There was a time when the U.S. stood on top of worldwide manufacturing.  If you bought a car, a radio, a TV, it was always stamped “Made in USA.”

Those days are gone, unfortunately.  And while the U.S. still manufactures a great many products, their share of the market is dwindling.

Most worrying, though, is that, while many already accept the loss of U.S. automotive production, or a dominant steel industry, for example, it’s not even safe to say that America leads the world in high-tech manufacturing any more.

A new book by Dow Chemical CEO Andrew Liveris, 'Make it in America,' says that the U.S. is fast losing its grip on the most desirable industries of the 21st Century--  “semiconductors and microprocessors for our electronics; the wind turbines and solar cells for our energy needs; the advanced batteries and state-of-the-art medical devices that will remake our future.”

Liveris deems it “stunning” how fast the U.S. is falling behind.  And as he explains, this growing gap is merely the logical progression of outsourced manufacturing.  Simply put, “Where manufacturing goes, innovation inevitably follows”:

"At a time when U.S. companies - run by patriotic people - are moving offshore at the fastest rate in history, we should, at a minimum, recognize that the model we are relying on isn't working…if we don't act soon, if we continue to let markets rule in every instance, we will become the global economy's biggest bystander.”

It’s helpful to hear a highly reputable CEO issuing a very clear warning that the U.S. must restructure its approach to manufacturing, its trade policies, its workforce training, and investment incentives, to get back in the game.  Otherwise, the consequences will be extremely troubling.