""Or possibility that demand is lower than production?""
that is exactly the same as saying productivity is rising faster than demand...and that has nothing to do with NAFTA.....it isnt as though this country started losing manufacturing jobs in 1993. The peak was back in 1978 at 20m manufacturing jobs.
In each business cycle sine 1978, the peak of employment has been lower than in the previous business cycle and the trough lower than the previous trough. This was going on 15 years before NAFTA and is going on in countries such as Janpan and S Korea today.
Manufacturing is like agriculture. In 20 years there will be no more than 5m manufacturing jobs in the USA, down from 14m today. Yet our output will be higher in 20 years than it is today
Valid points, and no disagreement from me.