PEORIA, Ill. -- Advanced Technology Services (ATS) commissioned a Nielsen survey of 100 senior discrete manufacturing executives with the titles CEO, CIO, Vice President and Plant Manager, and with an annual between $10 million and over $1 billion to find their opinions on the current state of manufacturing in the U.S.

Sixty-three percent of executives said they would outsource maintenance to bolster plant operations against a recession. The respondents said the average cost for one minute of downtime is $21,200.

Thirty-four percent of participants said they were “very likely” or “somewhat likely” to move production to Mexico. Of those, about two-thirds expected that they would shift production within the next 6-12 months. China was another top choice for relocation with 22 percent.

Seventy-three percent of respondents said they view factory maintenance workers as valuable multi-skilled technicians. However, over the next five years, approximately 40 percent of their skilled labor force is expected to retire.

According to the survey, the average cost of the skilled labor shortage over the next five years was recorded as $52,200,000. For those with more than $1 billion in revenue, forty-four percent say the shortage will cost them more than $100 million.

In the previous survey in 2005, 32 percent of executives indicated that the skilled labor shortage would have “no impact at all.” For 2008, that number dropped to 19 percent.

For more information, visit http://www.AdvancedTech.com.