The Weak Dollar and the Steel Renaissance

It's a scary world out there. Filling up my gas tank takes a frightening amount of money that I don't really have, it's summer but the sun will give me cancer but if I use too much sun block I won't get enough vitamin D from the sun, and tomatoes are trying to kill me. I'm frightened of anything and everything. I can't even go to the local farmer's market, one of my favorite summer activities, for fear of buying vegetables that have sat under Mid-Western flood waters contaminated by toxins and poisons and God knows what else.

And I fear for my country and how Americans will make a living. If everything I own, and everything you own too, is made in China, what will Americans make? A country that manufactures nothing is dependent on the good will of others, and there doesn't seem to be a lot of good will in the world these days. And an America that manufactures nothing has no jobs for what was once a vast middle class.

But fear not. Or at least not in the area of steel manufacturing, where there may be a renaissance occurring. According to an article in the Chicago Tribune, the weakened dollar is having a positive impact on northeastern Indiana's steel industry, positive to the point that steel makers have been able to raise prices and plants are operating at almost 90 percent of capacity, something not seen since the 1970s. Yeah, that's right, Hoosiers to the rescue.

The weak dollar makes steel imports more expensive, so there is a lack of competition in the US on the steel market. Therefore, Americans are once again buying American steel. But that's not the only bit of good news author David Greising points out in this article. The Indian automaker that bought Jaguar and Land Rover from Ford has insisted that Ford continue to supply the automaker with American made parts because the United States has established itself as a maker of quality machinery. I'm sorry, what's that you say? We're making the good stuff? I really never thought I would see such a thing as that in print again.

It may be wishful thinking but perhaps this is only the beginning. Now that this country is competing with foreign manufacturers of machinery and steel, we can try and compete in other areas as well. The world overall is becoming a more developed place to live. In other words, other countries, exemplified by China and India, are becoming like the United States was in the 20th century. If Americans are still smart and ambitious, and I think some of us still are, the United States can play a large role in a hopefully positive development of the planet. And, as Americans are wont to do, we'll make a few bucks too.

We just have to make sure our politicians fight for real free trade, and not whatever it is that we have now. There is no way the US can compete with the Chinese on a global scale as long as they continue to artificially prop up their currency. There also needs to be a way to stop the outsourcing of American jobs to other countries. American business owners and American politicians need to realize that no country can exist where a large segment of the population is employed in the service industry. In other words, a nation full of Starbucks baristas making lattes for each other will not support a robust economy. We won't be able to afford to shop, and when America stops shopping, that's bad for the whole worlds economy.