Well we are reaching an age (of asteroid mining) where it's probably more cost efficient to manufacture in space and ship (or railgun, I guess) the mass to earth. Probably not for a while, but I don't think it's science fiction anymore.
That gives me an interesting idea. Do you think it could be feasible to mine ore from space and then drop-ship it to some low-depth (a few hundred feet at most) part of the ocean? The heat from re-entry would likely turn the metal into a molten blob, and the sea water would rapidly cool it.
