Reply #115: You can't think of anything manufactured in the US

[LTX]

because you're thinking only about assembled consumer products -- i.e., the stuff on the shelves at Walmart that is assembled in Mexico, China, etc. U.S. manufacturing tends to be focused on base materials (the cracked oil compounds, rubber, plastics, chemicals, wood, pulp, paper, fiberboard, aluminum, etc. that goes into those assembled products); agriculture (the base corn, wheat, soy, oilseed, sugars, poultry, beef, pork, dairy etc. used in food manufacturing); aircraft; locomotives; industrial machinery, turbines, generators, and engines; mining, extraction, processing, and construction machinery; textiles; pharmaceuticals; medical equipment; computer chips; measuring and control instruments; etc.

People tend to think of "manufacturing" as the equivalent of the assembly process, and view manufactured goods as only the DVD players, electric shavers, and dishwashers on sale at the local mega-mart. They overlook the key element of manufacturing -- the raw materials, machines, machined parts, control instruments, etc. that underlie those assembled end products.