Publisher's Synopsis
Innovation is central to continued American opportunity and prosperity - raising our standard of living and launching new industries. American manufacturing, which contributes the vast majority of U.S. private sector research and development, is central to American innovation, both to discoveries being made today and our ability to drive productivity growth and discover new technologies in the future. From 2000 to 2010, U.S. manufacturing production and investment in new capacity stagnated, resulting in the offshoring and shuttering of thousands of American factories and the loss of millions of jobs, raising doubts about the future of manufacturing's contribution to American innovation. Since the end of the recession, U.S. manufacturing is once again on the upswing, buoyed by the United States' growing competitiveness for manufacturing jobs and investment. With this strengthening of U.S. manufacturing has come a fundamental strengthening of America's innovation enterprise. At the same time, emerging manufacturing technologies are introducing a new source of advantage for U.S. manufacturing, spurring entrepreneurship in U.S. manufacturing by re-connecting our historical leadership in invention and innovation with our growing competitiveness in production.
