Are there any Tractors " Manufactured" in the US anymore.?

[Agrantina]

Lets ask this question- What tractors and their major parts (engine-tranny-etc? are made by that particular company? So if you look at American versus Foreign you have to look at foreign tractors in the same way. A lot of the major tractor brands have engines made by someone else and tranny痴 made by yet another company and all are put together at a different place. So, I see no other advantage except to buy the best quality that I can afford- no matter where its made, assembled or shipped from. We (Americans) just have to start thinking more Globally- Internationally and not limit ourselves to narrow minded thoughts of 登nly American made- Heck the finest shotguns in the world are made in Italy, our boys over seas carry Berretta pistols and Bennelli shotguns to protect our freedom. Sure would not want one of them to have a jammed gun just because it was made in America!

AndyG

 

[jonyyuma]

You had it right about,"IF we go back into a war". The US is already buying "others" war materials. One reason The GOV. could not let General Motors fold because of corporate greed...Robots are actually building better products here in America, But it takes craftsmen to keep them going and producing.Yes, I drive Foreign on the road...a matter of preference and dependability.

 

[rd_macgregor]

I think US industry and workers got complacent/lazy in the face of inferior post-WWII imported goods. The Japanese, especially, responded to bad market image by introducing better engineering and manufacturing/quality control while US manufacturers were resting on their laurels (and fighting losing battles with unions).
A lot of folks mention the low wages of foreign workforce, and this certainly has long been an advantage for offshore manufacturing. However, an additional factor in their success over the past couple of decades or so has been their use of state-of-the art technologies. As the steel, shipbuilding, automobile, tractor and other heavy industries developed and expanded in China, Japan, Korea, etc. they built brand new factories with the very best, most efficient technology (eg, robotics). Meanwhile, US manufacturers were still working with 1950's technology and aging plants and have been very slow to replace the old tech with new. Much of the newer technology reduces labour, which unions resist, so US manufacturers circumvent union hassles, and minimize cost of production by outsourcing to foreign suppliers.
If the foreign-made stuff was inferior, it would be scorned; when it is as good or better...and often cheaper...than US competing goods, its no surprise that US industry suffers job losses.
BOB

 

[ToadHill]

A common misconception that couldn't be further from the truth. The United States is currently the top manufacturing country in the world.

Have you bought any German made products lately? Some of their stuff makes ours look pretty rough.

 

[mlauk]

Yup, in fact the worst tractor we ever had was made in America, a JD 4400, a complete and udder lack of R & D and poor quality control IMO.

Some of the best we've had were made overseas:

JD 2550, made in Mannheim Germany, engine made in Saran France, excellent tractor.

All of the Kubota's we've owned (B3200, M9540, ZD21) have been excellent.

My father also just purchased a JD 5045E (traded the 4400 for it), it was made in India, IIRC. Initial impressions of it are great.

I'm not anti-American in any way, but I know a good product when I see it, and lately I haven't seen much coming from here that I like (with relation to tractors and vehicles.)

The JD 4400 is a Yanmar tractor, made in Japan. I guess everything made overseas isn't great.

 

[mlauk]

It's a world economy now folks. Hardly anything is made in one country anymore. My Chevy truck has more imported parts than my wife's Honda I think. Does anyone have a Zenith TV? An American made cut? not anymore. unless they are antique. It'll never be the way it used to be. sad but true.

I still have a Zenith TV and is the main TV we watch in the living room. I doubt your Chevy truck has more imported parts than your Honda, but yes they all have imported parts.

 

[TripleR]

Some Chevy trucks are made in Mexico, but parts come from all over.

 

[jml755]

Cat driver makes good points. Remember, though, the move offshore didn't happen overnight. The Japanese did not just wake up after WWII and start making quality stuff. Look up Dr. E Deming. He was the father of SPC (statistical process control) and was not taken seriously here in the States. He went to Japan and his methods revolutionized their industries. Also, the computer age that the US spawned has made it easier to work globally. Even 30 yrs ago, you couldn't wait weeks to get drawings sent back and forth overseas. Nowadays, engineering can be done anywhere and the product built anywhere, thanks to the Internet and almost instantaneous communications. Corporate greed? Uh, corporations are having a tough time making ANY profit these days. Overpriced labor? Yeah, that's a big factor. Ability to do business globally (as I mentioned above)? Yeah, that's big too. Government regulations & taxes? That's a HUGE disadvantage for a US company but something the politicians won't touch. As Cat Driver mentioned, Cap & Trade is the next big millstone around US manufacturers' necks. Al Gore and his fat cat Wall St Energy Credit traders will be the only ones profiting from that.

Just as an example, on a small scale, our company has to have a "backflow preventer inspection" on our sprinkler system EVERY YEAR at a cost of over $100. Our light bulbs and paint solvents are picked up by a company at a cost of thousands of dollars per quarter. These are just 2 of the SMALL items that US industry must comply with. Think the companies in India and China bear those same costs? Nope.

There is really no way to reverse this unless we have policies that protect our industries like Japan and China have in place. Want to go to China and open a company? Only if you partner with a Chinese national and then they'll let you just so they can steal all your technology and intellectual property. A Chinese company inquired about buying a computerized machine from us but insisted they get the source code. No dice, we said and they didn't buy.

Plus, if we do reverse the trend (with tariffs or import barriers) to put US manufacturing on a level playing field, be prepared to pay more for your tractors and any other stuff you own. And remember, all the hand-wringing about no more US built products was caused by US consumers showing their preferences for CHEAPER foreign made products. If the US had done what was needed to keep the US consumer in their corner (lower labor costs, reduced regulations & taxes resulting in lower prices) we wouldn't be in this position now.

 

[mlauk]

The John Deere 7XXX and 8XXXX series tractors are made in the USA.

 

[soulasphil]

A common misconception that couldn't be further from the truth. The United States is currently the top manufacturing country in the world. China is a close second and will likely pass us in the next few years, but even if they do, the US and China are so far ahead of everyone else the US will not drop out of the top two anytime soon.

I think technically China has been ahead of the US for over 6 months. What is much worse is that from what I saw on my recent visits to America and China, China is still accelerating whereas the US is slowing down. In Shanghai a couple of weeks ago you could see buildings coming up everywhere, apartments, offices, raiway stations, harbour installations. They have a magnificent subway system and very impressive fast trains (400 km/h). I'm not speaking about maglev but about the ordinary high speed trains that are faster, more comfortable and cheaper than their European counterparts. We are being left behind.