As kids in a boisterous playgroup click together the brightly colored interlocking plastic rods and connectors to assemble a toy based on Angry Birds, they may not give much thought to where the pieces came from. But those bright K’NEX toys are trendsetters. Like most plastic toys sold in the United States, K’NEX building sets were made in […]
Good news: Americans are making things again, from cars to watches to socks. What’s behind the manufacturing upswing—and what it means for American labor.
Factory manufacturing output increased for the second straight month. Overall industrial production has increased 0.8%. (Photo: Mike De Sisti, AP) While some experts are predicting a revival, manufacturing has lagged the economy for years. The country has lost nearly 2.5 million manufacturing jobs in the past 10 years. Last year, the manufacturing sector was responsible […]
A worker welding the outside of a safe at the Champion Safe Co. manufacturing facility in Provo, Utah, on Wednesday, Feb. 22, 2012. – GEORGE FREY / BLOOMBERG / GETTY IMAGES Rana Foroohar and Bill Saporito U.S. manufacturing is back. That’s been the conventional economic wisdom now for several months, and there’s plenty of proof […]
With many shoppers in a patriotic mood after the election, the focus turns to gifts made in the USA this holiday season. Get ready for a red, white and blue Christmas.
Probably more than you think. As more manufacturing returns to U.S. shores, early signs show that a “Made in America” label is a serious competitive advantage.
For over a decade, deciding where to build a manufacturing plant to supply the world was simple for many companies. China was the clear choice with its seemingly limitless supply of low-cost labor, an enormous, rapidly developing domestic market, an artificially low currency, and significant government incentives to attract foreign investment.
