Made in USA

[ultrarunner]

Is there still such a thing as a car or tractor or other complex object Made in the USA ?
I wanted a US tractor and had a JD 3520 shipped direct from the States where she's supposed to have been built. Looking at it carefully I notice the engine was built in Japan, the FEL posts in China, the bucket in Canada, some mechanical components in Spain, hydraulic couplers in Italy, and I haven't looked everywhere! I think the industrial era is coming to an end, blaming management or unions is a thing of the past. Firms must be organised on the scale of the planet and outsource most of the manufacturing to keep quality up and prices down. Isn't that the way we have already reached such a high standard of living ?

Probably nothing is 100% USA made in today's Global Economy...

I do know that Caterpillar Tractors from the D6 and up are consider the best among the excavation and road contractors I've spoke with in Austria... the problem was they also cost the most... not as much of a problem now with the weak dollar... Maybe that's why the President gave a speech at Caterpillar Headquarters?

 

[JDGREEN4ME]

I happened to purchase a good old Hershey's Peppermint Patty yesterday...don't know why but I read the label and it was made in Mexico! I live about 90 minutes from the plant in Hershey...where I used to think they made these.

 

[Scooby074]

I happened to purchase a good old Hershey's Peppermint Patty yesterday...don't know why but I read the label and it was made in Mexico! I live about 90 minutes from the plant in Hershey...where I used to think they made these.

Yep. Several years ago (1987), hersheys bought Moirs chocolates (Pot of Gold) in dartmouth. Theyve been making chocolate since 1815. In 2006 they closed the plant (after our provincial government gave them millions to upgrade) throwing about 600 out of work. They shipped the jobs to mexico.

So ****** hersheys.I dont buy theyre products anymore. Have you tried Ganong chocolates? Contest,Win, Shop online Ganong gift Chocolates,Weddings favors,Gift Baskets,Gift towers Made in New Brunswick and a pretty good chocolate too.

 

[jimmyj]

I happened to purchase a good old Hershey's Peppermint Patty yesterday...don't know why but I read the label and it was made in Mexico! I live about 90 minutes from the plant in Hershey...where I used to think they made these.

Bah. Humbug!

 

[2manyrocks]

Lotsa luck finding USA made products.

Business schools teach the same mantra of maximizing profits for the firm, but they don't teach the reality of what happens when so many dollars are exported out of the US and US buyers can no longer afford their products.

Exporting one classic Mustang doesn't put money in the pockets of Ford and Ford workers in the current economic environment. What's the point of making thousands of cars if you don't have buyers for them?

 

[rgood]

I get a kick out of when I hear the politicians all say the same thing and that is, "We need better educated workers - Our schools have to be better - We need job retraining."

A lot of these jobs went to Mexico - Are they better welders than we are?
Do they have better training then we do?

Is it the high school math teacher's fault the jobs went to Mexico?

 

[yeagisyeag]

Great, great thread!

I will say that I use more than average effort in attempting to buy "Made in USA." It is not easy. Sometimes I spend hours on the internet investigating products, then am disappointed with the purchase.

Example: Looking for a tire for my daughter's dirt bike. Dunlop's website states that they are the only motorcycle tire manufacturer that makes tires in the US. I buy their tire, $10 more than the others, and it's label says made in Malaysia. An email response from Dunlop says "it doesn't say all our tires are made here." I replied that I'm not looking to play with wording, maybe they should reword the statement so it is not as misleading, and that they should know that there are buyers out there who are looking for domestic-made products. I got some nice stickers in the mail a few weeks later.

Example: Buying padlocks at Sears hardware. Checked every package. China, China, China, Mexico... These are all from the same manufacturer, Master Lock. Which would you choose?? I wrote an email to Master Lock when I got home. No response, as is usually the case.

This is how I shop now: I put in efforts to find domestic products by investigating beforehand. I check every box in the store for country of origin. If my purchase is of a product that is made in China, but marketed by domestic company, I write an email to the company. I also write an email to the store (check the receipt, there's often a link) and ask them to offer more made in the USA products.

Jim

 

[MossRoad]

Great, great thread!

I will say that I use more than average effort in attempting to buy "Made in USA." It is not easy. Sometimes I spend hours on the internet investigating products, then am disappointed with the purchase.

Example: Looking for a tire for my daughter's dirt bike. Dunlop's website states that they are the only motorcycle tire manufacturer that makes tires in the US. I buy their tire, $10 more than the others, and it's label says made in Malaysia. An email response from Dunlop says "it doesn't say all our tires are made here." I replied that I'm not looking to play with wording, maybe they should reword the statement so it is not as misleading, and that they should know that there are buyers out there who are looking for domestic-made products. I got some nice stickers in the mail a few weeks later.

Example: Buying padlocks at Sears hardware. Checked every package. China, China, China, Mexico... These are all from the same manufacturer, Master Lock. Which would you choose?? I wrote an email to Master Lock when I got home. No response, as is usually the case.

This is how I shop now: I put in efforts to find domestic products by investigating beforehand. I check every box in the store for country of origin. If my purchase is of a product that is made in China, but marketed by domestic company, I write an email to the company. I also write an email to the store (check the receipt, there's often a link) and ask them to offer more made in the USA products.

Jim

Did you write a letter to your Kubota dealer, too?

 

[riptides]

I get a kick out of when I hear the politicians all say the same thing and that is, "We need better educated workers - Our schools have to be better - We need job retraining."

A lot of these jobs went to Mexico - Are they better welders than we are?
Do they have better training then we do?

Is it the high school math teacher's fault the jobs went to Mexico?

And what is the matter with saying "we need better..." we do.

Go visit a public school and look at the day to day curriculum for the average person.
We teach algebra...they teach trig...
We teach science...they teach physics...
We teach anatomy...they teach biology...
We teach home economics...they teach business fundamentals

And I don't personally care who says so, you cannot stop learning.

 

[Scooby074]

Great, great thread!

I will say that I use more than average effort in attempting to buy "Made in USA." It is not easy. Sometimes I spend hours on the internet investigating products, then am disappointed with the purchase.


Example: Buying padlocks at Sears hardware. Checked every package. China, China, China, Mexico... These are all from the same manufacturer, Master Lock. Which would you choose?? I wrote an email to Master Lock when I got home. No response, as is usually the case.


Jim

What i find is that its better to shop at a speciality place. Take locks for example. If you go to a locksmith instead of the big boxes (who lets face it dont care about much besides the lowest cost) you will have many more choices of locks that are IMHO better than Master. Locks like Assa Abloy plus many others but it likely wont be as cheap unless you compare them to the top series master.

Another thing to remember is that some companies manufacture some products overseas to sell at the Big Boxes inorder to meet the price point that the big boxes set and "consumers" want.

Master made there reputation in the past, and like alot of companies are still trading on it, despite the cheapening and offshoreing of their manufacture. Companies like Stanley and irwin off the top of my head.