Originally Posted by AZjeff
Originally Posted by Mr Nice
Bring manufacturing back to the USA.
Especially pharmaceuticals.
I don't mind spending more $$$ to have more Americans employed.
It looks like the average manufacturing wage in China in 2018 was $5/hr. Are we willing to spend twice as much for stuff? Unlikely.
Man, I haven't seen those wages? In major manufacturing centers, skilled welders are getting $2.50 an hour, semi-skilled assembly factories are closer to the minimum wage (roughly $2.15 an hour). The highest I've seen is about $2.80-$3.00 when a specific skill is in really high demand.
And with those wages, factory owners are still investing in as much automation as possible, since labor is "so expensive". So yeah, I just don't see most manufacturing coming back to the US. For critical industries (and I'd put pharmaceuticals at the top of the list) , this stuff isn't coming back without coordinated government intervention in the form of duties and tariffs. Lots of folks claim to want "made in US", but overwhelmingly folks have voted with their pocketbooks...
Additionally, I don't think most folks understand that it's the supply chains that make domestic manufacturing an untenable proposition. Let's say you want to make power tools. How many parts go into a drill? How much sub-assemblers are in the US? This stuff didn't leave overnight, and it's not realistic to expect it could come back overnight. It would take several years, and would only happen with long-standing structured public policies. Short term tariffs aren't moving supply chains long-term.
I don't see HF going out of business or closing tons of stores. I can see a store on the bubble getting 86'd due to even slower sales... Goods will come in, but yeah, things are delayed, and some of the delays will likely be a few months.
Originally Posted by Mr Nice
Bring manufacturing back to the USA.
Especially pharmaceuticals.
I don't mind spending more $$$ to have more Americans employed.
It looks like the average manufacturing wage in China in 2018 was $5/hr. Are we willing to spend twice as much for stuff? Unlikely.
Man, I haven't seen those wages? In major manufacturing centers, skilled welders are getting $2.50 an hour, semi-skilled assembly factories are closer to the minimum wage (roughly $2.15 an hour). The highest I've seen is about $2.80-$3.00 when a specific skill is in really high demand.
And with those wages, factory owners are still investing in as much automation as possible, since labor is "so expensive". So yeah, I just don't see most manufacturing coming back to the US. For critical industries (and I'd put pharmaceuticals at the top of the list) , this stuff isn't coming back without coordinated government intervention in the form of duties and tariffs. Lots of folks claim to want "made in US", but overwhelmingly folks have voted with their pocketbooks...
Additionally, I don't think most folks understand that it's the supply chains that make domestic manufacturing an untenable proposition. Let's say you want to make power tools. How many parts go into a drill? How much sub-assemblers are in the US? This stuff didn't leave overnight, and it's not realistic to expect it could come back overnight. It would take several years, and would only happen with long-standing structured public policies. Short term tariffs aren't moving supply chains long-term.
I don't see HF going out of business or closing tons of stores. I can see a store on the bubble getting 86'd due to even slower sales... Goods will come in, but yeah, things are delayed, and some of the delays will likely be a few months.