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by Robert Malone, Contributing Editor   | Abstract: | Regardless of where goods are made, manufacturers' success depends on delivering the goods, and that suggests a structurally sound infrastructure. |
A series of extremely poor ratings for the U.S. infrastructure will have dire consequences for manufacturing without significant planning and investment. What we have concentrated on, as a nation, are the many good reasons to outsource and to globalize our manufacturing, along with pressing for tighter control over parts and products. It is hard to argue against these efforts. However, this ignores the nature of our infrastructure and its impact on domestic manufacturing and the supply to and from abroad. Manufactured goods need to get where they are intended to go. The act of manufacturing remains academic, regardless of its place of origin, if distribution is either not available or badly retarded by a crumbling infrastructure. The American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) gave the U.S. infrastructure a grade of D in 2001 after the attacks of Sept. 11. It was a dreadful report that showed that the nation was not in good shape for normal operations, much less dramatic disasters. The Hurricane Katrina disaster in New Orleans in 2005 should have underscored the need to take care of our infrastructure. But the U.S. infrastructure earned an even worse grade — D minus — in 2005. And the major bridge collapse in Minneapolis this year again pointed up the need for a major investment in infrastructure. Twenty-seven percent of our nearly 600,000 bridges are structurally deficient or obsolete. This means that every state in America has bridges ready to fail like the Minneapolis Interstate 35W span. Wake up, Department of Transportation. The Minneapolis span, built in 1967, is not an isolated design; it is a 458-ft. steel, arched span over the Mississippi River. There are 756 similar bridges in the United States. [Click to continue] |