The Future of Manufacturing: Driving Capabilities, Enabling Investments

The report analyzes the transition of global manufacturing from a focus on cost-competitiveness to the development of high-value capabilities. It highlights the shift of manufacturing value added (MVA) from industrialized to industrializing economies, the role of Global Value Chains (GVCs) in knowledge dissemination, and the specific case of the apparel industry's upgrading paths. The document proposes the establishment of a Global Manufacturing Capabilities Forum (GMCF) in collaboration with UNIDO to align public and private strategies for sustainable industrial growth.

• Manufacturing competitiveness is defined by three pillars: factors (labour, capital, resources), standards (regulatory and operational frameworks), and costs (productivity, regulatory, and distribution costs).
• There is a global shift in Manufacturing Value Added (MVA) from industrialized to industrializing countries; MVA in industrializing countries grew at an annual real rate of 6.2% between 1993 and 2013, while industrialized countries grew by 2.0%.
• Global manufacturing employment reached 476 million in 2010, but its share of total global employment declined from 18.7% in 1970 to 16.6% in 2010, reflecting increased productivity.
• The report distinguishes between competitiveness, which focuses on reducing costs, and capabilities, which focus on increasing the added value provided by manufacturing.
• In Global Value Chains (GVCs), high added value is concentrated in pre-production (R&D and design) and post-production (marketing and logistics), while fabrication is becoming standardized with lower economic returns.
• The apparel industry serves as a primary example of a buyer-driven commodity chain where lead firms in Europe, Japan, and the US control design and branding, while outsourcing production to developing countries.
• China has become the dominant global apparel exporter, increasing its share of global exports from 21.5% in 1995 to 41% in 2012, though rising wages are now pushing production toward lower-cost Asian countries.
• The UNIDO Competitive Industrial Performance (CIP) index identifies Germany, Japan, the US, Republic of Korea, and China as the most industrially competitive nations as of 2012.
• Future manufacturing drivers include the ageing of the population, automation and robotization, and the emergence of next-generation technologies like 3D printing and nanotechnology.
• The World Economic Forum and UNIDO have proposed a Global Manufacturing Capabilities Forum (GMCF) to serve as a platform for aligning public policy and corporate strategies to build manufacturing capabilities.

APA

World Economic Forum (2014). The Future of Manufacturing: Driving Capabilities, Enabling Investments. http://www3.weforum.org/docs/Media/GAC14/Future_of_Manufacturing_Driving_Capabilities.pdf

Chicago

World Economic Forum. The Future of Manufacturing: Driving Capabilities, Enabling Investments. 2014. http://www3.weforum.org/docs/Media/GAC14/Future_of_Manufacturing_Driving_Capabilities.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=World Economic Forum |title=The Future of Manufacturing: Driving Capabilities, Enabling Investments |date=November 2014 |url=http://www3.weforum.org/docs/Media/GAC14/Future_of_Manufacturing_Driving_Capabilities.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{worldeconomicforum2014future, author = {{World Economic Forum}}, title = {{The Future of Manufacturing: Driving Capabilities, Enabling Investments}}, institution = {World Economic Forum}, year = {2014}, month = nov, url = {http://www3.weforum.org/docs/Media/GAC14/Future_of_Manufacturing_Driving_Capabilities.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }