Industrial Manufacturing Adds Luster to the Rust Belt
Sometimes labels stick — even when they no longer accurately portray their subject. Such is the case of “rust belt.” The term was coined by Walter Mondale in 1984. While campaigning for president, Mondale visited Cleveland and bemoaned the crippled steel industry using the term “rust belt.” From that point on, the phrase was commonly used to describe the loss of manufacturing jobs and population in the Midwest.
For decades, you couldn’t really statistically refute this characterization. A publication by the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland states that “From 1979 to 1983, the industrial heartland was hit by its first major shock as manufacturing employment in the region declined by 1.2 million jobs.” The publication cited another major job decline from 2001 to 2010.
However, it might be time to retire the “rust belt” label. In an MHIcast episode, Gaurav Batra said that after years of working with the industrial manufacturing sector, he has learned that it doesn’t get it’s proper due. “There is a huge gap between perception and reality,” he stated. ”Batra is co-author of the book, “The Titanium Economy: How Industrial Technology Can Create a Better, Faster, Stronger America.”
MHI member American Crane & Equipment Corp. is one of the companies that the book profiles. Karen Norheim, President & CEO of the company and a member of MHI’s Board of Governors, joined Batra on the MHIcast. She echoed his sentiments, stating that industrial manufacturing “is really a great road map for looking to the future of how we can keep building upon the successes that are already there.”
A recent article from SupplyChainBrain also makes it clear that our current digital revolution is highly dependent upon the manufacturing sector. It states: “the economy of the future will require other advanced technologies as well, from lithium-ion batteries that power our energy transition to advanced photonics that enable digital displays. A domestic industrial-tech base that can support the building blocks of our future economy will be needed.“
More proof of the sector’s importance comes from Axios, which recently reported about a manufacturing supercycle. “The 2010s were a period of chronic underinvestment,” the article says. “By contrast, now there are billions flooding into large, expensive megaprojects to manufacture batteries, solar cells, semiconductors and much more.”
To listen to MHI’s podcast about the resilience of industrial manufacturing, as well as other supply-chain related podcasts, visit videos.mhi.org/mhicast.
