Previous | Session Index | Next
Session 15: U.S. Manufacturing Renaissance
In 1958, U.S. manufacturing generated 25% of GDP and 25% of payrolls, many US manufacturers enjoyed comfortable oligopolies, and the sector was preeminent in the economy. But, after a series of oil price shocks, the rise of international competition from low-cost producers in Asia and elsewhere, and strong technological and organizational innovation, manufacturing now generates less than 12% of GDP and accounts for less than 10% of payroll employment. More recently, even as the forces of globalization have intensified with the rise of emerging economies, a surge in U.S. exports is giving rise to new optimism that a reinvented U.S. manufacturing industry may be poised for recovery. This session will consider these trends and outline scenarios for the future of manufacturing in North America.
Speaker Materials
Thomas Kevin Swift slideshow
Jim Meil slideshow
David Heuther slideshow
Martha Moore slideshow
Speakers
Thomas Kevin Swift
American Chemistry Council
A native of Buffalo, New York, Dr. Swift is the chief economist at the American Chemistry Council (ACC) in Arlington, Virginia where he is responsible for economic and other analyses dealing with markets, energy, trade, tax and innovation, as well as monitoring business conditions and identifying emerging trends for the domestic and global chemical sector. He is an authority on the global chemical industry and his research and analyses are critical to decision-making by executives and business managers through out the industry. Dr. Swift disseminates economic and societal contributions of the business of chemistry and general information about the industry to ACC member companies, the media, Wall Street analysts, the academic community and the public in general.
Prior to joining the American Chemistry Council, Dr. Swift held executive and senior level positions at several business information/database companies, directing business research, forecasting, and consulting efforts, as well as domestic and international business forecasting services and related on-line databases. He also conducted single-client industrial market research and related projects. Dr. Swift started his career at Dow Chemical USA
.
Dr. Swift is a member of the National Association for Business Economics (NABE) and is a member of NABE's panel of 40 professional forecasters and chairs the NABE Manufacturing Roundtable. He is also a member of the Harvard Discussion Group of Industrial Economists and is a participant in the Philadelphia Federal Reserve Bank's forecasters' survey. Dr. Swift is a member of the Heritage Council of the Chemical Heritage Foundation (CHF) and is also a member of the Commercial Development and Marketing Association (CDMA) and the Société de Chimie Industrielle. He has authored articles in such diverse journals as Business Economics, Chemistry Business, Chimica Oggi, Cost Engineering, and Hydrocarbon Processing and writes a monthly economics column in Chemical Engineering Progress. Dr. Swift has been featured on National Public Radio and has appeared on Bloomberg TV and Nightly Business Report.
Dr. Swift is a graduate of Ashland University with a BA degree and a graduate of Case Western Reserve University with a MA degree in Economics. He is also a graduate of Anglia Polytechnic University with a DBA (doctorate in business administration) degree and has completed the Tax Analysis and Revenue Forecasting Program and other studies at Harvard University as well as studies at the University of Oxford. Dr. Swift is an adjunct instructor of business economics at the University of Mary Washington.
James Meil
Eaton Corporation
James P. Meil is chief economist with Eaton Corporation, a global diversified industrial manufacturer with 2007 annual sales of $13 billion.
At Eaton Corporation, he is responsible for forecasts of economic conditions and for the markets Eaton serves in auto, truck, electrical, construction, fluid power & aerospace. He is a panel member for Blue Chip, Consensus Economics, USA Today, Philadelphia Fed Reserve & Wall Street Journal outlook surveys.
Meil won 1st-place recognition in the Wall Street Journal panel of 50 forecasters for 2004, ranked among USA Today’s “Top 10 Economic Forecasters of 2003”. He is a member of the American Economic Association, the American Finance Association, the Auto Market Research Council, the National Business Economic Issues Council and the Conference of Business Economists. He formerly served on the board of directors of the National Association for Business Economics.
David Heuther
National Association of Manufacturers
Martha Moore
Moore Economics
Previous | Session Index | Next
