U.S. manufacturers back to making goods, not jobs

In the first decade of this century, an average of 17 manufacturing plants closed in the U.S. every day, according to a report in the New York Times. But by 2012, U.S. textile and apparel exports were up 37 percent from three years earlier.
 
Although most of the textile mills that powered economies, especially in southern states, are still shuttered, a rebound in American manufacturing is occurring as more buyers opt for American-made products and business owners find making goods in the U.S. is more affordable than previously thought.
 
Advantages to producing goods in the U.S. include lower transportation costs, faster turn-around time from factory to retailer, and labor costs that aren’t much more than what manufacturers are paying to outsource the work. But that isn’t translating to new jobs for unemployed American workers, as most of the savings in labor costs are attributable to the automation of factory jobs.

Read more at the New York Times.