[buescher]

You're just wrong. Yes, US manufacturing is mostly high-value-add stuff. Because wages are high. Don't go into hock to start a toothpick factory in the USA. But go look up how many people are employed in manufacturing. 67,000 does not move the needle, though it's probably a lot as a percentage of new jobs.

And automotive and aerospace are not the two biggest sectors of US manufacturing. (Boeing was the largest exporter for years though, probably still is). Look it up.

[MisterMower]

Is mating two fuselage sections made in Mexico and slapping on engines made in Malaysia manufacturing? Not in my book. That’s assembly, not manufacturing, regardless of how lucrative it may be.

[buescher]

You're just wrong. US manufacturing is a lot more than final assembly of airplanes and automobiles. Aerospace and automotive aren't the top manufacturing sectors either. You're just wrong about that. You can look up that you're just wrong, but you're not bothering to. You can look up that final assembly is manufacturing - your book is just wrong. Why should I take "your book" seriously about anything?

[MisterMower]

> US manufacturing is a lot more than final assembly of airplanes and automobiles.

The truth of the matter is the bulk of the components that matter in those products are made somewhere other than the US. The hard work is done elsewhere.

I just replaced a capacitor in my 2009 Maytag washing machine. Original capacitor was made in Mexico. The replacement was from Taiwan. The motor was made in China. Every product "made" in the US is a hodgepodge of imported components.

> You can look up that final assembly is manufacturing

I don't dispute that that's how it gets measured in official statistics, but I'm telling you it's a misrepresentation of what's actually occurring in industry.

I work for an OEM aerospace manufacturer. Fuselages get made in Mexico. Wings get made in Japan. Engines get made in Europe and most parts for them are sourced from Russia, which is causing major shortages right now. Landing gear are forged in Brazil. We used to do it all here in the US, now we have a paint booth and a service center. But hey, final assembly is manufacturing! The US is an industrial powerhouse!

Seriously, go look around your house. Show me a piece of furniture or appliance that was made in the US. You can't. You'd be lucky to have one that was assembled in the US. Shoot, your phone and computer probably weren't even made here. And if they were, again, the important parts that took all the work were probably made in Asia.

Believe me, I wish I were wrong. I would love to be wrong. But you saying I'm wrong doesn't change reality. Stop believing statistics that are built on lies and start believing what you can clearly see before your very eyes.

[buescher]

You didn't look anything up. You're just wrong, so you came up with a story instead, and tried to move the goalposts to something like the FTC's "Made in the USA" qualifications - which I wasn't arguing. What are the two largest sectors of US manufacturing?

Most of the furniture in my house was made in the US, because I'm not poor. Furniture is one of the easiest things to buy American. Good furniture is not cheap but it's not out of reach for the middle class either.

The materials your house was constructed from were mostly made in the US: lumber doesn't come directly from the earth nor does sheetrock or siding etc. These materials are manufactured.

Most of the books in my house were printed and bound in the US from paper made in US papermills.

Most of my appliances were, as you are careful to point out, assembled in the US. All of the large appliances were.

Almost all of the food in my pantry, refrigerator, and freezer that is in boxes, cans, or jars was processed and packaged in the US: that is manufacturing. If you don't think that's hard work, you should try it.

If you have any medications in your house, they were very probably made in the US. The gas in your car was almost certainly refined in the US. Your shampoo and deodorant and other personal care items, unless you deliberately buy imported, were made in the USA.

The important part that makes my computer work was made in the US, and yours probably was too. Some other bits also. That is very high tech, capital intensive manufacturing, high value-add, and while Taiwan is basically caught up, the US is still very competitive.

Sorry about your employer's poorly implemented global supply chain fiasco, which pretty much identifies it even to people outside your industry. But it's not the whole story of US industry.