Global manufacturing rankings over the past 30 years

A great infographic on the movement (or lack thereof) of global manufacturing rankings over the past thirty years.

I know the point of a blog is to offer insights and opinions to readers to digest and discuss, but in this post I'd just like to let a graphic speak for itself, which I've sourced from a great report from the McKinsey Global Institute called "Manufacturing the future: The next era of global growth and innovation". The Report provides a wealth of information on the big global players in manufacturing and how their market share in various sectors has grown or eroded over the past 30 years.

Everyone likes a list with country rankings and below is a graphic from the Report outlining the global rankings of developing economies over the past 30 years. 

For me, a couple of things stood out to me from the 1980-2010 rankings:

US - static

Germany - slight decline

Japan - slight rise and fall

UK - moderate decline

France - moderate decline

Italy - overall static

China - substantial increase

Brazil - moderate increase (but what's with the hiccup in 2000?)

Spain - moderate-significant decline

Canada - recent moderate decline

Australia, Netherlands, Argentina, Turkey, Taiwan - only brief appearances

India - substantial increase

South Korea obviously has made a substantial increase in ranking between 1990-2010, but look at the emergence of Russia and Indonesia in 2010. It will be interesting to see if they have longevity over the next thirty years. I'll come back then and let you know.

US manufacturing has a great opportunity

US manufacturing has a great opportunity. In an election year, candidates are falling over themselves to be seen as the champion of rebuilding the economy, through creating jobs and making it easier for business to do business. Jeff Moad from Manufacturing Executive Community says it is likely candidates will cater to larger manufacturers rather deal with the issues faced by smaller manufacturers. He says for them, it is the reduction of red tape and export guidance that improve potential, not reduction of the corporate tax rate which resonates with the big players.

Click here to read the full article.

GE embraces Lean Manufacturing as a sustainable competitive advantage

The opening of a new GE Refigeration factory in Kentucky is good news for US manufacturing. However it is important to note that GE built the high-tech plant with the reduction of environmental impact foremost in mind.

Click here to read the full article.