Agreed 100%.

As a person who used to move equipment offshore for 2 previous employers, I had access to figures that showed clearly that the moves were justified based on increased profitability die to wage offset.
Go from $16.00/hour here in the states to $.29/hour in China for the same labor unit and see how the numbers look. Throw in the overhead of a full-time person (benefits, 401K, healthcare, training, education packages, etc and it just gets better all the time to send laborious tasks overseas.

Likewise, you'll notice that not much automated work goes overseas - at least not as quickly. Wonder why that is?

 

Curious... Why do you think the prices would skyrocket just because we make the goods here?

I am all for selling our goods to the rest of the world, even trading with partners who share our level of committment to safe and fair labor, environmental protection and conservation, ethical treatment of people and animals, etc.

Ever think there might be another wheel turning in the economy that needs grease too?
How about this... "If we didn't keep closing down manufacturing plants that pay decently, people wouldn't need to scrounge for pennies and HAVE to buy the cheapest crap hey can find to live on, meaning they could buy US, quality-made goods that cost a bit more than the Chinese crap we see at Wally-World."

I personally subscribe to this philosophy, as it ties in with my previous post about generating wealth for a nation and properity/sovereignty of the same nation. I go out of my way to buy US goods, and spend a premium to do it. Maybe more should do the same - i dunno.

 

You hit the nail on the head with the "not saving" comment.
I agree 100%.
It also reflects on the spending mentality of the American public at large.
WE NEED to become more financially responsible for ourselves and our direction ASAP.

I think we will start to see this creep into the car and truck market just as we are seing it hit in the housing markets right now. People need a home before they worry about the new car/truck, so we see it in the housing sector first.

Put me down for saying that 2008 will be worse for car/truck sales than economists are predicting for several reasons, including inflation, fuel costs, the lending market, housing starts, repos, and global competition for economic vehicles.

 

This is the "catch 22" we've talked about for years now.

And even further; "if they hadn't have disposed of decent paying jobs, those Companies wouldn't have to cut their bottom lines and labor costs even more, to compete with the cheap crap flooding in from China etc...

Also, advertising today is "price based", American companies need to stress the quality issue once again. Real consumer education about true savings, in the long run.
I've always said, buy American whenever possible, the job you save could be your own...



I know that a few years ago we implemented a program to save about $4K/truck in build costs, to supposedly make our trucks more competetive.

So, how much did they lower the price of our trucks?

They raised them by at least $4K!..

That amounted to an $8K increase in profit margin / truck...and ofcourse, we lost even more market share.

We were told it was needed to boost the "Return on Investment" to stockholders, by our Company President.

Since they clearly hold most of the shares, I understand why it's so important to them.

Our CEO that year made a bottom of the barrel, $650K in salary...BUT, over 11 Million in bonuses. plus stock options. I really felt sorry for him.
Very true...I sure hope we all come to our senses before this happens on a large scale.
It is creeping up the HealthCare industry already. Technicians in India, read your X-rays and CT scans, etc, and relay results back here.

 

It's already happening. I work for the largest aircraft supplier in the world and we are outsourcing a lot of our design work to India and Russia.
Also a lot of our major assemblies are made overseas as well.

 

Yep, Boeing is currently putting language into its contracts that forces its suppliers to subcontract with vendors in low-cost countries (regardless of cost savings). A certain Japanese automotive OEM whos name does not start with "H" or "T" is also doing the same thing. In short, this practice is seriously f*cked up.

Gunny, I don't belong to a union, and I don't think Proud does, either. The revenue that provides for our paychecks is just a bit less stable than your employer's cash flow, so pardon me if my perspective is slightly different than yours

 

DNYV Fund owns a bit of Tyco? Dammit man, what are you doing here jacking your jaws on the internet. Your costing me money. Get back to work!

 

Never have, never will.

I believe that if you don't like your job, find another.
If you can't find one you like, start your own business.
This is moder-day America... nobody "has" to put up with abuse at work.

And yes, I practice what I preach.

 

Worked for AMP Inc for 6 years, made it through the buyout when Tyco Int'l took over, then got an offer from a headhunter to join PPG Industries at a bit more money and responsibility - like 44% more money, and much more engineering responsibility. Recently left PPG for another tier-1 supplier. (Can't tell you which one cause I'd haveta killya!)

So don't panic... I'm not blowing Tyco dollars on my breaks and lunch anymore.

Hey... You got more shares than I got?!?!