President Obama returns to Elkhart as U.S. manufacturing surges

As President Obama returned to the first place he visited as president in 2009 – Elkhart, Ind. – and marked the stark turnaround in the fortunes of the town, evidence mounted that U.S. manufacturing is leading much of the economic growth that is expected to continue this year.

“U.S. manufacturing is no longer the dirty, dumb, dangerous and disappearing industry of the past,” said Deborah L. Wince-Smith, president and CEO, U.S. Council on Competitiveness. “Our manufacturing future will be characterized by innovation-driven growth. It will take quite the opposite of the old approach, becoming sustainable, smart, safe and surging, and America is poised to lead the world in that regard.”

The U.S. Council on Competitiveness and Deloitte recently released the 2016 Global Manufacturing Competitiveness Index, a report that indicates the U.S. will overtake China as the most competitive manufacturing nation in the world by 2020.

“The U.S. is currently among the top nations unlocking advanced manufacturing technologies including smart, connected products and factories, predictive analytics and advanced materials that are core to future competitiveness,” said Craig Giffi, vice chairman, Deloitte LLP and Deloitte U.S. Automotive Sector leader. “The U.S. excels at creating connections and synergy between people, technology, capital and organizations to form a cohesive ecosystem of innovation, generating tremendous value from investments in research and development.”

That prediction continues to receive validation, as the Institute of Supply Management, recently announced it expects to see continued manufacturing growth for the rest of 2016. On the same day that Obama made his speech in Elkhart, the ISM released its monthly manufacturing indicators, which are projected to grow for the third month in a row.