It's no mere coincidence that so many of these cities are in the old "Rust Belt" region and located along the Great Lakes or other waterways that served as trade routes in the past. Many of these cities grew as industrial hubs because of their locations on these routes and/or their proximity to key resources used in steel-based manufacturing (iron ore and coal in particular).
Albany, NY is a perfect case in point. That city grew because it was situated near the confluence of the Hudson and Mohawk Rivers, and served as a canal-based "crossroads" of the Erie and Champlain Canals. That city lost this advantage once railroads supplanted the canals and rivers as the primary mode of freight transportation in the region (a long-running process that continues to this day).
Other cities on that list lost their "advantage of place" when plastics began to supplant steel in many manufactured products. Look at all the auto plants that have been built in the Southeast over the last two decades. They can thrive there not only because of lower labor costs, but because the auto manufacturing industry doesn't require close proximity to steel producers anymore.