U.S. manufacturing slowdown: 4 cities at most risk

Last year was a good one for cities with manufacturing operations. Now those that gained the most stand to lose out as global demand for American-made goods slows down.

Made in America
Made in America

U.S. manufacturing has been one of the rare bright spots in an otherwise annoyingly slow economic recovery. Factories coming off the Great Recession replenished inventory and responded to strong demand from abroad.

Metropolitan areas averaged 2.5% GDP growth last year, but those with large durable goods manufacturing industries grew faster, according to the U.S. Commerce Department.

But expectations of slower growth could threaten the rebound and cities that have gained from it. The ongoing European debt crisis and efforts to curb worries over inflation in China have analysts predicting lower demand for everything from American-made electronics to machinery.

U.S. manufacturing grew 6% during the economic recovery after declining 13% following the financial crisis in 2007. IHS Global Insight economist Tom Runiewicz says the industry has grown 4.5% so far this year. While that's still robust growth, he expects manufacturing growth to slow to 2.9% next year.

Here are 4 cities that benefited strongly from the rise in manufacturing and may also stand to lose the most from its slowdown.


Last updated September 26 2011: 11:49 AM ET
Join the Conversation

Emerging markets have been caught in the global contagion sparked by the European debt crisis. But these economies still have something most others don't: Growth in local demand for goods and services.

Most Popular
 
 
 
 
 

Most stock quote data provided by BATS. Market indices are shown in real time, except for the DJIA, which is delayed by two minutes. All times are ET. Disclaimer. Morningstar: © 2018 Morningstar, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Factset: FactSet Research Systems Inc. 2018. All rights reserved. Chicago Mercantile Association: Certain market data is the property of Chicago Mercantile Exchange Inc. and its licensors. All rights reserved. Dow Jones: The Dow Jones branded indices are proprietary to and are calculated, distributed and marketed by DJI Opco, a subsidiary of S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC and have been licensed for use to S&P Opco, LLC and CNN. Standard & Poor's and S&P are registered trademarks of Standard & Poor's Financial Services LLC and Dow Jones is a registered trademark of Dow Jones Trademark Holdings LLC. All content of the Dow Jones branded indices © S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC 2018 and/or its affiliates.