Anyone in the supply chain knows companies continue to look for ways to automate tasks and processes, but some recent analysis put that trend in historical perspective, providing not only some interesting insight but also in part explaining why job creation in the US is so challenging.

The chart below was taken from a recent article in BusinessWeek magazine, and shows the amount of investment in the US in machinery and information technology versus the spending on workers, as calculated by the US Bureau of Labor Statistics.

As can be seen, the levels of investment in automation continue to expand substantially versus that spent on labor.

Source: Bloomberg's BusinessWeek

The information-processing ratio, for example, shot up an amzing 310 percent from 1990 to 2010, for example.

While the investment in equipment has dipped a bit during the recession and severe over-capacity, the overall trend is up, up, up.

Between cheap offshore labor and automation in the US, creating US jobs, especially in manufacturing, will continue to be a challenge.

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