Yes, it would be difficult to compete with the low labor costs in China. As it is, it's only the freight savings that makes the reassembly from crate economically feasable. I can see that early on, it made sense for a company like McConnel Marc to essentially recondition brand new tractors. When they set up to do this, the Chinese quality was much lower, making such a program necessary, but prices in china were also much lower than they are now. Less competition here in the states meant higher real retail prices. There was plenty of room for direct American labor and componentry. Fortunately the quality of most Chinese factories has improved significantly over the last few years, but as that has happened, the gap in pricing is closing. We now pay between $200 to $500 extra on each tractor, just for EPA certification, which is justified because the of the ongoing recordkeeping and warranty requirements of emissions control systems. The cost of a tractor in China has jumped about 30% over the last 5 years and retail prices have been remained farily flat. Major brands have introduced some low priced competitors, that in many cases may not be any better than the chinese product, but bear the established brand name. This business is not easy!
It might be possible for a US company to buy the compents from their respective manufacturers in China and truely build a tractor in the USA, but I would sure change enough sheetmetal and fiberglass so it looked unique and even then, unless it was done under an established old line name, I think the chances of success would be slim.
I will say that knowing what I know, I personally have a hard time believing the advertising claims of this particular company, but his customers have easy access to see for themselves the level of assembly performed, the actual parts substituted, etc They are in a better position than most of us are to evaluate his claims. Every dealer who spends a day or two going over a crated tractor probably has more Labor dollars in the product than the plant in China does... Just a thought.
