The industrial and manufacturing sector, already care-worn with decades of ‘hollowing out’ as plants moved overseas, continued its slow spiral downward in the last year. The economic crisis that hit in fall 2008 further sapped capital expenditures across the board, and the bankruptcy of two of America’s Big Three automakers this spring contributed to the decline.
There are some bright spots, however. New starts have ramped up for polysilicon manufacturing plants as demand for photovoltaics increases and the demand for new battery technology to power hybrid vehicles has created a mini-boom in battery plants in the U. S. A recent injection of accelerated tax credits for plant and equipment for alternative-energy manufacturing, announced by the Obama administration in August, should provide even more stimulus for that sector.