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Research

Manufacturing executives, policymakers, the media, and the association community rely on the MAPI's unbiased research, forecasting, and rich analyses to gain insight into the challenges facing the manufacturing sector. 

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The Rise of the Internet of Goods: A New Perspective on the Digital Future for Manufacturers

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Newest Documents

Ignorance Isn’t Bliss. The Impact of Opioids on Manufacturing

Reports
Thursday, Feb 22, 2018
Topics: 
Corporate Affairs, Corporate Communications, Global Economy, Competitiveness, Leadership, Human Resources

Manufacturing executives can no longer turn a blind eye to the drug crisis. Drugs are now the leading cause of death for prime working age Americans. In 2016, drug overdose deaths from opioids increased fivefold compared to 1999, and it is impacting the U.S. workforce. And the manufacturing workforce has been particularly impacted. Unchecked, this drug crisis will erode the health of the U.S. economy. It’s time to take action, and learn the signs of opioid abuse in the workforce.

Myth-Busting American Manufacturing

Reports
Thursday, May 18, 2017
Topics: 
Global Economy, Competitiveness

By truly understanding manufacturing, we can rebuild the factory sector’s standing among educators, parents, and policymakers. We can support better job opportunities and consistent economic growth for future generations. Read on for a nonpartisan, rhetoric-free understanding of manufacturing in America.

How Important Is U.S. Manufacturing Today?

Policy Analysis
Tuesday, Sep 13, 2016
Topics: 
Global Economy, Competitiveness, Economic Environment, Labor, Money & Finance, GDP, Operations, Manufacturing, Supply Chain

Manufactured goods are ubiquitous at home, in transit, and at work, but the narrow definition of manufacturing industries in national statistics implies that the sector is of only minor importance to economic activity. The traditional finding is that manufacturers’ proportion of gross domestic product (GDP) is only about 11% and manufacturing’s share of economy-wide full-time equivalent employment is just 9%. Since this excludes manufacturing activities such as research and development, corporate management, logistics operations, and advertising and branding, those figures are merely the tip of the iceberg.

My Farewell Report on U.S. Trade in Manufactures

Policy Analysis
Monday, Aug 15, 2016
Topics: 
Global Economy, Competitiveness, Foreign Trade, Imports & Exports

This is my final MAPI Foundation report, on U.S. and Chinese trade in manufactures during the first half of 2016, as I am retiring from MAPI at the end of August. The report also provides a breakout of U.S. bilateral trade with China and Mexico, which has become a contentious electoral issue.

Productivity Dynamics: Decision Criteria for New Technology Investment

Reports
Wednesday, Aug 10, 2016
Topics: 
Global Economy, Competitiveness, Government Policy, Economic Environment, Labor, Operations, Continuous Improvement, Productivity

In the case of new technology investment, the cost side of the return-on-investment equation contains a larger and broader set of factors than is the case with a fixed technology frontier, under which all technologies are known as previously employed capital. But the benefits of a new technology investment are potentially as broad as the costs. In essence, the diffusion implications of the cost–benefit balance for new technology investment depend on corporate decision-maker flexibility regarding the payback period of the investment and an adjustment to the propensity to take a wait-and-see posture toward purchase and implementation.

 

Automation Investment in U.S. Manufacturing: An Empirical Picture

Reports
Friday, Jun 10, 2016

Amid all of the recent public dialogue about new manufacturing technologies and manufacturing automation investment in particular, there are little or no data offering a coherent picture of the automation investment dynamic. In this second of three MAPI Foundation papers on manufacturing productivity performance, Cliff Waldman seeks to remedy the data deficit by presenting the results of a national survey of U.S. manufacturers on their automation activity. He offers revealing stratifications of the results by company size and industry.

Economic Update [Video] : Productivity Dynamics in U.S. Manufacturing

Economic Update
Monday, Mar 21, 2016
Topics: 
Global Economy, Competitiveness, Government Policy

Productivity Dynamics in U.S.

Productivity Dynamics in U.S. Manufacturing: An Industry-Based Analysis

Economic Analysis
Thursday, Mar 10, 2016
Topics: 
Global Economy, Competitiveness, Government Policy, Economic Environment, Labor, Operations, Continuous Improvement, Productivity

Productivity growth in the computer and electronic products subsector, once the principal driver of productivity performance in the manufacturing sector, has experienced significant waning in recent years. Consequently, the U.S. manufacturing productivity outlook has become murky. This is a challenging trend for our society, because increased productivity growth helps lift living standards. The good news is that empirical evidence put forth in this paper shows that innovation and capital investment play a key role in accelerating multifactor productivity growth (i.e., output per unit of a combined set of inputs including labor, materials, and capital) in a wide range of manufacturing industries.

U.S. Industrial Outlook: Manufacturing Production Growth Is Disappointingly Slow

Economic Analysis
Wednesday, Mar 9, 2016
Topics: 
Global Economy, Economic Environment

We lower the forecast for this year and next because of the persistent shocks to manufacturing demand and we now see more downside than upside risks. Manufacturing production will decelerate rather than accelerate this year. Production increased 2% last year and we forecast growth of only 1.1% in 2016, 2.4% in 2017, and 2.5% in 2018.

Manufacturing Update, January 2016

Economic Update
Friday, Jan 15, 2016
Topics: 
Global Economy, Economic Environment

With slowing growth in China and the implosion of stock prices there, the dramatic fall in the price of oil, and recent volatility in U.S. equity markets, January is coming in like a lion. Repeating the pattern observed in recent years, the first quarter will be challenging for U.S.

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