Some observers contend that manufacturing activity in rural areas has been more adversely affected than in urban areas by foreign competition. It is true, of course, that the economies of some rural areas have been devastated by closing of key manufacturing plants. Even if plant closings were...

The absence of timely data on regional manufacturing output makes it difficult to determine what is happening in the manufacturing sector in a particular area. Data comparable to the monthly indexes of U.S. manufacturing output are not generally available for individual states or for specific...