"No Evidence of U.S. Manufacturing Revival"

Part of the reason for the dubiosity [hey, it's a word] in the headline "Barron's Cover: U.S. Energy As Good As It Gets--Is It Good Enough to Save U.S. Manufacturing?".
From the WSJ's Real Time Economics:

First the surprising good news: For the past 13 years, the rate of factory closings in the U.S. has been declining. The bad news is that over that time the rate of ribbon cuttings on new operations have consistently fallen even more.

In other words, on top of having to compete with cheaper foreign rivals, America’s factories have a demographic problem — more deaths than births. Recent signs of renewed vigor in U.S. manufacturing haven’t reversed that trend, at least not yet.

In a new report, Daniel Meckstroth, chief economist with the Manufacturers Alliance for Productivity and Innovation, notes that on average 3.5% of all U.S. factories were closed in each quarter over the last 13 years. The corresponding number for plant openings: 2.9%.....

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