A recent Wall Street Journal article pointed out the strength of U.S. manufacturing when it comes to--get ready for the technical jargon--“big stuff.” By that the Journal reporter meant mining equipment and heavy machinery.
Economist Chris Kuehl pointed out this fact in a recent edition of Fabrinonics, an e-newsletter from the Fabricators & Manufacturers Association Intl. Both Kuehl and the Journal article brought up the benefits of “clusters,” a group of like companies in highly collaborative supply chains. Taiwan has it for semiconductors. We’ve got it for extremely heavy equipment, like mining trucks.
