Performance and practice: examining the machine tool industries of Japan and the United States

Machine tool (MT) production is at the centre of most durable goods manufacturing and is in many ways, an indicator of a country's industrial prowess. Over the past three decades, the machine tool sectors of Japan and the United States have followed distinctly different trajectories. This paper compares and contrasts the performance and characteristics of the MT industries of both countries, with particular attention paid to several embedded differences in each country's manufacturing conditions at various levels. Once the world leader, the US MT industry is in a period of decline, despite signs of a rebound during the 1990s. Japanese MT producers continue to be among the world leaders in terms of both sales and technology, in the face of a recent domestic economic slowdown well over a decade long. The paper concludes with a discussion of the industry's future prospects.