China is one of the paradoxes of modern industry: Countless consumer goods multinationals have built global empires by contracting out manufacturing to partners in China, generally without cutting corners or letting quality standards slip. Yet for one reason or another, Chinese firms aren't replicating that success at home.
The revival of Detroit has been a big story over the past couple of weeks, but the the comeback of American manufacturing should be attributed largely to higher shipping costs.
I just returned from a week in Istanbul, where I was reporting a piece on what Turkey’s burgeoning contemporary art scene tells us about where the country is headed politically (you can look for that in our upcoming style and design special in the magazine later this month). But I also learned a few economic [...]
My grandparents had two criteria for buying a car: It had to be blue, and it had to be American. The last time they purchased a car was in the ’90s, when American car companies didn’t have the best reputations for quality or reliability. When a few members of the family’s younger generation brought up the possibility of my grandparents considering Asian and European makers, it was as if we were suggesting that they commit treason. “We have to buy American,” they said. End of conversation.
Living through the Great Depression, World War II, and the Cold War ingrained upon my grandparents and their generation that buying American was just a way of life. You brush your teeth in the morning, and you buy American. That sentiment has slipped in succeeding generations, but there appear to be signs that, to some extent, it is returning.
Is America in the middle of a manufacturing job revival? The latest numbers would make it seem so. The U.S. has added more net manufacturing jobs since the start of 2010 than the rest of the G7 nations put together, with only two other economies, Germany and Canada, increasing factory employment at all. The jump [...]
A slew of economic indicators out this week has ratcheted up fears of a double dip recession. Many think Friday’s jobs’ report could be the death knell of the U.S. recovery. But there’s a silver lining to the disappointing stats on housing, jobs, and manufacturing: No matter how bad it gets, the dollar will probably [...]
Post Updated: 1:30, Monday, May 16. The jobs rebound came early at the Case I-H farm equipment factory in Grand Island, Neb. Last September, when many companies were still cutting employees, Bill Baasch, the manager at the Grand Island plant, which manufactures combines – the large vehicles that harvest grain crops – was hiring. In [...]
