Musings from Brian J. Noggle: Weaker Dollar Hurts Manufacturers

Weaker Dollar Hurts Manufacturers

Foreign manufacturers, that is:

Missouri exports hit $12.8 billion last year, up 22 percent from 2005, and experts predict this year's export sales will be even higher. Illinois exports totaled $42.1 billion in 2006, up 17 percent from the year before. Canada, Mexico, Japan, the United Kingdom and China are the top export countries for both states.

Oddly enough, the story's headline, Local companies moving deeper into exporting, doesn't mention the effect the lower exchange rates have. The story itself does mention it, though:

LaBounty and others attributed the recent growth in local exporting in part to the weak dollar, which has fallen more than 10 percent against a basket of currencies in November compared to the same time in 2006. What that means: The cost of U.S. goods is cheaper for companies and consumers abroad.

Still, one can see that this is a "good" economy story instead of a "bad" one, which no doubt would have mentioned the lower dollar in the headline.

- posted by Brian J. @ 8:11 AM