American made products losing across the board.

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

"The capitalists will sell us the rope with which we will hang them." - V.I. Lenin

http://www.philly.com/mld/inquirer/business/16181250.htm

U.S.-made products are losing market share to imports across a wide range of core industries in the United States, according to a new study.

Among 114 product categories, U.S.-based producers boosted their domestic market share in only three categories between 1997 and 2005: heavy trucks and chassis, computer storage devices, and computer chips. Imports gained market share in 111 categories.

The survey from the U.S. Business and Industry Council, a nonprofit group in Washington of small and midsize manufacturers and a critic of U.S. trade policy, used Census Bureau data. The survey excluded inexpensive consumer products found in Wal-Marts, Targets and dollar stores. Toys, clothing, sporting goods and other products in those retail stores are typically blamed for the soaring trade deficit. Instead, the study focused on industrial and engineered products, such as wireless equipment, plumbing fixtures, tire cord, navigation and guidance systems, power boilers, and heat exchangers.

Alan Tonelson, a research fellow at the council and author of the study, said yesterday that the study showed that the United States "is failing to pass the test of global competition." He said the country appeared to no longer be a place where many manufacturers want to invest in advanced factories.