Thank you for posting those numbers.
This all begs the question though. If our trade figures have dramatically increased, where are the jobs? Where is the DOW 13,000? Where is the staggering GDP numbers? Why do we constantly read of our manufacturing industries laying off people and we hardly ever read of hirings?
I suspect that there is more to these numbers than meets the eye. Example, many textile products are actually made in Mexico or the Caribbean and when they come across the border some cosmetic changes are made to these products thuse allowing the manufacturer to put the lable "Made in USA" on the tag. Also, many raw materials are exported to third world nations like China or Japan, are converted into consumer products and sent to the US.
There are more to these numbers then just what you posted.
Textiles are not a durable good, and the U.S. does not determine whether a product is manufactured here according to what someone claims on a label.
We are producing almost twice as much now than we did in 1990 with fewer employees. This is the result of significant productivity gains.
Below is a table showing the amount of actual durable goods manufacturing in the US indexed so 2000 = 100. These are not final shipment numbers, but are the value added to the final shipments. Intermediate inputs are not included. I also show employment numbers which I indexed so 2000 = 100 so they can be directly compared to the value added index.
| Durable Goods Employment and Value-Added Indices | ||
| 2000 = 100 | ||
| Value Added Quantity Index | Full-Time Equivalent Employees | |
| Durable goods | Durable goods | |
| 1977 | 36.8 | 106.9 |
| 1978 | 39.3 | 113.3 |
| 1979 | 40.0 | 117.7 |
| 1980 | 38.3 | 112.2 |
| 1981 | 39.6 | 111.6 |
| 1982 | 36.0 | 101.3 |
| 1983 | 38.0 | 98.6 |
| 1984 | 44.2 | 106.1 |
| 1985 | 45.2 | 105.7 |
| 1986 | 44.7 | 103.2 |
| 1987 | 48.6 | 102.6 |
| 1988 | 53.3 | 104.9 |
| 1989 | 53.4 | 104.9 |
| 1990 | 52.4 | 102.2 |
| 1991 | 50.6 | 97.2 |
| 1992 | 52.5 | 94.6 |
| 1993 | 54.7 | 94.1 |
| 1994 | 60.1 | 96.6 |
| 1995 | 65.3 | 98.6 |
| 1996 | 69.3 | 99.6 |
| 1997 | 76.3 | 101.5 |
| 1998 | 84.4 | 100.6 |
| 1999 | 89.6 | 99.9 |
| 2000 | 100.0 | 100.0 |
| 2001 | 94.0 | 95.1 |
| 2002 | 95.3 | 87.4 |
| 2003 | 101.1 | 82.7 |
| Source: Bureau of Economic Analysis | ||
Why do we constantly read of our manufacturing industries laying off people and we hardly ever read of hirings?
Again, I refer to the above table. We are doing more with less.
Regarding the Dow - there was a 200 percent increase from 1994 - 1999 followed by a correction that bottomed out at 7,286 in 2002. Since then the Dow has risen over 40 percent. That's a 40 percent return in a little over two years.
Finally, real GDP growth was 1.9 percent in 2002, 3.0 percent in 2003, and 4.4 percent in 2004. Seems like a steady improvement to me.