Chapter 6: Science & Engineering Indicators 93
Global Competitiveness of Individual Industries
The market competitiveness of individual U.S. high-tech industries varies. Of the six industries that form the high-tech group, three U.S. industries--those producing scientific instruments, drugs and
medicines, and aircraft--gained global market share during the 1980s and maintained that market share into the early nineties. The U.S. computer and office equipment industry experienced the sharpest drop
in global market share of the six high-tech industries during the 1980s, but also rebounded with the greatest gain in market share in the early nineties. (See figure
6-5 and appendix table 6-4.)
As of 1992, the United States was still the world's leading producer in the following high-tech industries:
- aircraft (accounting for 60 percent of OECD production),
- scientific instruments (48 percent),
- computers and office equipment (43 percent), and
- pharmaceuticals (30 percent).
Where it once dominated high-tech markets both at home and abroad, U.S. leadership is now challenged on a variety of fronts. In the following sections, U.S. competitiveness is examined first in foreign markets and then in the U.S. home market.
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