US manufacturing is performing poorly without Computer and Electronics Industry

The press and the Obama administration have been talking about a resurgence of US manufacturing. Here is a great piece of research that refutes that premise. It shows the real, poor performance of US manufacturing. The low and negative numbers are hidden by the effect of the computer and electronics industry's high productivity and value add.

Here is the link but you must still press the download button. The Debate over the State of U.S. Manufacturing: How the Computer Industry Affects the Numbers and Perceptions

Basically: manufacturing value added is distorted by consumer electronics; we are net importers of 18 out of 19 categories; and manufacturing employment has fallen dramatically since 2000.