NAM & Deloitte: Mfgrs. are happy with NAFTA

Manufacturing & Technology News, May 30, 2008

The majority of manufacturers in North America say that NAFTA has been good for their business, which is "contrary to popular perceptions," according to a survey conducted by the National Association of Manufacturers and Deloitte. "Only a small percent say that NAFTA has hurt them."

The "Made in America" survey revealed that the majority of manufacturing companies believe their operations in the United States are competitive globally, and that the country is still the best place to open new production capacity. "Survey respondents said the U.S. tops their list of likely places for expansion of operations, including production," say NAM and Deloitte. Forty-four percent said they would be expanding production in the United States over the next three years, followed by 37 percent in Mexico and 37 percent in China. "The U.S. also ranked number one in other areas for expansion including sales, engineering and R&D."

The biggest barrier cited by the manufacturers surveyed by NAM and Deloitte to making production more competitive in the United States was labor unions (42 percent), followed by labor costs (39 percent), government bureaucracy (38 percent), tax policy (28 percent) and the cost of raw materials (24 percent).