This is an excellent portent for the U.S. economy in the long term because, regardless of the pervasiveness of the so-called "service economy," the fact remains that without manufacturing, the service economy wouldn’t have anything to "service."
In their new book Manufacturing Works: The Vital Link Between Production and Prosperity, Fred Zimmerman and Dave Beal make a convincing case that America’s manufacturing base drives its prosperity. "America should cast a skeptical eye on the argument that we have reached some sort of postindustrial state, wherein manufacturing will give way to a higher order that calls for other nations to do the producing while the United States enjoys the fruits of that production," say the authors. "There is little evidence that this vision is practical."