American made tractor?

5030 · Jan 27, 2004

AndyM:

Bush bites. I didn't say Busch Lite either.

JTC · Jan 27, 2004

Kyle_in_Tex,

Walmart is our largest customer. They are tough, but reasonable. We have other large customers who are tough and unreasonable. It's just a normal part of business to know when to tactfully tell a customer that your sorry but you can not accommodate their demand.

The company I work for has 27 manufacturing facilities world wide, 6 in the USA, but I deal primarily with our contract manufactures in China. The only facilities that we've closed in the last 4 years have been in France and Germany due to decreasing efficiency and increasing costs. My personal philosophy is to work every day like my job depends on it. Unfortunately, not everyone shares this view. I have empathy for people who have been laid-off, but the "laws" of economics are as strong as gravity. Protectionism just doesn't work in the long term.

Jim

Soundguy · Jan 27, 2004

( someone usually takes over the company who doesn't understand the original mission of the company. ..ways to cuts costs.... and they eventually move production off shore )

Ford>>>>>New Holland? Just took a few years..

Soundguy

5030 · Jan 27, 2004

Soundguy:

Ford>>>>>NH>>>>>Fiat>>>>>>broke!!!!>>>divestiture

Here is another one:

Republic Steel>>>>>LTV>>>>bankruptcy>>>>ISG

How about this:

American made>>>>foreign made>>>>outsourced>>>>Harley Davison!!!

Nice flow charts, yes???

Bob_Skurka · Jan 27, 2004

Regarding American Steel. I live just south of one of the largest steel producing regions in this country. In the 70's & 80's we had something close to 250,000 people employed nationally making about 80 millions tons of steel each year. Today we the numbers have reversed. We make over 200 million tons of steel in the USA today, but now it only takes about 78,000 employees to do it. Those jobs are not shipped overseas. We are still making the steel. In fact we are making better steel, faster and more efficiently.

President Bush, and his relaxing of the steel quotas/teriffs helped keep a lot of people who ASSEMBLE things made out of steel employed. Steel workers are not being layed off because the quotas/teriffs were relaxed, those guys lost their jobs long ago because of inefficiencies in the system that were removed. That is how we make so much more steel with fewer employees. Our steel would be double the price if we still had 200,000+ steel workers and that would make our steel TOTALLY uncompetitive and then the 70,000+ steel producers we have now would be unemployed. We need competition to keep us competitive, which keeps us employed.

AndyM · Jan 27, 2004

( AndyM:

Bush bites. I didn't say Busch Lite either. )

Daryl,
I try to stay away from catagorized partisan politics. I never registered with either political party until the 2000 primary to vote for McCain (or against Bush, which ever way you want to look at it). Since I haven't voted in a primary since, I still don't put myself in a catagory.

I feel he had a difficult desicion to make about the steel tariffs, and I wish it would have been the other way around. I know American steel is how you make your living and it effects many, many people in this area. The company I work for is a large plastics company, and much of our work has been outsourced to China over the past few years. I blame the current president AND the fellow before him for allowing it to happen like this.

I don't like Bush. I don't particularly care for any of the Democratic contenders either. I'm kind of stuck on what to do on this one, but I also don't want to get a political feud going here on TBN...

MikePA · Jan 27, 2004

but I also don't want to get a political feud going here on TBN... 
/forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

Kyle_in_Tex · Jan 27, 2004

(
Your theory that Wal Mart will make you move the plant overseas is simply wrong. The consumers who buy from Wal Mart are the ones who force cheaper prices, and that forces manufacturers to move their plants overseas.
)

Bob, I'm not trying to start a war here but if you read your own writing, you made the connection yourself.

Walmart=cheap consumers=overseas production

Maybe Walmart doesn't actually say "You have to move your facility overseas" but they do say, "We want your product at a cheaper price or we'll go to another vendor"

This is a natural ebb and flow of purchasing and supplying goods.

I like cheap prices too, but I try to buy American when I can.

It's not Walmart's problem,(although they do conduct ventures like a bull in the china shop.)

It's America's problem...And I'm hoping that somehow a solution can come soon. Otherwise, we will endure some pretty drastic changes in the future if our ability to manufacture slowly bleeds away.

yellowsocks93 · Jan 27, 2004

We as consumers do have one very lethal weapon: Stop buying products we don't like. This will tell the companies we need to build our products here. I know a lot of stuff is made from parts all over the world but if we stop buying the companies will be forced to change. Just a thought since our economy works this way.

Old_Hickory · Jan 27, 2004

( but now it only takes about 78,000 employees to do it )
Excellent point efficiency. /forums/images/graemlins/cool.gif
Plastic has replaced steel in a lot of places too thus reducing the demand for some steel (some). /forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif