Tillam­ook cheese fac­tory in Oregon

This year, man­u­fac­tur­ing jobs have been on the rise in the United States. Jobs that used to be per­formed over­seas are now being held by Amer­i­cans. Given that Pres­i­dent Obama is being held account­able for the state of the econ­omy, it’s worth exam­in­ing the forces behind this move­ment. Why is this hap­pen­ing in 2012?

It’s a com­bi­na­tion of fac­tors, but the two largest appear to be China and energy costs. I’ll show you what I mean; the two are inter­twined. We can start with a brief his­tory.  (more…)