Bad news on the price of tools. (morphing into OT)

[Dave Lehnert]

I was reading on another WW forum. The president of a popular mail order tool catalog (can you guess?) said for the first time in 25 years they are not having a summer sale because of the increase they are absorbing for now. and next year bad things are going to happen to tool prices.

[Greg Peterson]

Sounds like some bad habits are going to start catching up with us. Not surprising in the least.

[Bruce Elasik]

What "bad" habits are you talking about????

[David G Baker]

I wonder if their sales will drop off in a ratio directly proportioned to their price increase. The higher the price the less we can afford to buy. Sounds like a Catch 22 in the making.

[Ken Fitzgerald]

Oil prices going up. Most of those ships transporting those things burn oil. What do you expect? In the lower price category.....say Griz versus SawStop, there is generally a smaller markup. Thus those who manufacturer that stuff can't afford to take the hit as much as somebody in the higher priced category can.

[Rick Gifford]

Bottom line is everything is going to go up.

Look for it and expect it. Not that it makes us feel good about it. Its discouraging.

[Doug Shepard]

Bottom line is everything is going to go up.
...

I'll remember to show this to my boss with respect to my wages.

[Duncan Potter]

I went to a junkyard the other day to get a part for my car. The guy there said that the selling price for crushed cars has doubled in the last 1-2 years. He no longer parts cars out as much as he used to, cause it's easier to crush 'em and cash in.

Everything made of steel is going up fast!

[Lewis Cobb]

Here's a rather bizzarre twist on this that I was reading in a news article the other day -

We all know about the cost of transportation and where it's going. But the Chinese are sucking up natural resources all over the globe to fuel their enconomy and that's pushing prices up on top of the transportation costs (check the price of a reel of copper wire at Home Depot if you have not bought any in the last couple of years).

Now here's the ironic twist - the economies of some items are starting to cause some "re-patiotization" of some of the heavier things - back to North America as a result - comparatively speaking it's starting to make sense for manufacturers to start to bring production on some things - say the heavier stuff more sensitive to shipping costs - back here from Asia. This is not my saying - this is something I read in a newspaper artcile so you "know" it's true .

But seriously, the way prices are going and costs to move things like heavy iron and steel, we might be surprised in 10 years from now as to where some tools are made.

I'm not waiting for this to play out though - and seeing where things are going with prices, I literally ordered a cabinet saw, an 8" jointer, a 15" planer and a 14" bandsaw about a month ago - they already all went up by 5-10% since I locked in my order !

Lewis

[Pat Germain]

I've been saying for awhile some parts of manufacturing will come full circle. As economies in Asia continue to boom, their labor becomes more expensive. As Asian governments slowly start enforcing regulations, that adds cost. The price of petroleum may be the final straw in making domestic manufacturing once again practical. The US and Canada still have big advantages here with lots of open space and rich coal reserves. I don't think it will happen tomorrow, but perhaps in several years.

I think the same thing might happen with food production. It will become less practical to ship meat and produce around the world and even across the country. This could bring back small farms and ranches. Poor countries will be able to grow their own food because farmers will be able to make money on their crop without tons of cheap foreign food pouring in. Maybe, just maybe, they'll stop growing coca, poppies and cannabas for the drug trade and switch to growing food.

It's a bummer to pay more for tools. In the grand scheme of things, it may be one negative among many positives. As we know, in a global economy, everything is inter-related.

[Ben Cadotte]

Here's a rather bizzarre twist on this that I was reading in a news article the other day -

We all know about the cost of transportation and where it's going. But the Chinese are sucking up natural resources all over the globe to fuel their enconomy and that's pushing prices up on top of the transportation costs (check the price of a reel of copper wire at Home Depot if you have not bought any in the last couple of years).

Now here's the ironic twist - the economies of some items are starting to cause some "re-patiotization" of some of the heavier things - back to North America as a result - comparatively speaking it's starting to make sense for manufacturers to start to bring production on some things - say the heavier stuff more sensitive to shipping costs - back here from Asia. This is not my saying - this is something I read in a newspaper artcile so you "know" it's true .

But seriously, the way prices are going and costs to move things like heavy iron and steel, we might be surprised in 10 years from now as to where some tools are made.

I'm not waiting for this to play out though - and seeing where things are going with prices, I literally ordered a cabinet saw, an 8" jointer, a 15" planer and a 14" bandsaw about a month ago - they already all went up by 5-10% since I locked in my order !

Lewis

Thats the thing with moving the manufacturing over to asia. Companies did this to save even just 1% to increase their bottom lines. Now its to the point your going to have to pay a premium for asian made products. My only fear is they are going to keep production over there and just keep raising prices. So in the near future, we may have to pay premium pricing for medium or low quality asian made goods, vs. paying a premium for good US made goods.

[Brian Weick]

a shock to me, everything is going up , just heard on the FOX news that gas could hit $8.00 a gallon if an environmental bill goes through to cut down on the emissions~ $8.00 I think it's time to get my rickshaw out and start getting some exercises while going to work~.
You have to try and keep a positive outlook on things, realistically, what can we do about it, complaining isn't going to help, but we can cut back on our daily spending habits and be a little bit more conservative. Things will calm down and the economy will rebound , something has to happen and it will, it just may take some time and there will be some relief and a rebound here~ just have to get through this. Home sales are up,(slightly) which is good, the housing market is still a little soft but it is showing some improvement.
Everyone ,including the banking industry are starting to tighten there belts~ loans are very difficult to get because of the economical conditions and the value of the dollar hasn't helped either~ it seams that most things are related in a domino effect because of a lot of factors. I believe once things improve and there is some positive numbers coming back on the countries financial condition ~ I believe things will get better ~ we are all basically affected by this one way or another but together we have to get through this.
Brian

[Ben Rafael]

Rickshaw? Heck with that, I'm getting a horse.

[Steven Hardy]

"and next year bad things are going to happen to tool prices."
and maybe next year bad things will happen to Tool sales...especially imports.
Who knows.....maybe next year OIL will not be subsidized by their government (CHina) any longer ?

Over the next couple years ,I suspect we will see more than one
bubble economy pop.Not long ago we saw the dot.com industry pop. We have just seen another one pop (mortgage's) .Now the speculation has moved to commodities (oil,gas,steel,grain) .

I too am perplexed by the statement:
"Sounds like some bad habits are going to start catching up with us. Not surprising in the least."
What bad habits have YOU been doing ?

[Lewis Cobb]

Thats the thing with moving the manufacturing over to asia. Companies did this to save even just 1% to increase their bottom lines. Now its to the point your going to have to pay a premium for asian made products. My only fear is they are going to keep production over there and just keep raising prices. So in the near future, we may have to pay premium pricing for medium or low quality asian made goods, vs. paying a premium for good US made goods.

I think you are correct - at least in the near term. In fact, it's happening already. I can see some hefty increases coming on the cost of tools over the next few years.

As an aside - I saw a pic of your shop Ben in another thread - great space! Looks like some post and beam type building, adding to the charm and character of a wood shop.

Cheers,
Lewis