Neighborhood Effect: A silver lining for your business during high gas prices?

The Sunday, August 3rd New York Times featured an article titled, “Shipping Costs Start to Crimp Globalization.” The piece cites “what some economists call a neighborhood effect — putting factories closer to components suppliers and to consumers, to reduce transportation costs.”
“Cheap oil, the lubricant of quick, inexpensive transportation links across the world, may not return [...]