Entrepreneurship : Buzz

Motor vehicle parts manufacturing is the largest source of manufacturing jobs in the United States, according to a study released Monday by the Motor & Equipment Manufacturers Association.

The industry directly employs more than 734,000 American workers and generates nearly $355 billion toward the gross domestic product, 2.3 percent of total U.S. GDP, the report said. The study was conducted with IHS Inc., a provider of analytics.

In Ohio, 89,423 workers are employed in making auto parts, making the state second to only Michigan, which has 102,624 workers directly employed in the industry, according to the association. Indiana was third with nearly 80,000 workers.

“With a presence in all 50 states, this industry is important to the health and success of American manufacturing and to the future of this country,” Bob McKenna, the association’s president and chief executive, said in a press release on the study.

In the Dayton area, companies like DMAX in Moraine, Tenneco in Kettering, Behr Thermal Products in Dayton, Ahresty in Wilmington and many others work for the auto industry, supplying General Motors nationwide or Honda in Ohio, among other original equipment manufacturers.

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