Think Manufacturing
When asked why he devoted so much time and energy on agriculturerelated issues in Congress, former U.S. Senator Rudy Boschwitz used to say, “When ag hums, all of Minnesota hums.”
Agriculture, he knew, is far more than just farmers working fields or tending herds. Its reach extends from implement dealerships to creameries to processing plants to stores—with many layers in between, touching sectors that range from transportation to banking.
We could all benefit from a similar view of manufacturing. Ask someone to define “manufacturing,” and the reply will involve a variation on this theme: a well-oiled assembly line producing pallets of identical widgets on their way to other plants where they will become parts of bigger, more complex widgets. That’s true as far is it goes, but manufacturing is more evolved and pervasive than that. Its reach extends from foundries to injection moldings to medical devices. Its geography includes cities, suburbs, and small towns. Its technologies are highly advanced and encompass everything from nanotechnology to biosciences.
Minnesota is home to 8,067 manufacturing firms, more than 90 percent of which employ 100 or fewer workers. Those companies sustain the state. Consider these statistics from the National Association of Manufacturers and the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development (DEED):
- Manufacturing produces $30.7 billion worth of manufactured goods for Minnesota’s economy.
- Manufactured exports brought in more than $13.8 billion to Minnesota’s economy in 2005. That means that 93 percent of Minnesota exports are manufactured goods (compared to about 63 percent of U.S. exports).
- For every manufacturing job, there are two more related to manufacturing. DEED estimates the industry has contributed about 903,000 jobs (of which 556,000 were not in manufacturing) and more than $94 billion (or 40 percent) to the gross state product. These are plentiful and high-paying jobs. Consider:
- Nearly one in every seven jobs in Minnesota is manufacturing related.
- Manufacturing has the largest payroll of any business sector in the state; 18.2 percent of the overall wages paid are in the manufacturing industry.
- The average annual wage per manufacturing employee is $48,915—a good 20 percent more than other private sector employees.
In short, we all need to think more broadly about manufacturing and more comprehensively in how we treat it. To frame my own Boschwitz-ism: When manufacturing hums, Minnesotans can all hear the roar of a job-creating machine.
Bob Kill
Interim President
Minnesota Technology, Inc.