According to a recent Reuters report a number of factors are driving more companies away from Asia,  including rising wages, surging fuel prices, and the complexity of transporting goods across the Pacific.

According to Daniel Meckstroth, chief economist at the Manufacturers Alliance/MAPI- “What you’re starting to see is the economics shifting more into the United States’ favor regarding sourcing from the United States versus sourcing from a low-cost country.”

One of the biggest reasons why is the subpar economic growth in the United States versus in Asia is helping its manufacturers to close the cost gap on their foreign rivals. China’s inflation rate hit 5.5 percent in May, well ahead of the United States’ 3.6 percent headline rate. With Chinese wages rising at 15 to 20 percent per year, the labor costs of manufacturing in the two countries could pull even by 2015, as we reported a few months ago. Rising oil prices, which drive up the cost of shipping goods by boat or plane, are also eating in to China’s edge.

Automation also helps tilt the balance toward the United States. For example, at Master Lock in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, they can produce 24,000 locks a day with about one-sixth the number of workers needed by the company’s Chinese suppliers and rivals because of better machines and efficiency.

Mark Andol outside of his store

A big shout out to Mark Andol in Elma, New York. If you haven’t heard of Mark, he is the owner of the “Made in America Store,” in upstate New York that has attracted quite a bit of buzz recently.

Mark’s story goes back a few years. You see, his welding company nearly went out of business after losing a major contract to sell steel posts. His company was selling them for $17. China was selling them for $14. From 2007 to 2010, he had to lay off nearly half of his 70-person work force.

His retail store has over 30,000 items for sale.  His team spends about 25 hours on each item making sure that every component, down to the glue in the packaging, is 100 percent American. Keep up the good work Mark and team!

In addition, a recent American Express study found that consumers like products made in America, up 5 percentage points from 2008, and 65% say they try to buy U.S. brands whenever possible, a 3 percentage point gain over 2008.

Click here for a full list to see how your state faired.

Of course, you didn’t need a million dollar study from BCG to know this. If America were to make the tax structure more advantageous and eliminate healthcare and other costs, we would be far and away the first choice amongst executives. If you added a true valuation for the Yuan, versus the artificial valuation that their policy makers have been trying to maintain for years, the results would be even more dramatic.

Is something like this in the works from Sams Clan? Many of you have asked this same question to us in the past. We intend to have badges that our users can place on their site up soon.

Polaris now has its crack at reviving Indian Motorcycles

Over the past week, Indian Motorcycles of North Carolina, the latest re-start of the famed brand from the early 20th Century, was purchased by Polaris. This is the same Polaris who is a well known manufacturer of rugged ATVs and Snowmobiles, along with their own brand of touring motorcycles, called “Victory.” Polaris executives have said they hope to re-launch Indian in 18 to 24 months, which includes moving the manufacturing from Kings Mountain, N.C., to Spirit Lake, Iowa. Indian engines will be made at a Polaris plant in Osceola, Wisconsin. That plant was scheduled to close but now will remain open with about 60 jobs. Let’s hope this is the true jump-start that one of our country’s most storied brands needs.