumption was 25% greater than residential and commercial consumption combined. Numerous chemicals, including plastics and fertilizer, are manufactured using natural gas. Not only are electricity demands for industrial production enormous, but natural gas and other petroleum inputs are foundational raw materials for many products. Manufacturing is a very energy-intensive economic sector. There are at least three reasons to be optimistic about the future of manufacturing in America. In addition, the past several decades saw the emergence of substantial, low cost, rival manufacturing centers around the globe – particularly in Asia.ĭespite this there are indications manufacturing in America has a dynamic future. American manufacturing employment peaked at nearly 19.5 million in 1979, and has been steadily on the decline since then, averaging around 12 million throughout the 2010s. As the American economy shifted ever more heavily towards services, factory employment in the country has steadily deteriorated. Demographic changes, technological development and changing global cost structures now promise to make America among the most competitive manufacturing nations in the world.įor decades, manufacturing has been viewed by many people as an industry on the decline in the United States.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |