Abstract
This article provides an objective insight into the status ofAmerican industrial viability. The transition from tonnage dependent materials industries to value added enterprises has impacted research priorities in recent years. Some surprising statistics forecast the economic contribution of the primary metals industry through the end of the century. The contrast in product life cycle phases, which is so obvious between high tech and traditional metal industries, results in widely different growth potentials, that cause discrepancies in research funding. The article also raises questions about the effect of generally prevailing attitudes toward “smokestack” industries on the lack of R&D support that may ultimately lead, to a self-fulfilling prophecy of decline.
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