Evidence that the U.S. is Becoming a Low Cost Country?

As I hinted a few weeks ago, the U.S. could very well become the world's next low cost country. Thanks to a falling dollar and continued productivity gains, U.S. products are becoming more affordable worldwide. A recent Business Week article supports this notion, noting that the Commerce Department's September numbers presented the "narrowest trade imbalance since May 2005 and took economists by surprise ... The improvement came from a 1.1 percent jump in U.S. exports, which climbed to a record $140.1 billion. The dollar's decline against many major currencies has made U.S. goods cheaper and more competitive in foreign markets. For September, sales of American-made cars, computers and farm products including corn, cotton, wheat and soybeans were all up." If this keeps up, I can almost picture the planes filled with global sourcing pros from Europe and Asia coming to set up regional IPOs in the States next year. And heck, they'll even be able to drink the tap water.

- Jason Busch