Does the U.S. need factories in order to be an economic power?

The answer to this question may seem like an obvious "Of course-- doesn't every country?" But Michael Schuman's blog on The Curious Capitalist says that "A nation today doesn't need to have its own factories to be an economic power, even a manufacturing power."

What?

His argument for the aforementioned statement is as follows,

Manufacturing has become somewhat of a commodity – lots of factories around the world can make a perfectly good mobile phone or PC. But not everyone can design an iPad or develop the applications for it. That innovative process at the heart of manufacturing hasn't been commoditized, and can't be. That's where a high-cost but creative economy like the U.S. can maintain its advantage over the rising manufacturing powers of the emerging world.