Continuing increases in the diversification of Japanese manufacturing in the USA [1

Abstract

This paper reports the findings from a third series of studies of the progressive geographical and industrial dispersion of Japanese manufacturing operation in the USA. The first focused on the production of steel, automobile parts and television sets in the Midwest. The second analysed an array of West Coast plants producing semiconductors, ASICs, computers and advanced television sets. This presentation covers a further five more recently initiated Japanese operations in the South, including not only computers and semiconductors, but also automobile crankshafts, microcontrollers and air conditioner compressors. In addition to such industrial diversification, these studies have also covered successive changes in ownership arrangements, in the extent of their reliance on Japanese technologies and in their dependence on imports from Japan. Moreover, associated advances in competitiveness have increased the shares of such production not only in the USA, but also in exports to Europe, Latin America and even to Japan.