Some manufacturing heads back to USA

[RamboLiberal]

Source: USA Today

Faced with rising costs, General Electric is moving production of its new energy-efficient water heater halfway around the world. The country it's leaving? China. The one it's bringing 400 jobs and a newly renovated factory? The United States.

A small but growing band of U.S. manufacturers — including giants such as General Electric (GE), NCR (NCR) and Caterpillar (CAT)— are turning the seemingly inexorable offshoring movement on its head, bringing some production to the U.S. from far-flung locations such as China. Others that were buying components overseas are switching to U.S. suppliers.

Ford Motor said Wednesday that it's bringing nearly 2,000 jobs to its U.S. plants by 2012 from suppliers, including those in Japan, Mexico and India.

Experts say the initiatives could moderate job losses that have dramatically shrunk the U.S. manufacturing industry. "I think we're going to start to see a slowing of lost jobs, and we'll see some jobs coming back," says Simon Ellis, an analyst for IDC Manufacturing Insights. "At some point, it will balance out, and we'll reach an equilibrium."

There are myriad reasons for the shifts, often called "onshoring" or "reshoring." Chinese wages and shipping costs have risen sharply in the past few years while U.S. salaries have stayed flat, or in some cases, fallen in the recession. Meanwhile, U.S. manufacturers have been frustrated by the sometimes poor quality of goods made by foreign contractors, theft of their intellectual property and long product-delivery cycles that make them less responsive to customer demand.


Read more: http://www.usatoday.com/money/economy/2010-08-06-manufacturing04_CV_N.htm

[defendandprotect]

1. I've noticed re clothing that there is somewhat less from China ...

and moving back to the more familiar areas -- but still not Made in USA --

And, let's hope that Obama administration is also encouraging this --

but we should also OVERTURN THE TRADE AGREEMENTS!

[southmost]

22. must mean our labor cost have been getting cheaper

or about to become a bargain respectively to other countries...

[pampango]

25. And/or "Chinese wages ... have risen sharply in the past few years".

Their wages don't have to be equal to ours for it to be economically sensible to bring production back to the US. A sharp rise in Chinese wages is a good thing. Now the advantages of lower transportation costs and a more dependable legal and regulatory framework here will work to our benefit.

[defendandprotect]

26. Talbot's stuff from Nicaragua .... other stuff I've noted from Philippines ..

Indonesia -- some from Vietnam --

Czeckoslovakia was a fairly big player a while back -- that seems to

have disappeared?

Maybe fall will bring more stuff from China --

btw, don't mean to say NONE of it around --

EILEEN FISHER -- WOMEN'S CLOTHING -- big user of Chinese labor!!

And her stuff is hugely expensive --

Looks like that outfit may be bringing in fabrics to be made there???

Not sure? They use interesting linens -- maybe rayon?


I'd like to see us slam the doors on these companies that now want to come

back after destroying our manufacturing base -- economy -- etal --

[dipsydoodle]

23. Moved to sweat shops

staffed by children in Honduras etc not helped by people like her supporting coups in places like Honduras

[MadMaddie]

2. Interesting I hope we see more of this

[napi21]

3. Good to hear, but I have to ask...

What kind of stupid morons are running these companies? Theft of intelectual property & long lead times is something they all should have KNOWN before they ever offshored the jobs in the first place!

I've also heard complaints of poor quality goods has been a problem for YEARS! I heard that from several of the appliance mfgs who moved their opperation to Mexico. I'm positive that lack of QC when your own people are not on site.

I'm almost automatically resorting to "Malloy speak" these days. WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH THESE PEOPLE?

[Mopar151]

17. Racing pioneer "Smokey" Yunick

Called American management "The All-American drinking team!" They all had to learn FOR THEMSELVES about getting backdoored, copied, tooling stolen, "Chinese industry standard", lousy materials, and all the rest.
American management is often very fragmented - QC and engineering struggle mightily to explan issues like this to management comprised of MBA;s whose allegiance to short-term profit distorts their view of the whole business.

[Demeter]

19. They are greedy republicans?

They have no contact with reality--just juggle paper. They buy into fads. they think they are smarter than they are. They truly believe greed is good.

It's a mindset.

[SocialistLez]

4. YES YES YES!!

I hope we see a hell of a lot more jobs come back!

[ingac70]

5. Best news I've heard in over a decade. n/t

[Bette Noir]

6. I smell a bumper sticker:

We make it better here.

[David Zephyr]

7. I like this news story. Thanks RamboLiberal for posting it. K&R.

:)

[KT2000]

8. they went too far

they ran manufacturing as financial instruments. The all important 30 day bottom line rules but that means minimal stock on hand and having to deal with product recalls among other problems. They succeeded in losing what brand loyalty they had and forced buyers to look elsewhere for products.

Loyalty and dependability are intangibles and not considered when operating a financial instrument. They should fall flat on their faces for screwing up like that.
They just now figured out "theft of intellectual property?" Everyone knew that the first things that was done in China was to copy plans and schematics - many years ago. Guess that was one of those intangibles too.

[Booster]

9. Wow. I'm impressed. The idiots finally realized that if Americans

don't have jobs, Americans don't buy anything. Just brilliant, I tell ya.

[Lugnut]

10. It's not that complicated.

I would think all those smart guys would've thought of that.

[AllTooEasy]

11. Obama is fucking up again...

:sarcasm:

I can hear the left wing Obama haters now "Oh but wait, I still can't buy weed at WalMart and...and people still go to church and ...and SUVs are still on our roads and...and where's that White Man is the Devil executive order?"

:cry: :nopity:

[Divine Discontent]

13. wow...

that's some hate!

I took this as corporate america realizes Americans won't buy poorly made crap made from China so eagerly as they did 15, 10, even 5 years ago - not as "LEFT WING Obama haters are angry they can't get their WEED AT WAL-MART".

I like the pretty straw men you've assembled, but, look out, they burn easily!

:freak:

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_o6UZEGy811M/SGEfrJFgN0I/AAAAAAAAAQA/yA2DsNQ62HU/s320/wizard+scarecrow+fire.JPG

[silverojo]

20. WTF does this have to do with Obama?

You're really scraping for excuses to attack people who (gasp!) dare to think of Obama as anything less than perfect.

You're also dead wrong in thinking it's only left-wingers criticizing Obama. I'm a pro-gun-rights, meat-eating, pro-LEGAL-immigration moderate who simply expects him to quit kowtowing to Republicans. Quit trying to categorize people.

You're trying to credit Obama for something these corporations have simply figured out for themselves: Outsourcing isn't the jackpot they thought it would be.

Let's get these jobs back here, and then you'll have a real economic recovery.

[Turbineguy]

12. Just in time

for the biggest tax hike in history.

Don't these people listen to Rush Limbaugh?








:sarcasm:

[Ghost Dog]

14. This is why your wages had to be driven down, to compete with China

and elsewhere.

You will also be required to consume, not less (must keep the supply-side splurging), but lower quality.

And screw natural resources and the environment.

[Sherman A1]

15. Agreed

[DesertDiamond]

16. That was precisely my first thought.

[dipsydoodle]

24. Yes

you were the mugs who bought what was made there and probably also paid the same retail prices as would've been if US home produced.

[liberal N proud]

18. Is this the start of the end of off shoring?

I hope so

[cornermouse]

21. Not to mention the fact that their blue ribbon customers

weren't buying any more because they didn't have money or jobs due to outsourcing. Could the manufacturing community have "discovered" the basic fact that people without money can't buy anything?

[SpartanDem]

27. Glad to see some companies wising up

about sending jobs overseas

[Zorra]

28. Wonder if they foresee more security issues coming offshore.

There's no place like home, Toto. Welcome back to Kansas.