Still, those industries are doing substantially better than former high-growth sectors like finance or retail, which are laying off workers by the thousands. And the benefits of fatter paychecks and steadier employment ripple throughout the heartland states to millions of people not directly involved in the booming industries.
The slow growth of new jobs does mean, however, that the spillover to the rest of the country is likely be quite limited, and the economy as a whole will have to keep relying on high tech and services if it is to experience new growth in income and employment.
Steel production has risen almost 5% over the last five years, according to the American Iron and Steel Institute. But steel employment has fallen 10%, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Corn production has jumped 30% during the same period, and farm payrolls have fallen by nearly the same percentage, U.S. Department of Agriculture figures show.
Dollar's drop
There's also a mitigating element in the revival. As the value of the dollar has dropped sharply over the last five years, the prices that foreigners pay for U.S. pelletized iron ore, steel plates, corn and coal also has declined.
Once the overall U.S. economy recovers, the dollar is likely to head back up, erasing part of the advantage that U.S. farmers, miners and manufacturers now have.
Few analysts think, however, that the weak dollar alone is what's powering the comeback of the old economy, and few expect it to fade when the dollar recovers.
"We're in the midst of 2 to 3 billion people around the world rising out of abject poverty and demanding they have a better living standard," said Daniel R. DiMicco, head of Nucor Corp., America's largest steel company. "That means we've got a 20- to 30-year bull market in basic stuff."
AgResource President Basse said, "This is called globalization. It turns out we have some things [foreigners]want too."
The new vitality is reflected in a major surge in exports of U.S. goods, up about 80% over the last five years, to $316 billion in the first quarter of 2008 from $176 billion in the first quarter of 2003, government figures show.
Foreign demand has helped drive U.S. Steel from a loss of $420 million five years ago to a nearly $880-million gain last year. Mining giant Freeport-McMoRan's profit is up 1,539%, from $181.7 million to nearly $3 billion. Fertilizer maker Mosaic Co.'s earnings went from $54 million for all of 2003 to $521 million for just the three months ended in February.
