Well, I'll be damned! A silver lining in the price of oil!

[IEATV8S]

From The Patriot Post


Reverse globalization takes hold
They say every cloud has a silver lining, and perhaps that is even true of the hubbub over fuel costs. Each day, as we are bombarded with news stories of skyrocketing gas prices and political battles over the potential solutions, an interesting and profitable side effect is that manufacturing and jobs are coming back to the U.S.

This phenomenon, dubbed “reverse globalization” by economists, is a result of shipping costs that are climbing apace with that of oil. Shipping goods from overseas has become so costly that it outweighs the benefit of cheap labor from other countries such as China or Mexico. This has led many American businesses to manufacture their goods in, of all places, America. “It’s not just about labor costs anymore,” said economist Jeff Rubin. “Distance costs money, and when you have to shift iron ore from Brazil to China and then back to Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh is looking pretty good at 40 bucks an hour.”

Of course, the return of homegrown manufacturing brings with it the return of homegrown jobs as well. When hair-care company Farouk Systems transfers all of its production from China to Houston this summer, 1,000 jobs will open up to American workers. Economists predict that the U.S. steel industry will be given a boost as well.

So while we are all tired of seeing rising prices at the pump, thanks to reverse globalization, we may also be seeing a lot more of something else as well: Made in America.