Materials & Electricity
The Materials and Electricity sector includes a wide range of products and materials, ranging from electricity to paper products to chemicals. We have grouped these businesses into three clusters: wood, paper and nonmetallic mineral products; petroleum, chemicals, plastic and rubber products; and electric power generation.
The Impact
Three (textiles, furniture and printing) of the five sectors have experienced declining employment in the last decade (12,379 in 2001 compared to 3,595 in 2016), reflecting broader industry trends. The decline in textiles and furniture is not unique to San Antonio: as the manufacturing of these items has moved from the U.S. to foreign sites, domestic employment in these low-skill, low-wage industries has shrunk. Indeed, textiles and furniture combined now employ only a little more than a third of the number who worked there a decade ago. Similarly, the reduction of more than half of printing employment since 2001 reflects the worldwide movement to digital media.
Of these, petroleum, chemicals, plastics and rubber is the largest, while wood, paper and nonmetallics has been the fastest growing recently (up 56% since 2011).
SAMA is the definition of support and advocacy for the local manufacturing community – from education, to training, to legislative advocacy. SAMA is the collective voice for those that do not have the time and resources to have their own voice.
Pat Lonsdale, Partner – RSM US LLP
