Recently, an economist, Susan Houseman, discovered that the reliability of some U.S. economics statistics has been impaired by offshoring. Houseman found that cost reductions achieved by U.S. firms shifting production offshore are being miscounted as GDP growth in the United States and that productivity gains achieved by U.S. firms when they move design, research and development offshore are showing up as increases in U.S. productivity. Obviously, production and productivity that occur abroad are not part of the U.S. domestic economy.I have believed this to be the case for many years. When they calculate manufacturing domestic product in they U.S. they base it upon cost of the products sold, without consideration of the foriegn components in the actual products, I think.