As part of a special section in this issue dedicated to manufacturing, we asked leaders within that industry what they consider to be the single biggest challenge currently facing Rhode Island’s manufacturers.
John Grady, executive director of the Rhode Island Manufacturers Association, spoke for all of his colleagues with his response; "To try and make the state legislature understand that manufacturing is not a dying industry."
Too often, according to those industry leaders we queried, tax incentive programs and other government-based lures to business have been reserved for higher profile industries like financial services or hospitality.
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The result, they say, is an uneven playing field on which our manufacturers are forced to compete.
Peter Evans, of Evans Findings, Inc. in East Providence, correctly points out that legislative policy does in fact significantly impact most competitive factors. The traditional culprits continue to include health insurance, workers’ compensation, unemployment insurance, energy costs and taxes.
"All of these things, either singly, or in combination can be found less expensively in other regions…" said Evans.
Rhode Island’s manufacturing base has shrunk significantly in recent decades, but it has far from disappeared. In fact, the industry has bounced back of late and continues to play a significant role in the state’s economy.
That our manufacturing sector could once again play such a role should not surprise anyone following the U.S. economy. There is evidence nationally that manufacturers are not only surviving the recession, but also defying it.
U.S. manufacturing grew across-the-board last month. Also, the Institute for Supply Management’s factory index rose to 54.7 in February, from 49.9 in January. A reading above 50 signals expansion, and the last time the index exceeded that level was July 2000. Fourteen out of 20 industries in the survey reported growth, according to the group.
Legislative leaders should target our manufacturing sector as a vital component of any economic strategy. By improving the landscape for our manufacturers we could see the industry grow here – rather than elsewhere.
