Pat, I would be curious to know where Lorelle obtained that information or was it just a guess?
Even if the number is right I don't think it means that 60 % of US companies operate completely in metric. Some may only be 1 % metric. There is no company in the US that at one time or another does not deal with the metric system. It maybe in the form of customer inquiries that use metric units and/or products made by other companies either domestic or foreign that use metric metric. Jerry ________________________________ From: Pat Naughtin <[email protected]> To: U.S. Metric Association <[email protected]> Sent: Saturday, March 21, 2009 6:00:00 PM Subject: [USMA:44045] Re: ATTN: Dr. Holdren -- the metric system of measurement for U.S. competitiveness On 2009/03/22, at 8:36 AM, John M. Steele wrote: Good letter. Hopefully, it is the beginning of a continuing dialog. I don't have my thoughts sufficiently organized to write to him yet. However, I would like to introduce the idea that this is a domestic issue, not just an "international trade" issue. We have a "measurement divide" in the U.S. much like the "digital divide" which gets more press. We certainly have industries which remain staunchly Customary. However, we also have industries and companies that have already converted to metric and need employees who can work in metric. Those needs exist at all levels from the production floor to the engineering department. Schools which fail to give students a grounding in metric measurement deny those students opportunities in these companies (or require the company to educate them). Industries which are metric include the automotive industry (both domestic and transplant), electronics, pharmaceuticals, and many individual multinationals who are metric internally, whether or not their whole industry is. I doubt the government even has good figures on what percentage of industry is metric or what percentage of students are poorly equipped to work there. Dear John, In a submission made to the government enquiry on education the president of the USMA, Lorelle Young, gave an estimate that 60 % of manufacturing industry in the USA was metric. This would mean that school students in the USA who are forced to study old pre-metric measures are being prepared for only 40 % of industries. Cheers, Pat Naughtin PO Box 305 Belmont 3216, Geelong, Australia Phone: 61 3 5241 2008 Metric system consultant, writer, and speaker, Pat Naughtin, has helped thousands of people and hundreds of companies upgrade to the modern metric system smoothly, quickly, and so economically that they now save thousands each year when buying, processing, or selling for their businesses. Pat provides services and resources for many different trades, crafts, and professions for commercial, industrial and government metrication leaders in Asia, Europe, and in the USA. Pat's clients include the Australian Government, Google, NASA, NIST, and the metric associations of Canada, the UK, and the USA. See http://www.metricationmatters.com/ or to get the free 'Metrication matters' newsletter go to: http://www.metricationmatters.com/newsletter to subscribe.
