U.S. Not So Post-Industrial After All

VW announced that they will be building a $1 Billion plant in Chattanooga.  The factory is scheduled to enter production in 2011 and employ 2,000 'noogans.  That's great, but the signal that making things in the U.S. is becoming economical is even better.  It bodes well for the rural parts of the country, Shafter and the Central Valley included.  Don't expect Toyota to start building cars on Lerdo, but small niche manufacturers having been popping up quickly around Shafter in the last decade or so and the weak dollar represents opportunity for them.  How quickly and how many I will be digging into when I get the time.