On United States factory floors, foreign robots are out-muscling and outthinking native robots. Daniel Michaels in The Wall Street Journal cites the example of Vickers Engineering, a Michigan-based machining company that supplies precision parts to American, Canadian, and Mexican customers. According to chief executive Matt Tyler, the company’s staff has risen fivefold and average pay has doubled over the past decade.
What’s the problem with this made-in-America success story? Writes Michaels, “When Vickers first bought industrial robots in 2006, it chose between only European and Japanese models, says Mr. Tyler, and has been adding Japanese robots ever since. ‘We were not aware of any American-made option.’”
Adds Michaels, “America is losing the battle to supply the kind of cutting-edge production machinery that is powering the new automated factory floor, from digital machine tools to complex packaging systems and robotic arms.”
Michaels cites Commerce Department data showing that last year the United States ran a $4.1 billion trade deficit in “flexible manufacturing” goods vs. Japan, the European Union, and Switzerland—double the 2003 deficit. Adds Michaels, “It was down from $7 billion in 2001, but much of the decline came from foreign equipment suppliers expanding in the U.S., not from an American comeback.”
Continues Michaels, “The trade gap presents a conundrum for President Donald Trump, who wants the U.S. to manufacture more and import less.” But to manufacture more, U.S. companies find themselves having to import equipment from foreign advanced robotics suppliers. He adds that last year the Defense Department proposed steps to “help Rosie the Riveter become the Digital Native she is destined to become.”
Michaels notes that the United States dominated advanced manufacturing through the 1970s, but during a slump in the 1980s, seven of ten U.S. machine-tool suppliers closed. Further, he quotes Alex West, manufacturing-technology analyst at IHS Markit, as saying, “In the U.S. there’s been a brain-drain in manufacturing technology.”
DMG Mori, maker of the Fanuc robots Vickers uses, has opened a California plant. Michaels quotes Tyler as saying the U.S. facility simplifies conversations about innovations. Tyler is also pleased about a new $12 million building at Lake Michigan College—driven by the 2014 Revitalize American Innovation Act.
Some companies are addressing the shortfall of U.S. advanced manufacturing companies by buying them from abroad. Michaels notes that Teradyne in 2015 bought Denmark’s Universal Robots A/S cobot (collaborative robot) producer. He concludes by quoting Teradyne CEO Mark Jagiela as saying, “It’s unfortunate the U.S. hasn’t participated in developing industrial automation. But the U.S. will benefit from it.”
