The clock is ticking: technological breakthroughs may revive U.S. manufacturing

Two stories worth checking out in the mainstream business press suggest that U.S. manufacturing is poised for a sustainable comeback, and that a new supply chain model may not be far behind.

Mark Perry, a professor of economics at the University of Michigan, Flint, notes in a Wall Street Journal op/ed piece that technological improvements are one of the main drivers for increasing productivity and provides a higher standard of living for a new generation of skilled professionals.

“I don’t deny that the transition to this new economy can be a rough one for displaced workers,” he writes. “But turning back the clock to a less efficient economy is not the answer.”

This week’s Economist uses a similar metaphor when it contends that three-dimensional printing from digital designs will transform manufacturing and allow more people to start making things:

“Far-fetched as this may seem, many other people are using three-dimensional printing technology to create similarly remarkable things. These include medical implants, jewellery, football boots designed for individual feet, lampshades, racing-car parts, solid-state batteries and customised mobile phones. Some are even making mechanical devices. At the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Peter Schmitt, a PhD student, has been printing something that resembles the workings of a grandfather clock. It took him a few attempts to get right, but eventually he removed the plastic clock from a 3D printer, hung it on the wall and pulled down the counterweight. It started ticking.”

For more stories on supply chain management, click here.

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