The American Manufacturing Renaissance Has Gone Mainstream

Time.com

The latest cover of Time Magazine reads: "Made In The USA: Manufacturing Is Back, but where are the jobs?" (h/t Mark Perry)

The weekly's Rana Foroohar and Bill Saporito write that thanks to cheaper energy and more competitive domestic wages, America is making stuff again.

They also cite Capital Economics' Paul Ashworth, who in a recent note said the offshoring boom of previous decades has begun to wane.

This is an economic story that many cite as being extremely bullish for America.

But as we have reported, there isn't much evidence to suggest this shift has actually begun.

Cheaper energy does not yet seem to be having a material impact on manufacturers.

And U.S. goods appear to be no more competitive than what's made in Europe.

And Ashworth himself says in his note that we are still importing a ton of stuff.

US manufacturing is still struggling, however, with imports of manufactured goods reaching a record high of almost $1.9trn in 2012. Last year, imports were almost 14% higher than the pre-recession peak reached in 2008.

When an economic trend makes the cover of a magazine, it's often an ominous sign. So maybe we should let the "American manufacturing renaissance" meme cool for a bit until we gather more evidence.

Read more at Time.com.