Weapon makers contend with decline in U.S. manufacturing.

• Jurisdiction: United States
• Date: 01 January 2007
• Author: Erwin, Sandra I.

Manufacturers of military hardware worry that a shortage of skilled labor in the United States is impinging on their ability to deliver high-tech equipment to the Defense Department. The situation progressively has worsened during the past five years, when nearly 3 million U.S. manufacturing jobs have vanished, experts noted.

In a recent survey of defense contractors, 70 percent of the companies cited shortages of skilled labor as an impediment in serving their customers, said John S. VanKirk, president and executive director of the National Center for Defense Manufacturing and Machining, in Latrobe, Pa.

The Defense Department established the NCDMM in 2003 to help military agencies and defense contractors improve manufacturing processes and inject new technology into production facilities.

While manufacturing jobs are down, the demand for skilled labor in the defense sector is way up, VanKirk said in an interview. "We are not filling the current demand."

The decline in U.S. manufacturing also has resulted in a...