Machinery Manufacturing

Significant Points

- High productivity growth is expected to cause employment to decline, but many openings will result from the need to replace workers who retire.
- Production workers, who account for over half of all jobs in the industry, increasingly need training beyond high school.
- Machinery manufacturing has some of the most highly skilled-and highly paid-production jobs in manufacturing.
- Job prospects should be good for high school graduates with strong communication, basic math, and problem solving skills who can be trained for highly skilled production jobs.

Nature of the Work

The development and implementation of machinery was responsible for one of the great advances in human history, the industrial revolution. Machinery encompasses a vast range of products, ranging from huge industrial turbines costing millions of dollars to the common lawn mower, but all machinery has one common defining feature: it either reduces or eliminates the amount of human work required to accomplish a task. Machinery is critical to the production of much of the Nation's goods and services because nearly every workplace in every industry uses some form of machinery. From the oil derrick that pumps out oil to the commercial refrigerator in use by your favorite restaurant, machinery is necessary for the way we live today. Thus while people never use or even see most of the machinery that makes their lifestyles possible, they use the products it makes every day.

Goods and services. Most machinery is made of metal, which gives the end product strength and durability, but which necessitates specialized procedures in production. Each part needs to be designed to exacting specifications to ensure proper function of the finished product. Techniques such as forging, stamping, bending, forming, and machining are used to create each piece of metal, thousands of which then need to be welded or assembled together in the largest machines. At each stage of production and assembly, extensive testing takes place to maintain quality control standards. Due to the great variety of machinery produced by this industry, firms specialize in designing and producing certain types of equipment for specific applications.

Industry organization. The machinery manufacturing industry is comprised of seven more detailed industry segments, as shown in table 1. Three of these make machinery designed for a particular industry-called special purpose machinery: agriculture, construction, and mining machinery manufacturing; industrial machinery manufacturing; and commercial and service machinery manufacturing. The other four segments make machinery used by many different industries-called general purpose machinery: ventilation, heating, air-conditioning, and commercial refrigeration equipment manufacturing; metalworking machinery manufacturing; engine, turbine, and power transmission equipment manufacturing; and other general purpose machinery manufacturing.

The metalworking machinery industry segment makes machinery that forms metal in its molten state and that cuts or shapes metal as a solid. Although the growth in the use of plastics has reduced the prevalence of metals, a wide variety of products have some metal parts, all of which have to be precisely formed from raw metal. The same properties that make metal a desirable component-strength and durability-also make it a difficult material to form. The specialized drills, grinders, molds, presses, and rollers needed to form metal, as well as the accessories used by these machines, are made in this industry. Metalworking machinery manufacturing has a disproportionately large share of the establishments that make up the machinery manufacturing industry because many are small, averaging fewer than 20 workers.

The agriculture, construction, and mining machinery manufacturing industry segment is made up of much larger establishments that produce both large, sophisticated machines and common household equipment. Examples include farm combines, large self-propelled machines that harvest and thresh grains; bulldozers and backhoes, used in construction of roads and buildings; grinders and borers, used for both surface and underground mining; and oil and gas field drilling machinery and derricks, used for extracting these resources. This segment also makes lawnmowers, leaf blowers, and other lawn and garden equipment for residential and commercial use.

The ventilation, heating, air-conditioning, and commercial refrigeration equipment manufacturing industry segment makes climate-control machinery for residential and commercial buildings. In addition to heating and cooling equipment, this industry makes air purification equipment, which is increasingly common in new construction, and commercial refrigeration equipment, which is used primarily for food storage.

The commercial and service machinery manufacturing industry segment produces the machinery that is used by firms that provide services. For example, firms in this segment produce commercial versions of household appliances-such as laundry equipment used in laundromats, coffee makers and microwave ovens used by restaurants, and vacuum cleaners used by cleaning services. Other large components of this industry are manufacturers of automatic vending machines, non-electronic office machinery like typewriters and mail sorters, non-digital cameras, photocopiers, and machinery used to make optical lenses.

The industrial machinery manufacturing industry segment makes machinery used to produce finished goods from raw materials. The materials processed by this segment's machinery include wood, plastics, rubber, paper, textiles, food, glass, and oil. Machinery manufactured in this segment also is used in printing and bookbinding and in making semiconductors and circuit boards.

The engine, turbine, and power transmission equipment manufacturing segment includes a variety of machines that transfer one type of work into another. Turbines use the energy from the motion of steam, gas, water, or wind to create mechanical power by turning a drive shaft. Along with gears, speed changers, clutches, drive chains, and pulleys-all also made in this segment-turbines put assembly lines and other industrial machinery in motion. Attached to a generator, turbines also create electrical power. This industry segment also produces diesel and other internal combustion engines and their components that are used to power portable generators, air compressors, pumps and other equipment. Aircraft and motor vehicle engines are made by the aerospace product and parts manufacturing and motor vehicle and parts manufacturing industries, respectively, which appear elsewhere in the Guide.

The last segment-other general purpose machinery manufacturing-produces miscellaneous machines used primarily by manufacturing industries. These include pumps, compressors, welding and soldering equipment, and packaging machinery. This segment also makes a variety of materials handling equipment-such as industrial trucks and tractors, overhead cranes and hoists, conveyors, and many types of hydraulic equipment-used in manufacturing and other industries. Other common machinery produced by this segment includes scales and balances, power-driven handtools, and elevators, escalators, and moving walkways.

The machinery manufacturing industry also includes companies that make parts for larger manufacturers. Some of these parts manufacturers specialize in creating items that require particular skill to make and they sell them to a wide variety of other manufacturers. Companies contract with these parts manufacturers because doing so is often cheaper than if they made the parts themselves. Cost is a primary selling point for these parts manufacturers and many of their parts are generally small and easy to transport, so these companies are particularly threatened by foreign competition.

The wide range of products made in the machinery manufacturing industry means that it includes establishments of all sizes. In general, however, the larger and more complicated the machinery is, the larger the manufacturing facility must be to produce it. Thus, large establishments tend to be a characteristic of the agriculture, construction, and mining machinery and the ventilation, heating, air-conditioning, and commercial refrigeration equipment segments, while the metalworking machinery segment has the smallest ones.

The size of an establishment also contributes to how some machinery is produced. Large firms involved in manufacturing machinery tend to have a multistage production process, with separate teams of individuals responsible for design and testing, manufacture of parts, and for assembly of the finished product. Nonetheless, there is considerable interaction between the various types of workers; for example, design offices are often located near the factory floor to promote interaction with production workers. Small establishments, in contrast, may have a handful of workers responsible for the entire production process.

Recent developments. The machinery manufacturing industry, like all U.S. manufacturers, continues to evolve. Domestic and foreign competition has required the industry to adopt new technologies and techniques to lower costs and raise the productivity of its workforce. For example, using high-technology production techniques, including robots, computers, and programmable equipment results in productivity gains and helps to maximize the use of available equipment and workers. Increasing technology and automation also reduces the number of unskilled workers needed in the production process.

Pressures to reduce costs and maximize profits have also caused manufacturers in the industry to adopt new business practices. One example is the practice of contracting out support functions, such as janitorial and security jobs, and increasingly some administrative services and warehouse and shipping jobs. Rather than employ workers directly for these jobs, a manufacturer will often contract with another company that specializes in providing these services. This practice reduces costs by forcing service providers to compete for the work, allows manufacturers to focus on their core design and production activities, and increases manufacturers' flexibility by letting them add and subtract contract workers more easily than they could hire and fire employees.

These changes have had a profound effect on the machinery manufacturing workforce. By automating many of the production processes and outsourcing many of the administrative and support functions, it has reduced the need for many less skilled workers and increased the skill level required for the remaining workers. These changes are allowing the industry to remain competitive and meet the demand for machinery that other industries rely on.

Training, Other Qualifications, and Advancement

The composition of employment in machinery manufacturing continues to evolve as automation of labor-intensive tasks raises the skill level required of production workers. Nearly all jobs now require that entry-level workers have at least a high school diploma. Employers also seek people who have good communication and problem solving skills, since new manufacturing processes, such as lean manufacturing, require workers to be able to perform many different tasks depending on where they are most needed. Strong basic mathematical skills are also essential.

Production occupations. Skilled production workers, such as tool and die makers and machinists, usually must have previous experience or must have completed a training program at a local college. Some companies also train workers entering the field in apprenticeship programs that can last between 1 and 5 years, depending on the specialty. These programs combine on-the-job training with classroom instruction, either within the company or at local technical schools. Apprenticeship topics include mechanical drawing, tool designing, programming of computer-controlled machines, blueprint reading, mathematics, hydraulics, and electronics. Workers also learn about company policies on quality control, safety, and communications.

Experienced workers may advance into higher skilled positions within their field or into supervisory positions. Because advancement is based on experience and merit, even those workers who enter in low skilled positions can advance to significantly higher skilled jobs by working to improve their skills.

Management and professional occupations. Management and professional occupations generally require workers who have a bachelor's degree in the particular field, although some management positions are filled by experienced production workers. Most engineer jobs in the industry require that workers have a degree in mechanical or electrical engineering or one of their specialties. Because engineers usually are familiar with both design and production issues within a company, they may be able to advance into the upper management positions.

Employment

The machinery manufacturing industry provided 1.2 million wage and salary jobs in 2006. Employment was relatively evenly distributed among all segments of the industry (table 1). There were about 31,000 establishments in the industry; about half employed fewer than 10 workers (chart 1). However, 39 percent of workers were employed in establishments of 250 workers or more.

Although machinery manufacturing jobs are located throughout the country, certain States account for the greatest numbers of jobs. About a third of all jobs were located in the Midwestern States of Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, and Wisconsin. Populous states such as California, Texas, New York, and Pennsylvania also had large numbers of jobs.

Job Outlook

For more information, please consult the Occupational Outlook Handbook

Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, Occupational Outlook Handbook, 2008-09 Edition, Chemists and Materials Scientists, on the Internet at http://www.bls.gov/oco/ocos049.htm