May be hope for "Made in the USA"

[Dave Lehnert]

I was at a woodworking show today talking to a well know tool manufacture. Said that the cost of labor overseas has gone way up because workers are staying on the farms to work rather than come to the city to work in the factories. They are making more money that way now. The cost of shipping is going up. Also everything has a 3 month lead time. If a defect is found in the manufacturing here after it has shipped to the US , all that shipment is wasted as well there may be 3 months supply in the system with the same defect. They are in the thought process now of moving manufacturing back here to the states.

Thought that was interesting.

[Ken Fitzgerald]

A friendly reminder......political statements and comments are not allowed per the TOSs.

[Doug Mason]

From an economic viewpoint (my own), I tend to think that a large part of the "basic" manufacturing is lost to the US for some time--at least until manufacturing wages in the US reach an equilibrium with wages in third world counties (or the cost of transport tilts the cost factor). In a free trade system as we practice it, Capital will flow to where the means of production is cheapest.

Now if you are part of the 40% of the US population working in the well-paid service sector, you'll do fairly well; but if you fall outside this, watch out--as your standard of living will continue to decline.

[Stephen Cherry]

A friendly reminder......political statements and comments are not allowed per the TOSs.

I've refrained from most of what I have to say about this topic for just this reason.

[Ken Fitzgerald]

Stephen,

I appreciate your display of self discipline.

Believe it or not....most Mods don't enjoy either having to edit or delete comments or taking the verbal abuse that often follows those actions.

It's hard to separate economics and politics.

These type of theads seldom have any real use and more often than not get moved to the Moderator's Forum because the amount of work needed to keep them within the guidelines established by the TOSs far outweighs the value of the thread itself.

[John Coloccia]

Well said. I'm voting for Ken on Tuesday.

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[Neil Brooks]

I like pie.

Actually, I LOVE pie.

Cherry pie, with vanilla ice cream on top.

[Ken Fitzgerald]

Strawberry-rhubarb pie....warmed...with French Vanilla ice cream on top please......

[Rod Sheridan]

Dave, nothing would make me happier than to see manufacturing jobs come back to North America.

Unfortunately North Americans don't seem to have a long term view, we're more concerned with the short term low price than the long term effects of collapsing NA industry.

Once we're all working at the local hamburger or doughnut shop, we will no longer have any discretionary income and it won't matter where the tool is manufactured, we won't be buying it.

Regards, Rod.

[Neil Brooks]

Strawberry-rhubarb pie....warmed...with French Vanilla ice cream on top please......

Oooooh.

Well played, Sir !

[Curt Harms]

I bought a made-in-USA 6" Swanson combo square from the blue borg a while ago. The little metal L-shaped thing on the end of the screw that holds the blade in place broke. I found a phone # and called. Talked to a lady who knew immediately what I was talking about and "the mail left for today but I'll send one out tomorrow." 3 days later, here it is and it now appears to be brass. What a pleasant experience. Granted it would have been nice if it didn't break in the first place but stuff does happen. The dollar being weak sucks from some angles but it does help make made-in-USA products competitive on the world market.

[Michael Simpson Virgina]

@Ken
How is anything the OP had to say considered political?

[Bill Huber]

I don't see how it will ever come back, there will be no one to do it. We don't have shop classes in school any more so how is someone to learn the basics.

[Lex Boegen]

When shopping for anything (not just tools), when I compare products of similar quality, I do give consideration to the country of origin. Often though the source is unknown or all competitors source from the same country. It is a decision-making factor, but it's not the only one. That being said, if you look at my tool collection there's something from most of the continents in the world, but nothing from Antartica yet, though.

[Ken Fitzgerald]

@Ken
How is anything the OP had to say considered political?

For the record, I never stated the OPs comments were political.

Beyond that, the history of these type of threads has shown that there are a lot of folks who are incapable of discussing these types of subjects without spewing political statements. These threads almost always have a short life before we just move them. They have little or no value.