Did the U.S. really export 55,000 factories overseas, or did a bunch of U.S. companies consolidate their operations here in the U.S. and close down 55,000 factories here? There's a situation right here in my neck of the woods where this is exactly what happened ... a Fortune 500 company shut down five or more plants around the country and moved all of those operations into a single massive new plant in Louisiana or Texas.
What exactly was the U.S. producing in those 55,000 factories?