Information Technology for the Food Manufacturing Industry Big Future, Slow Start

ISSN： 0897-4438

Source： Journal of International Food & Agribusiness Marketing, Vol.17, Iss.2, 2005-12, pp. : 165-193

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Abstract

The direct and indirect use of information technology (IT) as an intermediate input in the U.S. food system is empirically examined to provide insight into how Information Technology has affected the production processes of the U.S. Food Manufacturing Industry (FMI) over time. The benchmark U.S. Input-Output tables for 1972, 1982, 1992, and 1997 are used to assess how changes in IT use by FMI as an intermediate, business-to-business (B2B) input affected supporting output needed to meet final demands by Consumers (B2C), by Government (B2G), and by Export (B2E). Because-from a demand perspective-eating and drinking places (E&D) are closely related to the FMI, they are also included in this analysis. For the period considered (1972-1997 and projected year, 2000): (1) IT use as an intermediate input was small from 1972 to 1992, but began to increase substantially between 1992 and 1997; (2) the IT input demand by the FMI reduced inventories of agricultural and processed food; (3) the IT input demand did not substantially reduce full-time equivalent labor demand per unit of output over time; and (4) measured IT use was greater when computer equipment investments in capital investment were endogenized into the production process. Although early in the history of IT, these findings should give some insight into how IT may influence future production processes of the FMI.