Gap narrows for manufacturing costs

Jeff Tyler Nov 13, 2008
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Gap narrows for manufacturing costs

Jeff Tyler Nov 13, 2008
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Scott Jagow: It still costs more to make things in the U.S. than overseas. But a study out today says the gap is narrowing. Marketplace’s Jeff Tyler has more.


Jeff Tyler: The National Association of Manufacturers studied the cost of doing business in the U.S. compared to nine other countries. It shows that the U.S. manufacturing sector has kept a lid on employee benefits and health care costs more successfully than foreign competitors.

Emily DeRocco is president of The Manufacturing Institute, one of the reports sponsors. She says other costs continue to put U.S. manufacturers at a disadvantage.

Emily DeRocco: We are paying the second-highest corporate tax rate in the world.

That would be about 39 percent.

DeRocco: This corporate tax rate drives U.S. costs up, and limits our ability to be competitive with our products across the global marketplace.

DeRocco says the corporate tax rate in U.K. is 30 percent. And in China, it’s 25 percent.

I’m Jeff Tyler for Marketplace.

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