Southeast now hot for aerospace

Aerospace supply chains are morphing. In the past decade it appeared the future of original equipment manufacturing was in low-cost countries. But labor costs increased in those countries, and new technologies made it all less labor-intensive. Today the hottest new aerospace cluster is not in China, but the U.S. Southeast. Boeing, Embraer, Airbus, Rolls-Royce and Airbus Helicopters have or will have established final assembly facilities in the region, and dozens of sub-tier suppliers are following suit. An opinion piece. (Source: Aviation Week and Space Technology, 02/24/14)