Research and development tax credits and other programs designed to benefit advanced manufacturers often disproportionately help larger companies, according to a report released this week by the New England Council.
Those small and midsize companies, or SMEs, also have trouble recruiting talent and accessing new technologies, according to the report, which was commissioned by the business advocacy group and performed by Deloitte.
While New England maintains its lead in advanced manufacturing, wages and GDP have begun to stagnate following post-recession gains, the report said.
Other challenges for New England manufacturers include relatively high energy costs, aging public infrastructure and workers, and a persistent branding problem that “keeps talent at arm’s length,” according to the report.
Besides wanting government to evaluate how R&D tax credits and other programs help smaller manufacturers, the report also recommends that industry, government, higher education and other stakeholders work to create more integrated educational pathways for students to choose advanced manufacturing as a career path early on. It also called for a rebranding from “advanced manufacturing” to “maker revolution.”
While the report didn’t make any recommendations specific to specific New England states, it used the most recent economic data from the federal government to assess each state’s advanced manufacturing cluster.
In Connecticut, the value of advanced manufacturing shipments rose 36 percent between 2005 and 2011, to more than $30 billion. Its per capita shipment value also climbed by about a third over that time.
The state also has a heavy concentration of jobs in that industry — nearly 370 percent the national average. And while Massachusetts has more advanced manufacturing jobs, 72 percent of Connecticut’s manufacturing jobs are categorized as advanced, which is the highest in New England.
