American Made Tractor

   / American Made Tractor #1  

WVH1977

Platinum Member
Joined
Apr 6, 2017
Messages
732
Location
Richmond, VA
Tractor
Massey 2860M Cab, Massey 1E.35, Gravely Pro-Turn 560, 1989 Ford D47 Dump Truck
Any thoughts or opinions on a completely American built tractor ever being produced again in our time. I am talking about the entire tractor being completely built in this country with no foreign parts. Is it possible in this day and age?
 
   / American Made Tractor #2  
I'm sure it would be possible but priced completely out of any competitive market.
 
   / American Made Tractor #3  
No doubt there are many here who know more than I do on this but as far as workers and companies are concerned I think they could be affordable. No idea on what role government regulations have to increase the cost here, but I think government regs has as much or more to do than wages different here compared to say Japan.
 
   / American Made Tractor #4  
It has more to do with people wanting cheaper and wanting it now. American made comes with a price. These Indian, Jap tractors can be assembled for pennies on the dollar and most added cost is to fit them to cumbersome us regulation. Thank a politician or tree hugger for that.
 
   / American Made Tractor #5  
The closest you're going to get are some models of JD that are made in Waterloo. JD still makes their own engines for the big stuff. I'm sure they get some components from overseas, it's simply not economical to make a $2 plug when you can buy fifty from china for the same price.

As far as the small tractor market...no. Even if JD wanted to, putting that kind of R&D and setup money into a small tractor line when the Yanmar stuff is perfectly fine would make no sense from a business prospective. Being on TBN gives a bit of a skewed perspective on the US market. We tend to think 60hp is a big machine. Any decent sized farm in the US is going to have at least a 100-150ish HP machine in the stable, if not multiple larger units. That's where the money is in tractors, and that's where companies like JD, Case/New Holland, and even Kubota are going to put their focus.

The startup cost of trying to create a new US only brand would be enormous. You'd have to find a domestic source of engines. You'd have to find/make rears and transmissions. You'd have to make the sheet-metal, the driveline, the computer system, the DPF package(I think it took Mahindra 30 million US to engineer around needing one). Find a domestic source for fuel senders and hydraulic pumps, the list goes on and on.

At a wild guess you'd need at least 5 years and a couple billion dollars to even get off the ground. Maybe more, if you ended up needing a foundry to make castings.
 
   / American Made Tractor #6  
Heck...a lot of the things that are really "Made in the USA"...are made with tools and or materials that aren't...!
 
   / American Made Tractor #7  
Any thoughts or opinions on a completely American built tractor ever being produced again in our time. I am talking about the entire tractor being completely built in this country with no foreign parts. Is it possible in this day and age?

Possible yes. Will it happen - no. It is a world economy and it would take excruciating detail to verify that all the components are also made in the USA. And what would be the value to going to this effort?
 
   / American Made Tractor #8  
My Power Trac, while made in Tazewell, VA, has some foreign parts in the hydraulics, and the engines are Robin Subaru, Kohler, and Deutz.

My dad was in WWII in the south pacific in a combat engineering battalion; Australia, New Guinea, and the Philippines. He drove Volkswagens, Toyotas and Chevys. I figure if a guy that fought both of these countries could buy cars made there after the war was over, so could I. My mother-in-law is a retired United Autoworker union factory worker. She drives a Toyota minivan. It's more American made than a Ford F-150.

While it would be nice to see a purely American product, its a global economy and we're all going to have to learn to live with it. It's a small world.
 
   / American Made Tractor #9  
Nope, I don’t see it happening. We are great at engineering and innovation, but have found its more profitable to outsource manufacturing.
 
   / American Made Tractor #10  
My Power Trac, while made in Tazewell, VA, has some foreign parts in the hydraulics, and the engines are Robin Subaru, Kohler, and Deutz.

I would have thought they would use the same manufacturer for all three engines.
:eek:die: :eek:die: :eek:die:
 

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