Does the US Make Anything Anymore?

Thirty years ago, U.S. producers made 80 percent of what the country consumed, according to the Manufacturers Alliance/MAPI, an industry trade group. Now it's around 65 percent.

American factories still provide much of the processed food that Americans buy, everything from frozen fish sticks to cans of beer. And U.S. companies make a considerable share of the personal hygiene products like soap and shampoo, cleaning supplies, and prescription drugs that are sold in pharmacies. But many other consumer goods now come from overseas.

In the 1960s, America made 98 percent of its shoes. It now imports more than 90 percent of its footwear. The iconic red Radio Flyer wagons for kids are now made in China.

Even Apple's iPod comes in box that says it was made in China but "designed in California."

"Some people lament the loss of manufacturing jobs we could have had making iPods. So what?" said Dan Ikenson, associate director of the Center for Trade Policy Studies at the libertarian-leaning Cato Institute. "The imports of iPods support U.S. jobs," including engineers, marketers and advertisers.

Some U.S.-made products are hiding in plain sight.

Berner International , based outside Pittsburgh, doesn't make the clothes, dishes or sponges sold at Wal-Mart , but its products hang above shoppers' heads as soon they come through the sliding doors.

The company's 60 employees make air curtains -- rectangular blowers mounted to the ceiling that keep out hot or chilly air, insects and dust while keeping in A/C and heat.

Also called air doors, they hang from ceilings at Wal-Marts, Whole Foods , and Starbucks , and above the big factory doors at Ford and Toyota car plants.

Chief executive Georgia Berner keeps her company in the United States because she relies on her staff's deep knowledge of air blowers, which are custom made for clients using metal plates, fans, motors and electronic parts assembled at the company's 60,000-square-foot factory. Each box requires specific voltages and sizing, she says.

"I have a crew here (with) much of the product knowledge in (their) heads," she said.

To deal with the recession, her production manager is making the factory more efficient by move shelves of parts closer to workers.

She's also banking on a new line of air curtains for fast food drive through windows, noting that fast food demand is on the rise while other restaurants decline.

Other companies saddled with high labor costs -- sometimes called legacy costs that insured workers high wages, pensions and handsome benefits -- can struggle to survive.

In the early 1980s, the U.S. steel industry faced such pressure. Today, it's the auto industry, which is pressuring its unions to agree to deep reductions in pay and generous benefits. In fact, it's a condition of the $17.4 billion in emergency loans from the government to keep the industry in business.

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But other American manufacturers -- and workers -- have adapted.

Judy Horkman, 47, of Manitowoc, Wis., was devastated when she was laid off after 13 years of attaching handles to saute pans on the Mirro Cookware plant assembly line. But two years ago, Horkman took a job making industrial light fixtures for office buildings and warehouses at Orion Energy Systems. She makes $12.50 per hour -- not quite the $13.80 she earned at Mirro, but Horkman says she is fine with that.

Horkman said she takes tremendous pride in her work. When she assembled cookware she imagined that she would personally use the final product. When she switched to making lighting, she was driven by the same Golden Rule.

"Regardless of my product I'd put my heart into it. I put my hard work, my dedication, my quality into whatever I make," she said. "I just imagine someone out there really needs this, and I think about how good I'd want it to be if it was for me."

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