(Booz & Co.: New York) -- While the debate over U.S. manufacturing competitiveness intensifies, a new study shows that the sector is at a critical moment where it could either prosper and help bring economic recovery, or decline to where the United States may never fully recover its manufacturing prowess.

The study, conducted by global management consulting firm Booz & Co. with the University of Michigan’s Tauber Institute for Global Operations, found that the future of U.S. manufacturing depends on decisions that are currently being made by the private and public sectors. Today, U.S. manufacturers provide about 75 percent of the products that Americans consume. But that number could soar to 95 percent within a few years if business and government leaders take the right actions. Conversely, if the sector remains neglected, that output could fall by half, meeting less than 40 percent of U.S. demand. The report is based on a sector-by-sector analysis of U.S. industrial competitiveness, along with a survey of 200 manufacturing executives and experts.

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