The Impact of Sheet Metal Stamping on Manufacturing and Economic Growth of the United States in the Early 20th Century

A vast array of manufactured articles containing metal components utilize power press methods in their production. The common aspect of these methods is the use of specialized dies and the mechanical energy of the press machine to impart the required finished shape with a minimum of time and material loss. The innovation of power press metal forming methods in conjunction with advances in sheet rolling technology can be credited with a significant portion of the United States economic growth from manufacturing between 1890 and 1940. Of the many variations of power press metal forming processes that now exist, sheet stamping is found to be the most significant to the economic development of the U.S. as a synergetic partner of the new automobile industry. Data from the 1929 Census of Manufactures is used to generate a Social Savings metric which estimates the effect of the use of sheet stamping in terms productivity gained. The estimated Social Savings of this very small sector of manufacturing represents a tenth of one percent of the total Value Added by all U.S. industries in 1929.