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If you could build a time machine, would you want to travel back to 1979 or 1953? For manufacturers who survived the 1970s, the last year of that difficult decade was when the total number of U.S manufacturing jobs peaked at 20 million. For industries that thrived during the “Happy Days” of the 1950s, the year 1953 was when the highest percentage of Americans (28%) worked in factories.
Today, plenty of pundits and economists are extolling America’s manufacturing revival. Reshoring is hot, and stories about Made in USA manufacturing are promising. As author Daniel Ikenson notes, however, the term “revival” implies that there was a decline. Yes, it’s true that modern-day manufacturing isn’t matching the metrics of 1979 or 1953. But did those numbers mean all that much to begin with?

Does your NYS manufacturing company ship products to Canada? Have you considered opening an office in China, or a warehouse in Mexico? Depending on your industry, maybe markets in Asia, Europe, or India are a better fit. New York manufacturers have a world of options when it comes to international trade, and the Empire State supports exports by land, sea, or air.
So where do you start, especially if your manufacturing company is a small-to-medium enterprise (SME) instead of a large corporation? In an article called “Four Steps to Making the Most of Export Opportunities,” trade expert Paul Daemen explains what you need to do. Evaluating market potential is important, but it’s only the first step in a process that requires research and analysis.

Scaling the Maker Economy through Small-Batch Manufacturing Etsy and Fuze Hub will conduct a pilot to help small designers and makers scale their production through local