Tractor Shortages

[Steppenwolfe]

Unions and greed are the reasons we limit what we make.

OK... And Unions are also why a lot of us have what we have.

 

[Jstpssng]

Look at all the cargo ships from China waiting to unload.
So we wait for other countries to spoon feed us what we need. Such a sad state of affairs.
Some live in areas of the country where things are going pretty well. For those of us in the rust belt watching our industrial plants closing (if there are any left) or being bought by foreign countries, it’s tough to watch.

Our chickens are coming home, to roost.

Some of us have been predicting this or something similar since jobs started going overseas 40 years ago.

 

[mike02557a]

Can't really give an honest opinion without getting a "timeout". Yes, the world has always had diverse politics but things have changed dramatically in the past 5 years or so. People are no longer allowed to have frank and open discussions anymore. If you say something that is not part of the official narrative you lose your speaking privileges. This is what America has become and even this simple, honest statement will likely be removed and my account locked. But yes, I agree with you that the pandemic has been used to create a whole new world.

I long or the GOOD TIMES of the 1950's/1960's...we had ethics..values...sex and violence on TV were less...we got to watch the Mickey Mouse club and we believed the Superman was right fighting fo TRUTH, JUSTICE and the AMERICAN WAY. Today's world is a far shot from what good ole America used to be. We reward greed and buy voters bu giving them money. What will 2022 bring? The answer: Hyperinflation, a stock market crash and a real estate market bust. How to prepare for it: Learn how to repair everything you can...buy tools...learn new skills..buy repair books...work hard every day and save what you can so you can buy during the down cycle in 2022/2023. A recession is on its way..

 

[mike02557a]

I offered someone a job at $17/hr helping me get things done around my farm. He needs the money as he can't pay his bills. He doesn't have a job and I could use some help around the farm doing odd jobs like mowing my 9 acres, helping me clean out the greenhouses, hold up the other end of a 2x4 while I fix something, or help me repair my many trucks and tractors. I thought $17/hr was good pay seeing retail jobs pay around $10/hr.

He declined...saying he wanted at least $20/hr.

I don't get it....he still isn't working...he still needs money but he is looking for a handout...

 

[Macinnis]

Unions and greed are the reasons we limit what we make.

Page 7 before someone hit the nail on the head.

 

[ranchito]

Whats really funny is that the 'Just In Time' thing was created by Toyota and after a period of rejection, US companies finally embraced it then took it to the extreme and got to the point where if deliveries were delayed by even an hour the lines shut down (Motorola in the 90's anyone?). Having learned their lessen, US companies relaxed things a bit and went to a couple days to a couple weeks of inventories, depending.

But Toyota never said to have inventories coming in the back door just in time to build whats going out the front. They said not to have *years* worth of inventory sitting around (common at the time) and to limit it to about 6 months to reduce overhead but still allow for any fluctuations in the supply chain. This is why Toyota was the only car manufacturer to not shut down lines and still had fully functioning cars, chips and all. I have a feeling US companies are going to do another reset after this, LOL.

Another benefit for Toyota was that a defect later discovered in millions of parts or assemblies were not sitting in a warehouse only to be installed in the rest of that model year or more. By having a limited inventory, corrections were made so only a limited number of vehicles were affected. One notable exception being the frame rot on their pickups, a result of a lighter frame that was no match for road salt. Of course, they also stopped the line if a problem was discovered during assembly and a solution was found then and there by the workers, unlike the US brands which would push the defective cars out to the dealers to find a remedy. Germans would let the defect get to the end of the line where a team would make corrections before shipment to dealers and add that sometimes substantial cost onto the MSRP of the cars. All of this in a great book I read many years ago. And we wonder how the Japanese lines took over the auto industry.

 

[Hay Dude]

Some of us have been predicting this or something similar since jobs started going overseas 40 years ago.

I’d be in that “some of us” group.

 

[Hay Dude]

You don’t think that “maximizing shareholder value” has any relationship to offshoring of jobs by US corporations?

Not as much as over-regulation, high taxes and overpaid, over -benefitted employees.
If you get rid of maximizing shareholder value you might as well say goodbye to capitalism

 

[Hay Dude]

Am I missing something in what I wrote? I did not say "nobody wants to pay" being caused by the government. I've dealt with all the rate cutting scabs all my life to know everyone in the trucking industry is their own worst enemy.

Just making separate points. There is no shortage of truckers, just a shortage of owners and drivers willing to stay in the industry.

And none of it affects me anyway. Never been to California, and never hauled cans.

I just thought it was funny they are trying to partly blame it on a "shortage" of drivers. That is the game they use to import new people to the country that they can put in trucks untrained and unqualified and use them like new world slaves.

I think there’s a shortage of truckers because many of the truckers are small companies and small businesses are being decimated.
I recently took delivery of a large piece of equipment. Delivered by a rural trucker. He said the electronic controlled wastegate broke on his trucks turbocharger and wouldn’t make much boost. Aggravating to drive but said he’d probably have to drive it this way for a while because trucking money is way down.

 

[check]

Took my Kubota BX25 in for service a couple weeks ago, and my dealer where I bought it has been expanding and getting bigger. The two nearest dealers close down, so now they have all the business! Still had very little inventory, and everything that I saw they said it was already sold or in for service.