Supply Chain Cost Management: The AIM & DRIVE® Process for Achieving Extraordinary Results

Historical Perspective

1950s: The Golden Age of American Manufacturing

After World War II, apart from the United States, the rest of the world spent more than a decade rebuilding infrastructure. While the United States prided itself in being the foremost industrialized nation, Japan, West Germany, France, Great Britain, and other countries in Europe and Asia were investing in new machinery and technology. Most of their purchases were from the United States. The strong, affluent U.S. market gobbled up whatever little these countries produced for export. The 1950s were indeed the Golden Age of American heavy industry—from equipment to planes, trains, and automobiles.

1960s: The Rest of the World Catches Up

In the 1960s, while America was “high” ...