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The issue of the industry’s survival has been raised by knowledgeable people from the plant floor to the floor of the U.S Congress. With the benefit of hindsight we clearly see, or more correctly don’t see the domestic basic steel industry. It’s just not there any more. Our country’s capability to produce any significant amount of basic, raw steel no longer exists. Asking why it no longer exists generates a list of culprits that includes virtually anyone who knows what basic steel production means. Greedy unions, inept shortsighted management, ignorant congressmen, subsidized foreign competitors, tragic trade policies, and unrestrained regulators all get swept-up in the dragnet when searching for causes and reasons this industry is for the most part now just empty, rusting hulks on the banks of rivers in cities like Cleveland, Aliquippa, Ambridge, and Youngstown. Could this be the future of our industry? We have exported basic steel production. We are in the process of doing the same thing to much of our basic metalworking capacity as witnessed by the situation of the die makers. The lead in electronics manufacturing long ago went overseas. Arsenal Of Democracy Following the cowardly attacks of September 11, I presented our industry as a core component of the civilized world’s “arsenal of democracy.” Our arsenal proved able to support our military efforts in Afghanistan and Iraq. Two points need to be made about each of these military actions. First, each was relatively quick. For those with no understanding of battles such as Guadalcanal or Okinawa, our most recent battles may seem to have dragged on. They didn’t. Each was astonishingly rapid, thanks in no small measure to modern equipment. Second, these actions relied for the most part on existing military equipment. There was no need to generate hundreds of tanks, aircraft or ships. Had these been required, the nation would have seen itself fail in meeting one of this country’s founding demands and reasons for a government – to “provide for the common defence.” Part of this clear Constitutional directive must be maintaining the ability to supply the military with the equipment to defend our country. Is citing the Constitution hysterical or “over the top” when presenting a case to save and support an industry? I don’t think so. If there was a need to produce massive new amounts of military hardware, could we? From where would the steel come for tanks and ships? Our historic allies? Where would we get the microchips and circuit boards for missiles or navigation systems? Our historic allies? If this country’s machining and general metalworking industries are allowed to deteriorate to the point where we are forced to rely on our “historic allies,” will we have an arsenal of democracy or just the rusting hulks of businesses that once served as a prime economic engine and bulwark of our way of life? We have recently seen the reactions of some of our “historic allies” when the call was made. Maybe it’s time for you to make a call – to your national trade associations. These groups have committed to taking the cause to Washington. Help these groups deliver the message to Congress and the regulators that if we don’t have a place to go and work in the morning, they may not either. - August 2003 |
The companies within the U.S. metalworking industry and the industry as a whole today face a challenge that is much more serious than simply meeting competitors on price.