American Factories are Coming Back to Life - Essay Example

The number of houses being sold by the end of September 2007, dropped down to a 12-year low with the median house price being slashed by a whopping 13% (Chandra, 2007). A slowing economy took its toll upon the employment rate of the nation which was recorded at a five-year low of 6.1% in May 2008. The hardest hit among all sectors had been the manufacturing sector which alone had to shed off 61,000 out of a total 84,000 job cuts (Kirchhoff, 2008).

Issue at Hand

The present situation is that of recovery where a chunk of the manufacturing sector is reviving fast owing to increased demand coming from various emerging markets. The neighboring economy of Mexico, for instance, is responsible for 71% of the USA’s export figures. The present scenario promises an economic boom not far ahead with the growth in manufacturing output meagerly 5% lower than the 2007 figures. The nation’s gross exports and business investment rates have, on the other hand, are at par with 2007 records (The Economist, 2011). This development is also spurring labor demand in the economy which is believed to hike the employment rate in the nation.

Conclusion
The present review helped to compare the situation prevailing in the USA between 2007 and 2009 and its current state. It clearly shows a much-improved state than that existed a few years ago and owes this development to the rising demand from transition economies thus truly establishing ‘Against all the odds, American factories are coming back to life. Thank the rest of the world for that.