Manufacturing in Massachusetts
Early Results from the Survey of Massachusetts Manufacturers
Don Walsh
Barry Bluestone
Alan Clayton-Matthews
Lauren Nicoll
Marc Horne
Abby Goldstein
Part I: Characteristics of
Manufacturing Firms
Demographic Information with an Emphasis on Springfield
Top Industries in Massachusetts by NAICS
Code as found by the Northeastern
Manufacturing Study
(N=706)
1. Fabricated Metal Product Manufacturing
2. Misc. Manufacturing
3. Printing and Related Support Activities
4. Plastics and Rubber Plastics Manufacturing
5. Primary Metal Manufacturing
6. Machinery Manufacturing
7. Electronic Equipment, Appliance and Component Manufacturing
8. Misc. Manufacturing Services
9. Wood Product Manufacturing
10.Food Manufacturing
20%
14.6%
11%
7.9%
7.1%
7.0%
5.1%
4.9%
4.1%
4.0%
Question: Which industry sectors best describe your company’s operations in
Massachusetts?
Industries in Springfield, MA
Respondents to the Massachusetts
Manufacturing Survey
•Plastics and Rubber
Manufacturing
•Fabricated Metal Product
Manufacturing
•Misc. Manufacturing Services
•Machinery Manufacturing
•Misc. Manufacturing
•Paper Manufacturing
•Primary Metal Manufacturing
All Springfield Firms
•Printing
•Fabricated Metal Products
•Computers and Electronic Products
•Misc. Manufacturing
•Furniture
•Transportation Equipment
•Food
•Apparel
•Paper Manufacturing
•Chemicals
•Primary Metals
•Nonmetallic Mineral Products
•Wood Products
•Electronic Equipment
•Plastics and Rubber
•Beverage and Tobacco
•Textile Products
•Petroleum and Coal Products
Top Cities for Manufacturing in
MA, All Cities Sampled
1. Boston – 532
firms
2. Worcester – 271
3. Woburn – 207
4. Springfield – 153
5. Waltham – 138
6. Attleboro – 134
7. Billerica – 130
8. Lowell – 129
9. Fall River – 119
10.New Bedford - 114
Number of Years Manufacturers
Have Operated in MA
6%
12%
19%
18%
1-10 years
11-20 years
21-50 years
51-100 years
101+ years
45%
Question: How long has your company had operations in Massachusetts?
Number of Years Springfield
Manufacturers Have Operated in MA
17%
8%
42%
33%
N=12
1-10 years
11-20 years
21-50 years
51-100 years
101+ years
Ownership Structure of
Manufacturers in MA
80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
Massachusetts
Springfield
Private
family
owneroperated
Private
investorowned
Publicly
owned
stock
corporation
Other
Size of the Manufacturing Industry in
Massachusetts: Number of Employees
10%
4%
31%
11%
24%
20%
0-9
10-19
20-49
50-99
100-499
500+
Size of the Manufacturing Industry in
Springfield: Number of Employees
(N=12)
18%
46%
27%
9%
0-9
10-19
20-49
50-99
100-499
500+
Part II: Labor Force Characteristics of
Massachusetts Manufacturing Firms
Education Requirements
Percent of Firms
Level of Education/Skills Required - High School
Diploma/GED
100
80
Percent of firms
60
40
20
0
0-25%
26-50%
51-75%
76-100%
Percent of Jobs
Question: Approximately what percentage of the jobs in your Massachusetts facility(ies) requires no more than a
high school diploma/GED? A bachelor’s degree but no more? A graduate degree/formal education beyond the
bachelor’s degree? Specific advanced/technical skills (e.g., skilled craftsman)? 0-25%, 26-50%, 51-75%, 76-100%
Education Requirements
Percent of Firms
Level of Education/Skills Required - Technical
Skills
100
80
Percent of firms
60
40
20
0
0-25%
26-50%
51-75%
76-100%
Percent of Jobs
Question: Approximately what percentage of the jobs in your Massachusetts facility(ies) requires no more than a
high school diploma/GED? A bachelor’s degree but no more? A graduate degree/formal education beyond the
bachelor’s degree? Specific advanced/technical skills (e.g., skilled craftsman)? 0-25%, 26-50%, 51-75%, 76-100%
Education Requirements
Percent of Firms
Level of Education/Skills Required - BA/BS
100
80
Percent of firms
60
40
20
0
0-25%
26-50%
51-75%
76-100%
Percent of Jobs
Question: Approximately what percentage of the jobs in your Massachusetts facility(ies) requires no more than a
high school diploma/GED? A bachelor’s degree but no more? A graduate degree/formal education beyond the
bachelor’s degree? Specific advanced/technical skills (e.g., skilled craftsman)? 0-25%, 26-50%, 51-75%, 76-100%
Education Requirements
Percent of Firms
Level of Education/Skills Required - MA/PhD
100
80
Percent of firms
60
40
20
0
0-25%
26-50%
51-75%
76-100%
Percent of Jobs
Question: Approximately what percentage of the jobs in your Massachusetts facility(ies) requires no more than a
high school diploma/GED? A bachelor’s degree but no more? A graduate degree/formal education beyond the
bachelor’s degree? Specific advanced/technical skills (e.g., skilled craftsman)? 0-25%, 26-50%, 51-75%, 76-100%
Difficulty in Recruitment
5
4
3
Most common
answer of difficulty
on a 1 to 5 scale,
1=Not Difficult,
5=Extremely
Difficult
2
1
0
R&D
Skilled Exec. Mgt. Middle
Craftsmen
Mgt.
Entry
Level
Type of Labor in MA
Mean Answer for Estimated Percentage of of Labor Used in
Manufacturing Process
13.15%
50.51%
35.09%
Labor Intensive, Using
Skilled Labor
Labor Intensive Using
Unskilled Labor
Non-labor
Intensive/Automated
Wages for Manufacturing in MA
• Average Hourly
Pay for Skilled
Workers:
$20.48
• Average Hourly
Pay for
Unskilled
Workers:
$12.81
Part III: Characteristics of Production in MA
Manufacturing Firms
Lean Production Methods
16%
42%
A Great Deal
Somewhat
Not at All
42%
Question: To what extent does/do your Massachusetts facility(ies) employ continuous
improvement/lean/just-in-time production methods?
Supply Chains in MA
26.30%
Member of a Supply
Chain
Not a member of a
Supply Chain
73.70%
A “supply chain” refers to an integrated network of manufacturers who share common production standards, jointly plan work and
produce individual parts and components that are ultimately assembled into end products. Based on this definition, is your
company’s Massachusetts facility(ies) a member of one or more supply chains?
Outsourcing by MA Manufacturers
Does your company
outsource/offshore any of
its Massachusetts
manufacturing activities?
23%
Yes
No
77%
Most Important Reasons for
Outsourcing
• Need for lower cost
supplies, energy, services or
parts
• Need to cut labor costs
• Other reasons including
improving delivery time,
reducing the distance to
markets and accessing
supplies.
Massachusetts Incentive Programs
30
25
Percentage of
Businesses
Taking
Advantage of
State or Local
Incentive
Programs
20
15
10
5
0
Investment R&D Tax
Tax Credit
Credit
Workforce
Tax
Training Increment
Grant
Financing
Low
Interest
Loans
Loan
Site Finder
Equity
Guarantees Assistance Financing
Changes Experienced by MA
Manufacturers Over the Past Decade
Factor
Increased use of new technology
Mean Factor
3.00 Substitution of less skilled labor
Mean
1.87
for skilled labor
Increase in productivity
3.22
Increased customer demand for
product quality
3.57
Reduction in employment due to
improved technology
2.25
Increased customer demand for
improved service delivery
3.70
Increased off shoring
1.66
Increased customer demands for
lower prices
3.85
Increased outsourcing to other MA
firms
1.77
Shift from local to national
markets
2.65
Increased outsourcing to non-MA
firms
1.77
Shift from national to global
markets
2.42
Substitution of skilled labor for
less skilled labor
1.96
Other
3.09
Question: To what extend has/have your Massachusetts facility(ies) experienced the following
characteristics over the past decade? (1=Not at all, 5=A great deal)
Factors Important to Continued
Operations in Massachusetts
•
•
•
•
•
Reasonable or low taxes and fees
Strong work ethic in workforce
Inertia (too hard to relocate)
Reasonable cost of living
Timely permitting, licensing and regulatory
environment
• Availability of appropriate and reasonably
priced labor
Question: How important is each of the following factors to your decision to continue to operate
manufacturing facilities in Massachusetts (1=Not important at all; 5=Extremely important)
Challenges to Sustaining or Expanding Manufacturing in
Massachusetts
Factor
High Labor Costs
Mean Factor
3.88 Aggressive Unions
Mean
1.91
Cost of Construction
2.96
Cost of Supplies, Services, or Parts
3.25
Inferior Quality of Massachusetts
supplies, services, or parts
1.88
Customers are moving to other
locations
2.46
Suppliers are moving to other locations
2.04
High taxes
3.97
Zoning and building code regulations
3.16
Environmental regulations
3.18
Inadequate supply of appropriately
skilled labor force
3.15
High energy costs
3.94
Massachusetts weather and climate
2.23
Inadequate transportation or
infrastructure
1.90
Ability to import skilled foreign labor
(H1B)
1.62
Increased merger and acquisition
activities
1.68
Succession plan for
ownership/operations (private
business)
2.22
High cost of housing
3.38
High cost of health care
4.35
High cost of Worker’s compensation
4.09
Other challenge
3.93
Question: To what extent does each of the following
factors present a significant challenge to sustaining
or expanding your company’s operations in MA?
(1=Not at all, 5=A great deal)
Manufacturer Perspectives on
Policy Initiatives
Most Popular Ideas
• Reduce health insurance costs
• Reduce cost of Worker’s compensation
• Reduce cost of unemployment
insurance
• Ensure availability of lower cost energy
• Encourage business-friendly state
government
Question: Below are a number of state or local initiatives that, if implemented, could affect
business in Massachusetts. To what extent would each help your company sustain or
expand its operations in Massachusetts? (1=Not at all; 5=A great deal)
The Future of Manufacturing in
Massachusetts
Production Levels Over the
Next Five Years
5%
12%
28%
Continued
production at
current levels
Continued
production at
increased levels
Continued
production, but at
reduced levels
Cessation of
production in
Massachusetts
55%
Question: What do you expect production levels to be for your company’s Massachusetts
facility(ies) over the next five years?
The Future of Manufacturing in
Massachusetts
Employment Levels Over the
Next Five Years
6%
6%
32%
27%
Expansion by 1-10%
Expansion by more
than 11%
Maintain current
levels
Reduction by 1-10%
Reduction by more
than 11%
29%
Question: What do you expect employment levels to be for your company’s Massachusetts
facility(ies) over the next five years?
The Future of Manufacturing in
Massachusetts
• 70.4% of manufacturers in Massachusetts
expect to initiate the production of new
products over the next five years.
• 37.2% anticipate that they will need more real
estate space over the next 5 years, 53.8%
expect to use the same amount of space, and
8.9% expect to use less space.