.... those minor gains come nowhere near replacing the 5.6 million manufacturing jobs lost during the last decade, which is nearly one out of every three. The wholesale abandonment of entire industries to China, India and Latin America raises serious doubts about whether the manufacturing sector can ever again be the major driver of renewed job growth in the U.S.
Some experts are saying now is as good a time as ever to try for a manufacturing rebound, especially in areas where the U.S. is still strong such as aerospace, construction machinery and semiconductors. Wages in China, which runs the largest trade surplus with the U.S., rose nearly 70 percent between 2005 and 2010, according to a recent Economist Magazine report. And some U.S. firms are rethinking their overseas investment strategies due to rampant intellectual property theft and onerous technology transfer rules on U.S.-based multinationals seeking to invest in China.
