[nickpinkston]

Looks like they're talking about more energy costs & also productivity advances relative to other countries.

This means more that cost of inputs (materials, transport of them, etc.) for hardware will go down in the US, while at the same time companies are getting more efficient per worker - reducing our exposure to foreign cheap labor.

Re: Welding - We're actually seeing a lot of advances in automated welding setup, etc. that will allow robots in the US to compete with Chinese welders.