Manufacturing Matters
Manufacturing matters to North Carolina, the United States and the entire world, because manufacturers make the things that make modern life possible.
Almost everything we use and enjoy on a daily basis, from clothing and furniture to equipment for transportation and entertainment, was manufactured somewhere. It may have been made by a husband-and-wife team in their living room, or by a small team in a rented storefront, or by a multi-national corporation in a state-of-the-art factory, but the products we use did not spring into being overnight by our wishing for them. From our computers to our telephones to our automobiles, from our houses to our schools to our workplaces, manufacturing matters because we rely on it every day.
Manufacturing matters in North Carolina because our manufacturers lead the world in many products and industries. North Carolina has been the most productive manufacturing state in the Southeast for over a decade. In addition to making the products we all use, our manufacturers employ North Carolinians in challenging and rewarding work and provide the basis for stable, diverse communities.
Manufacturing Matters to North Carolina because:
- Manufacturing contributes billions to the North Carolina economy
- Manufacturing provides good jobs at competitive wages to over 400 thousand North Carolinians
- Manufacturing supports the economies of the state's most populous regions
- North Carolina manufacturers make almost anything that can be made
- North Carolina manufactured goods are exported all over the world
- Manufacturing is changing, but remains vital to our economy
- In addition, small manufacturers are critical to every industry
Manufacturing Matters also to the U.S. as a whole, as the National Association of Manufacturers points out:
- U.S. manufacturing produces 21% of the world's manufactured products.
- Manufacturing produces $1.7 trillion of value each year -- 11.7% of U.S. GDP.
- Manufacturing supports an estimated 17 million jobs in the U.S. -- about one in six private sector jobs.
- U.S. manufacturers perform two-thirds of all private research and development in the nation, driving more innovation than any other sector.
So, regardless of who you are or where you live, whether you make products or use them, Manufacturing Matters.
Next: Manufacturing contributes billions to the North Carolina economy