U WANTED MADE IN U.S.A., or SHINN FU??

We'll that's what you do, you sell cheap until the competition folds, then raise your prices when no other options exist.

 

I thought walmart was paying back china... Then again, what do I know...

 

Wal-Mart is going to buy China, than The USA

 

WalMart.

 

I don't think so.....

 

PORK-N-BEANER MANUFACTURING, a Division of TRADITIONS RACING and ENGINEERING

 

Are you accepting applications for a great quality machinist with some fabricating skills???

 

The idea of a "living wage" is killing small business. What ever happened to minimum wage. You know the wage that you make when you have minimum skills. When you have to hire a highschool aged kid to run tractors at nearly $10.00 an hour for seasonal farm work it kills profit real quick. Oregon minimum wage is a lot higher than the Fed.

Call me greedy if you want but, for my risk and time and the possibility of losing everything I ever EARNED, I want to make money. When you have labor groups trying to turn farms into unions you can't make money.

When I was a kid I didn't even make minimum wage. Picking strawberries and being paid based on production was normal. It also made me want to learn better skills rather than being a 45 year old strawberry picker someday.

Organized labor has taken the drive and desire out of people by providing for the lazy useless worker as well as the skilled hard working individual who has ambition. I worked a union job as an equipment operator, got fired for getting off the backhoe to grab a shovel and get in the trench. I took a laborers 5 minutes of glory from him.

In 1979 IH LiteLine workers went on strike to demand higher wages and more benefits. IH said no way. Remember how good the economy was in the Carter era. IH finally settled in December I think and by May 1980 laid off everyone working on the LiteLine. They Bargained themselves out of a job.

When we get back to the days of minimum wage actually meaning minimum wage our economy will recover. We cannot manufacture any product in the USA without entry wage jobs and make it work. IF the employee learns to work harder and smarter, learns some skills, only then should they be considered "skilled labor".

Add government regulation and all of their BS it really increases overhead and liability. Throw in the mooch looking for a free ride from some fake injury and a jury dumb enough to award them something. All the free loaders accepting public assistance when they can work but won't. Spend their food stamps on frozen pizza and cash on booze and cigarettes, but not a dime on theirs kid's school supplies or clothing.

There is a reason a BigMac costs what it does. Remember that last time you tried to order something at McD's from a highschool kid? You think they should be making $10.00 per hour for those so called skill? That is what I see as the problem. Consider the guy pushing rubber bushings into the shock mounting eyes. Can that excellent ability really be worth $25.00-30.00 hour and still make anything reasonable enough to purchase?

Didn't mean for this to sound political or anti union, sorry if it offends.

But like everyone I want good parts cheap. But only Parts made in the USA. It is getting more and more difficult to find anything like that. I buy made in the US tools because they are made right. Too many HF wrenches and sockets don't fit the bolts right.

 

^^ they will fit the bolts right..as soon as the same maker that is making the cheap wrenches figures out how to make the cheap bolts too

 

OK I kind of like the engineering part. I'll start drawing up some plans, we can look them over and tweak whatever we think needs to be tweaked.

Those damned labels are going to cost os a furtune. I can see our overhead sky rocketing now.

I guess I'm moving to my country place sooner than I thought. I can put the hole damned town to work. I'll be a local hero, at least 'til I have to let someone go.

If we build the stuff here we could call it Mule Manufacturing

You can vent like that any time. I truly believe that if we charged a tariff on offshore products even though the company has an office in the US that we could drive manufacturing back to the US.



You are absolutely correct about sending stuff back that doesn't fit and demanding US made pieces or products. I purchase a lot of my speed parts from a company tat started in the trunk of a guys car. I have told them so many times that I will only accept US made parts that they have a note that pops up on the computer screen when they pull my account up.

 

Awesome thread and great insight.

 

Don't foret, the EPA nazis have made it impossible to manufacture most things here. China has no such regulators.

 

Yes, we need equal tarrifs with China.

 

Ever been to NY? Think you can work for $7.25 an hour and afford to live? That's $290 bucks a week BEFORE taxes. Rent here is a minimum of $1000 bucks a month, and that's in the ghetto!

Minimum wage wont even cover putting a roof over your head, you still have to worry about utilities, food, clothes, and the expense of traveling to and from work. . . and that puts you at just "existing", no room for any hobbies, or leisure, or entertainment money if you've got children, etc. . .

The problem is "obscene profits", a company isn't happy making millions in profits, they look at anything that's not in the billions as a loss these days. One of the major gas companies made $13billion in profits last year, and they were still looking for way to raise prices, lower salaries, cut jobs, and are lobbying for tax breaks "or else!".

OK, enough ranting, let's get back to hot rods.

 

Zombie, I think that was $13 Billion in profits " last quarter ", not last year. Stinks I know. Gas was $1 a gallon average cheaper this time last year.

 

Thank you Dave, from all of us.

 

This means NOTHING about the quality of the products, nor does most of the general public know of it. I have been involved in ISO-9001 as a Documentation Engineering Specialist and all this is documentation basically saying "Do what you say, and say what you do" it DOES NOT, I repeat, DOES NOT guarantee that the product is better than any other by a non ISO compliant company.

 

I was talking small business and minimum wage. An entry level job. Should a person make enough for rent in Manhatten when they don't have any ability other than being able to take a breath. You know the mouth breathers I am talking about.

A high school kid, who by the way is entry level mouth breather, doesn't have rent and should not be supporting a family of children we hope. That was the intention behind a minimum wage. It was never intended to be a wage high enough to pay all your bills and have hobbies as well. It was to elimate the sweat factories with children working for pennies a day.

By the way I don't see any obscene profits in my business. I wish I did.

The probem with chinese parts is waranty. No one will stand behind the parts or tools if they have actually used.

 

Certificates??

http://www.goodeschitt.com/

 

SPC is also a BIG joke!

 

Twisting this thread in a new direction, I want to take control of my own destiny here and this is what I as a small business owner offer:

I would love to see similar posts offering services. We already have the HAMB-O-DEX There are great services there, but not the stuff I need to produce the product line I would like to offer. Are there any HAMB guys that either do or know a company that can:

• small production cast aluminum/steel
• small production run forgings in steels and aluminum
• small production run CNC machining
• small production run design/build
• tube handling, bending /coping
• small production run hydroforming (larger scale)
• small part stamping

I for one would love to see us hot rodders show the world how to get shit done.

 

I shape surfboards and work in the clothing industry for a living. I am really blessed to have people who are willing to pay more for a handmade product than some mass produced pop out from China. All of my companies products are hand made by me in my shop but the same cant be said for the clothing companies I work for because they produce things on a much greater scale and profit is king.

The only glimmer of hope for us in the US is bringing production back to the US. Last year cotton prices in overseas went up about 25%. In the last year there has been a push for a lot of american based companies to start bringing selected production back here which is promising.

I am not positive but I am fairly certain that either Goodyear or Firestone or one of the big tire manufactures bought back their old factory in detroit to start limited production in the US. Regardless, something has to change or were going to go even further down into the pooper tank.

 

re: empty shipping containers being returned to china/ post #5---49ratfink,
here in metro-detroit area the scrapdealers fill the units full of non-ferrous
recyclable metals and 'move-them-out'. haven't asked 'where' they are 'moved-to',
BUT my guess is somewhere on the 'pacific rim'. [for the longest time the rumor was it was cheaper to 'leave-the-emptied-containers-here than to return ship them'. crossover the rouge river on I-75 you will find a huge shipping container yard, that would be some 2 miles east of the FOMOCO rouge complex!]
is it true the huge port of long beach is west coast point of entry for much of the pacific rim 'merchandise'?

red ryder

 

Between the Gov. and the Unions we got what we were asking for. How do you like this change??? And by the way it didn't just happen,it started back in the 70's and 80's. God Bless America.

 

THANK YOU to the moderators for letting this conversation continue.

I always enjoy hearing someone else's point of view even if I disagree with 99% of it. Who knows? I might actually learn something here today!

 

The shipping containers going back empty used to happen a lot, 2008 and earlier. Not so much now. Empty containers are in limited supply on the west coast. Fewer imports due to our economy slumping is the big reason. Trucks often times will sit at some ports for hours waiting on an empty to return that they can take.

There are a lot of ferrous and nonferrous metals leaving our country but most of them make it back in some form or another. Thats not to say that China isn't using a large volume. China has been booming for quite some time now. They need our resources for their developing infrastructure.

When the volume of imports comes back it will help container avaible for our exports. Our exports are actually on an upswing on the west coast. Mostly raw products and ag products are making most of the volume. Almost all of it to be consumed in the Pacific rim countries.

 

Not to get off of the Econ 101 lessons, but I would buy cherrypickers and stands made to handle big, heavy engines like Olds, Caddy and iron Hemis. Hell, the Ford flatmotor is heavy too. The problem with most cherrypickers is they're made for light modern engines. Plus, I just like Benno. I'd support his business.

 

Ok more on ISO cerification.

http://www.goodeschitt.com/2011/02/145/

This will help sniff out any false certification.

http://www.goodeschitt.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/02/Integrity-Meter.jpg

 

Interesting post, and for me at least, somewhat timely. Services are expensive too. Not grind-it-out repair work, quality custom service. In the last year i seem to be getting a fair amount of what I call buyer's remorse. At $60/hr it doesn't take a genius to figure that it's just under $500 per day per person. Clearly there are several standards to services of different types. That said though, a body shop will take an entirely different approach to hanging a 1/4 panel than a restoration shop. Doing a quicky patch panel overlay is not restoration. Sliding a J.C. Whitney seat cover over the old seat is not upholstery work. I'm very clear in my processes and projections as to where and how things go, but cheap products and TV has given the market a different and false perspective. Most of the folks fom my generation, and even a few from those that follow, truely understand the difference between price and value.

I'm in full agreement as to buying older used stuff from the glory days that we here on this board are so fond of. I have 2 older Craftsman floor jacks that work perfect and roll real nice with a 5000# Packard on em. Ok so I'm not lifting the whole 5K, but you get the idea I hope. The new ones twist and buckle under the load just lifting and they get rated at the same tonage.

I also agree that automation is also responsible for human resource reductions. Automation has a higher level of consistancy, doesn't fight with it's "co-workers", and the cost is up front and easily amortized into the product. We have to take the good with the bad on that score. One area of failing quality that I've seen is replacement seat covers (OEM repro from reliable sources). Used to be you could damn near tell them to insatll themselves they fit so good. The last 3-4 sets we've done here fit like socks on a chicken. Chevy, Ford, Mopar, doesn't seem to matter. The foam doesn't fit the frame and the cover doesn't fit the foam. Then the customer wonders why it took 8hrs to build their seats. "I bought the best and most expensive ones I could get..." which means they got hosed in my opinion. Now I have to document each step and even take pictures to show them what they paid for.

So, with the overall acceptance of throw away goods, it also seems like many are happy with sub-standard workmanship as well. I tire of seeing crooked seams, unfinished or lumpy body work, sloppy wires and plumbing, then cover it all up with the latest credit card bling-blings. Please understand that these are mostly present company excluded type comments. The reason most of us are here is the desire to repeat, and the respect we have, for genuine old-world craftsmanship. It's a sad social commentary to know that in the general population most of it lost. Thrown away like worn out sneakers.

 

It's still over $3 bucks here, I guess it's better than $4, but not as good as $2.

Someone, somewhere down the line is a nice profit from what ever crop you harvest. . . and that's who's keeping you from making a profit and being able to pass a livable wage onto your work force.

I wish you were making obscene profits too, I wish everyone was.