Made In America: Arkansas Metro Areas Growing Manufacturing Bases

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ARKANSAS METRO AREAS GROW MANUFACTURING BASE IN PAST YEAR
Little Rock, Fort Smith and Fayetteville all saw positive gains in a recent national report highlighting the metropolitan areas across the U.S. with the fastest growing manufacturing bases.

According to data compiled by Austin, Texas-based Headlight LLC, a data information firm, Detroit experienced the highest manufacturing job growth in the nation with 17,800 jobs created. Of the 322 metropolitan areas across the U.S., 212 of them grew their manufacturing employment bases over the past year.

In Arkansas, Little Rock ranked 76th among the 322 metro areas, adding 600 jobs to its manufacturing base between 2014 and 2015, up 3.1% to a total of 20,200 positions.

Fort Smith and Fayetteville tied at 119th with both adding a total of 300 blue collar workers in the past year. Fort Smith jumped 1.7% from 17,800 to 18,100, while Fayetteville’s manufacturing base grew 1.1% to 27,300.

To view the report, compiled from U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data, click here.

LOCKHEED MARTIN RIVALS READY TO COMPETE FOR JLTV PROJECT DESPITE ARKANSAS EFFORTS
Although Lockheed Martin has now gained an $87 million financing package from the state of Arkansas, a Washington, D.C.-based defense budget expert said there is no reason to believe that the Bethesda, Md.-based defense contractor has an advantage over rivals in the high-stakes Joint Light Tactical Vehicle acquisition for 55,000 new tactical ground vehicles for the nation’s military.

Read more of this TB&P analysis of how Lockheeed’s two competitors – Oshkosh and AM General – have positioned themselves for the multi-billion defense contract.

AMS SPONSORS LUNCH & LEARN FOR ISO 9001
On Tuesday, June 2, Arkansas Manufacturing Solutions will host a “lunch and learn” at the Wyndham Hotel in North Little Rock. The meet-up will look at changes to ISO 9001, a quality measurement standard that manufacturers adhere to in order to ensure high-level production processes. The event is free and lunch is included, but you have to register in advance. Here’s the connection to sign up.

NEW REPORT NOTES RENAISSANCE IN U.S. MANUFACTURING
The Manufacturing Engineering website released a special report last week entitled “Inside America’s Bold Plan to Revive Manufacturing,” which takes a look at the recent resurgence in the U.S. manufacturing sector.

It notes: “Since the end of the Great Recession, much of the public’s attention on America’s manufacturing renaissance has centered on the return of a significant, but relatively small, number of manufacturing jobs. More than 5.7 million manufacturing jobs were lost between 2000 and 2011, as more than 65,000 U.S. manufacturing establishments closed their doors, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

“Since then, more than 660,000 direct manufacturing jobs, or 11.5% of those lost, have been added back, bringing manufacturing employment to a total of 12.2 million.”

The report notes that while job figures are one indicator of manufacturing’s health as a sector, the Obama administration, along with a growing coalition of leaders, has been working diligently to repair an often overlooked cause of America’s decline in manufacturing – its waning competition in manufacturing technologies.

The result is the new National Network for Manufacturing Innovation, or NNMI. The total current and proposed investment in this effort, according to a review of the proposed 2016 federal budget, now surpasses $2 billion.

To view the 16-page report, click here.