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Oil Price Fallout: Jobs Coming Home?
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by Jordan Yerman | June 25, 2008 at 12:35 pm
229 views | 17 Recommendations | 3 comments
Outsourcing has been getting more expensive as fuel prices have risen, so manufacturers are toying with the daring concept of domestic production...
The rise in transportation costs are fueling what some economists are calling "reverse globalization." For instance, DESA, a company that makes heaters to keep football players warm, is moving all its production back to Kentucky after years of having them made in China.
"Cheap labor in China doesn't help you when you gotta pay so much to bring the goods over," says economist Jeff Rubin.
Some local manufacturers have suddenly found themselves in the thick of boom times.
"In December, we had three employees here. We were just getting set up. Now it's 14," says Casey Hearn, who owns a furniture manufacturing business in North Carolina.
Other sectors of U.S. manufacturing may see a boost in jobs as well. Rubin says the U.S. steel industry is poised to reap benefits.
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Most RecentMost Recommended Comments (3)
at 13:19 on June 25th, 2008
jordan, I like this story. It's good stuff.
at 16:14 on June 25th, 2008
jordan, I like this story. It's good stuff.
Actually, this makes total sense. Let's face it, over the last decade or so we have had oil at historically low numbers. Now, it's getting really expensive.
In a side note, this is another reason why I'm not so worried about China (unlike nearly everyone else). With more domestic production there will be less of a demand for Chinese manufactured goods. And when you factor in the fact that the Chinese government just upped the price of gas (thusly increasing the costs of production) you begin to have a China that will see slowing growth in its future.
at 04:04 on June 26th, 2008
jordan, I like this story. It's good stuff.