Few people realize the outsized role that the American manufacturing sector has played in the nation's economic recovery. According to research from the National Association of Manufacturers, manufacturing has added nearly a half million net new jobs since the beginning of 2010 alone. But the economic role of manufacturing is far more complicated than the contribution of those half million jobs.
Take a look at the steel sector, an industry at the very heart of this manufacturing revival. Steel manufacturing is so interrelated with other sectors of the economy that each steel job supports seven jobs in the broader US economy. That means that, directly and indirectly, the steel industry adds over 1 million jobs to the US economy.
Combine that with the steel industry's purchases of products and services from other sectors and its contribution of billions of dollars in tax revenues and the steel industry emerges as one of the most critical components of America's industrial machine.
The steel industry serves as a prime example of interconnectedness, complexity and economic importance of American manufacturing, which is playing a central role in America's continued economic recovery.
This example also makes one thing clear: Policymakers should do everything they can to promote the health of US manufacturing or imperil the nation's still-uncertain recovery.
This is an election year. It is a time when the pressures and demands of electoral politics often interfere with the real business of Washington. Sometimes even the most important issues get muffled.
But 2012 is more than an election year. It's a pivotal year for America's economy a time during which the recovery will surge or falter depending on how well and how swiftly government decision makers respond to the needs of US manufacturers.
It is a year in which Congress and the Obama administration must look above politics and support a pro manufacturing agenda that will keep the nation on the path to economic recovery. In that regard, our industry is appreciative of Congress' recent bipartisan effort to successfully pass transportation reauthorization legislation, something for which the steel industry has long advocated. The 27 month, USD 120 billion program is essential to give states the certainty they need to contract for the type of long term capital projects that can rebuild America's bridges and highways while creating high paying jobs.
With that important step accomplished, here are three things Congress and the White House should tackle to keep US manufacturers on solid ground.
Source - American Iron and Steel Institute
(www.steelguru.com)
