{"114111":{"#nid":"114111","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Conference Examines the State of U.S. Manufacturing Competitiveness","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EWhile \u0022Made in the USA\u0022 is\na slogan that\u0027s harder to find today than in years past, it would be wrong to\nassume that U.S.-based manufacturing is headed toward extinction. \u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\n\n\u003Cp\u003EThat was one of the key points to\nemerge from a two-day conference titled, \u0022U.S. Manufacturing\nCompetitiveness Initiative: Dialog on Next Generation Supply Networks and\nLogistics.\u0022\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\n\n\u003Cp\u003ERepresentatives from industry,\nlabor, government, and academia gathered at the Georgia Tech Global Learning\nCenter in Atlanta on Feb. 28-29 to share ideas on ways to improve America\u0027s\nmanufacturing competitiveness from the perspective of supply networks and\nadvanced logistics.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\n\n\u003Cp\u003E\u201cOur challenge is to not only get\nback to \u2018made in America\u0027 but also \u0027invented in America,\u0022 said G.P.\n\u0022Bud\u0022 Peterson, president of Georgia Tech, in his opening remarks.\n\u201cThe same spirit of innovation and collaboration that once gave us preeminence\nin manufacturing can help us regain our competitiveness, thereby creating jobs,\nincreasing exports and serving as a catalyst for a healthy economy.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\n\n\u003Cp\u003ESeveral speakers noted that while\nU.S. manufacturing has unquestionably suffered in certain industries, the\nnation\u0027s industrial base overall remains strong and is a leading exporter in\nkey areas including aerospace, chemicals, machinery and medical equipment. In\nfact, by capitalizing on its unique strengths, America is well-positioned to\ncontinue growing its manufacturing output and exports, thereby enhancing its\nglobal competitiveness.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\n\n\u003Cp\u003EHowever, America\u0027s ability to\nproduce and export products to the global marketplace is threatened by serious\nneglect of the country\u0027s transportation infrastructure -- manufacturing\u0027s\ncritical supply chain and logistical backbone. Furthermore, manufacturing\nindustries are facing a talent drain as older workers retire and young people\nopt for careers in other fields.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\n\n\u003Cp\u003EDiscussion topics covered a breadth\nof national and regional issues ranging from efficient cargo rail systems to\njust-in-time air delivery to tax and regulatory concerns. Among the points\nraised:\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\n\n\u003Cp\u003E\u2022 Manufacturing accounts for 11\npercent of U.S. GDP. In dollar terms, the U.S. manufacturing sector is larger\nthan the entire GDP of Canada, India or Brazil.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\n\n\u003Cp\u003E\u2022 Public perception of factories as\ndirty, low-wage, unsafe workplaces are outdated. Today\u0027s manufacturing plants\ntypically require the skilled operation of complex machinery. \u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\n\n\u003Cp\u003E\u2022 The trend toward outsourcing\nmanufacturing is beginning to show signs of a reversal as rising transportation\ncosts and rising wages overseas are making it more cost effective to locate\nfactories closer to their markets.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\n\n\u003Cp\u003E\u2022 The U.S. transportation\ninfrastructure has stopped growing and faces a critical period of reinvestment.\nBasic but necessary improvements and repairs to the nation\u0027s highways and\nbridges will cost hundreds of millions of dollars \u2014 but further delay will only\nraise the cost.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\n\n\u003Cp\u003E\u2022 Savannah, the nation\u0027s\nfourth-busiest port, is also the shallowest. Dredging the harbor will provide\naccess for the new generation of ultra-large Panamex container ships, and\nelevate Georgia\u0027s global competitiveness as an import and export center.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\n\n\u003Cp\u003E\u2022 Intermodal freight rail expansion\nis a cost-efficient way to ease highway congestion and create capacity to\nimprove supply chain efficiency.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\n\n\u003Cp\u003E\u2022 Development of a long-range,\ncomprehensive national manufacturing strategy and an energy strategy are\nessential ingredients for ensuring economic competitiveness.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\n\n\u003Cp\u003E\u2022 The tax and regulatory structure\nmust be simplified and streamlined.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\n\n\u003Cp\u003EIn his welcoming comments,\nconference chair Chelsea C. \u201cChip\u201d White III, Schneider National Chair in\nTransportation and Logistics at Georgia Tech said, \u201cWe are delighted to be\npartnering with the Council on Competitiveness to address how the supply chain\nand logistics industry can help to provide competitive advantage for U.S.\nmanufacturing and in so doing help to strengthen the U.S. economy.\u0022 \u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\n\n\u003Cp\u003EAmong the conference speakers were:\nJack McDougle, senior vice president, U.S. Council on Competitiveness; Thomas\nMayor, senior executive advisor, Booz \u0026amp; Co.; Helmuth Ludwig, CEO, Siemens\nIndustry Sector, North America; Doug Stotlar, President and CEO, Con-Way; Deb\nH. Butler, executive vice president of planing and chief information officer,\nNorfolk Southern; Chris Lofgren, president and CEO, Schneider National; Ray\nReulbach, vice president, UPS customer solutions; Curtis J. Foltz, executive\ndirector, Georgia Ports Authority; Warren Jones, aviation development manager,\nHartsfield-Jackson International Airport; Paul Yarossi, president, HNTB;\u0026nbsp; Chris Cummiskey, commissioner, Georgia\nDepartment of Economic Development; and Chris Gaffney, senior vice president,\nCoca-Cola Refreshments.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\n\n\u003Cp\u003EAdditional participants and\npanelists included: Hal Long, executive vice president-operations, Shaw\nIndustries; William L. Strang, senior vice president of operations, TOTO; Bob\nRoberts, vice president, Jones Lang LaSalle Americas; Michael D. Meyer,\nprofessor and director of the Georgia Tech National University Transportation\nCenter; Jane Ammons, Chair of the School of Industrial \u0026amp; Systems Engineering;\nLeon McGinnis, professor emeritus and associate director of the Manufacturing\nResearch Center, Georgia Tech; Ron Jackson, commissioner, Technical College\nSystem of Georgia; and Edward M. Rogers, global strategy manager, UPS.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\n\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0022Dialogue on Next Generation Supply\nNetworks and Logistics\u0022 was sponsored by Georgia Tech and the U.S. Council\non Competitiveness. The Council is a non-partisan, non-governmental\norganization composed of CEOs, university presidents and labor leaders. The\nAtlanta event was the 13th in a series of conferences held around the country\naddressing various aspects of manufacturing competitiveness. Georgia Tech\u0027s\nhost role in the conference was coordinated by the H. Milton Stewart School of\nIndustrial and Systems Engineering.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003E\n\nA joint Georgia Tech-Council\non Competitiveness Report will detail the forum\u0027s findings, and it will\ncontribute to the Council\u0027s National Manufacturing Strategy.\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003ERepresentatives from industry,\nlabor, government, and academia gathered\u0026nbsp; on Feb. 28-29 for the U.S. Manufacturing\nCompetitiveness Initiative: Dialog on Next Generation Supply Networks and\nLogistics.\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":"","uid":"27511","created_gmt":"2012-03-05 12:55:40","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:11:48","author":"Ashley Daniel","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2012-03-05T00:00:00-05:00","iso_date":"2012-03-05T00:00:00-05:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"114121":{"id":"114121","type":"image","title":"Representatives from industry, labor, government, and academia gathered at the Georgia Tech Global Learning Center for the U.S. Manufacturing Competitiveness Initiative.","body":null,"created":"1449178226","gmt_created":"2015-12-03 21:30:26","changed":"1475894733","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:45:33","alt":"Representatives from industry, labor, government, and academia gathered at the Georgia Tech Global Learning Center for the U.S. Manufacturing Competitiveness Initiative.","file":{"fid":"194201","name":"group.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/group_2.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/group_2.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":2276709,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/group_2.jpg?itok=9KLhafI9"}},"114131":{"id":"114131","type":"image","title":"ISyE Professor Chip White, Forum Chair, (pictured) and G.P. \u201cBud\u201d Peterson, President of Georgia Tech, welcomed the group to the event.","body":null,"created":"1449178226","gmt_created":"2015-12-03 21:30:26","changed":"1475894733","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:45:33","alt":"ISyE Professor Chip White, Forum Chair, (pictured) and G.P. \u201cBud\u201d Peterson, President of Georgia Tech, welcomed the group to the event.","file":{"fid":"194202","name":"chip_white.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/chip_white_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/chip_white_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":2313065,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/chip_white_0.jpg?itok=VAIsjwZx"}},"114141":{"id":"114141","type":"image","title":"A panel of corporate executives engaged in dialogue on Achieving Manufacturing Competitiveness with Integrated Supply Chain Networks and Systems.","body":null,"created":"1449178226","gmt_created":"2015-12-03 21:30:26","changed":"1475894733","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:45:33","alt":"A panel of corporate executives engaged in dialogue on Achieving Manufacturing Competitiveness with Integrated Supply Chain Networks and Systems.","file":{"fid":"194203","name":"12c3024-p1-033.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/12c3024-p1-033_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/12c3024-p1-033_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":2687022,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/12c3024-p1-033_0.jpg?itok=_Whjjq3S"}},"114161":{"id":"114161","type":"image","title":"Chris Lofgren, President and Chief Executive Officer of Schneider National, Inc., made his presentation titled \u201cNavigating the Capacity Crunch\u201d on day two of the event.","body":null,"created":"1449178226","gmt_created":"2015-12-03 21:30:26","changed":"1475894733","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:45:33","alt":"Chris Lofgren, President and Chief Executive Officer of Schneider National, Inc., made his presentation titled \u201cNavigating the Capacity Crunch\u201d on day two of the event.","file":{"fid":"194204","name":"12c3024-p1-058.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/12c3024-p1-058_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/12c3024-p1-058_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":2649563,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/12c3024-p1-058_0.jpg?itok=utYKcvii"}}},"media_ids":["114121","114131","114141","114161"],"groups":[{"id":"1242","name":"School of Industrial and Systems Engineering (ISYE)"}],"categories":[{"id":"132","name":"Institute Leadership"}],"keywords":[{"id":"109","name":"Georgia Tech"},{"id":"1202","name":"H. Milton Stewart School of Industrial and Systems Engineering"},{"id":"25891","name":"U.S. Council on Competitiveness"},{"id":"25881","name":"U.S. Manufacturing Competitiveness Initiative: Dialog on Next Generation Supply Networks and Logistics"}],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:barbara.christopher@isye.gatech.edu\u0022\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EBarbara\nChristopher\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\nIndustrial and Systems Engineering\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n\u003Cstrong\u003E404.385.3102\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":[],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}