This is a pretty darn good report from Harold Sirkin at Business Week. A key paragraph:
As Stephen Manning of the Associated Press acknowledged in a rare “just the facts” story in mid-February, the U.S. “by far remains the world’s leading manufacturer,” producing goods valued at a record $1.6 trillion in 2007 — nearly double the $811 billion produced a decade earlier. Indeed, the AP writer noted, “For every $1 of value produced in China’s factories [in 2007], America generated $2.50.” Not bad for a country that doesn’t produce anything anymore.
The facts contradict those who insist that freer trade condemns high-wage countries, such as the United States, to suffer net losses of highly productive enterprises. (More such facts on manufacturing in the U.S. can be found here.)
(HT Walter Peterson)
