If You Build It …

More than three-quarters (76%) of registered voters want to know how 2020 presidential candidates plan to support and grow manufacturing in the United States, according to a new national poll from the Association of Equipment Manufacturers (AEM) conducted by Morning Consult.

That’s a pretty big number and an important one. It is all the more important since in 2020, aggregates-industry manufacturers will play such a prominent role in this industry.

This year is both a ConExpo-Con/Agg and MINExpo year. The last time these two huge trade shows happened in the same year was 2008. Aggregates-industry manufacturers will be front and center throughout the year and I hope you plan to engage with them.

Ninety-one percent of surveyed voters said that manufacturing is critical or important to the economy, while 92% said it is critical or important to the job market. One in five voters ranked manufacturing as the number one sector to focus on, third only behind agriculture and health and social care. Democratic and Republican voters both agree that manufacturing is critical to keeping communities across the country strong and prosperous.

Seven in 10 voters are more likely to support candidates running for office if they support efforts to bolster the economy of rural America and prepare students for careers in manufacturing.

The national poll included an oversampling of registered voters in manufacturing-heavy Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin. The equipment manufacturing industry supports more than 560,000 jobs in the four swing states that President Obama won in 2012 and President Trump carried in 2016.

To keep manufacturing front and center in 2020, AEM is launching a series of initiatives to educate and engage the men and women of the industry in the political process, including a three-month “Manufacturing Express” tour of 20 states that will highlight the importance of equipment manufacturing to communities across the country, connect manufacturing voters with elected officials and candidates, and promote civic engagement.

I applaud the efforts of AEM to keep the key issue of manufacturing on the forefront of economic and election-focused efforts. We’ll hear a lot this year about what politicians are going to do for us. I want to hear more about what manufacturers are already doing for us.

Mark S. Kuhar, editor

[email protected]

(330) 722‐4081

Twitter: @editormarkkuhar

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