U.S. export boom helps farms, not factories

Farm products are part of a boom in U.S. exports, "the bright spot this year in an otherwise bleak economy," writes Louis Uchitelle of The New York Times. But that has been caused partly by rising prices and by the decline in the dollar's value. "Both trends, however, have recently reversed, suggesting that the rise in commodity sales will not be sustained, and that exports might shrink, weakening the economy another notch."

Also, "While the surge in commodities is a welcome relief, it is an unreliable prop for an industrial power," Uchitelle writes. "Manufacturing jobs are continuing to disappear by the tens of thousands and factories are closing."

Uchitelle writes from Indianapolis about corn farmers John and David Hardin, a father and son who are "counting on exports to absorb their harvest. ... The Hardins have every acre of their mostly rented land planted with corn, soybeans and wheat — devoting more acreage to corn in anticipation of huge demand. The nation’s corn exports, measured in tons, have risen nearly 20 percent this year, outstripping the gains of nearly every other commodity." (Read more)