The U.S. is expected to take over China’s top position as the most competitive manufacturing nation worldwide by 2020, according to Deloitte Global and the U.S. Council on Competitiveness.
Currently, the U.S. sits in second place behind China according to the ranking from the 2016 Global Manufacturing Competitiveness Index report. The rankings are based on survey responses from more than 500 manufacturing company CEOs and senior leaders globally.
A previous Deloitte study shows the investment the U.S. has made in research, technology and innovation, which could play a major role in the country taking the top spot on the competitive scale. The report, which also identified manufacturing’s top drivers of competitiveness, listed talent as the top driver, immediately followed by cost of wages and materials and productivity of the workforce.
“Manufacturing competitiveness, increasingly propelled by advanced technologies, is converging the digital and physical worlds, within and beyond the factory to both customers and suppliers, creating a highly responsive, innovative, and competitive global manufacturing landscape,” says Craig Giffi, a leader in Deloitte U.S. Consumer & Industrial Products Industry group and co-author of the report.
The index predicts the top 11 countries will see some ranking changes but will stay consistent overall. Following the U.S. and China respectively are forecast to be Germany, Japan and India.
