A recent article overviews somewhat futuristic manufacturing methodologies referred to as:

• 'additive manufacturing', which uses three dimensional print electronics to manufacture products; and,

• molecular manufacturing.

The article also says:

"these advances play well into America's ability to innovate, demolish old industries, and continually reinvent itself. The Chinese are still busy copying technologies we built over the past few decades. They haven't cracked the nut on how to innovate yet".

To me, the latter part of that statement is as 'American as apple pie', as if American's were the first to ever make pies from apples. I consider it nonsense to think that the Chinese are unable to innovate.

The first part of the statement fails to consider what I think of a very important point, and one that I have mentioned frequently in these Newsletters, being that:

" advances in manufacturing technology inevitably results in new technology replacing manufacturing workers. That is good for cost in the first instance, but bad for employment rates in the second " .

That said, the comments on how manufacturing might be influenced by new developments is interesting. You might consider reading the referenced article.

Topical Reference: The Future of Manufacturing is in America, Not China, from Foreign Policy, July 17, 2012 - reading time 3 minutes.