Is It Really Cheaper?

[kngtmat]

I don't know but is it really cheaper to make a bike overseas and ship it here because with the high price of shipping bikes to other places within the US alone seems a lot?

You think making a cheap bike overseas then ship it would cost the same as making a great quality bike then ship to places in the same country they are made in.

 

[Rat Rod]

The companies that do this buy them by the thousands and they come over in one big container...which drives the shipping cost per bike way down.

 

[TornadoDave3]

Actually, that is changing. The current model of outsourcing everything to China is becoming less attractive as oil prices go up and the Dollar and Euro go down. Consumer sentiment is also turning away from the "lowest quality for the lowest price" merchandise.... especially in Europe.

BUT... the situation is not just related to shipping vs manufacturing costs. Here in the US we have a LOT of rules, regulations, and so forth that are business unfriendly that make tougher to manufacture here, even if we can do so at a low enough cost.... and we have all manner of excise taxes that penalize American manufacturers. The long and short of it is that the government protects the large companies that manufacture overseas, and actively discourages domestic production.

 

[yoothgeye]

Also, I have been accepting the fact that just because things being made overseas are made cheap, they have been doing it long enough that the quality isn't horrible. If we started mass producing bikes in the US again, the US workers have really gone to pot! We have places like McDonalds that will hire people all day long, but able bodied people think that that work is below them, so they get paid more to sit at home. This isn't across the board, but it's a sad reality, look at the quality of Toyota vehicles that have been made/assembled here in the US, poor compared to their older Japanese counterparts.

 

[axsepul]

here are some numbers

the USA POPULATION 312,060,613
http://www.census.gov/population/www/popclockus.html

WALMART NUMBERS

Walmart serves customers more than 200 million times per week at more than 9,600 retail units and is now
operating in 28 countries as a result of our investment in Massmart.
We employ 2.1 million associates globally, including almost 1.4 million in the United States. Walmart is one of
the largest private employers in the U.S., the largest in Mexico and one of the largest in Canada as well.
For the fiscal year ended January 2011, Walmart increased net sales by 3.4% to $419 billion and returned a
record $19.2 billion to shareholders through dividends and share repurchases. Walmart ranked first on the 2011
FORTUNE 500 list of the world’s largest companies by revenue. Today, Walmart International is a fast-growing part of Walmart's overall operations, with 4,112 stores and more than 680,000 associates in 14 countries outside the continental U.S.
http://walmartstores.com/pressroom/factsheets/


Why the U.S. doesn't stop Bad Chinese Imports.
http://jblack.linuxguru.net/node/75


i think it all comes down to employee cost per hour, it is so cheap that after shipping cost and after all the taxes it is steel cheaper. so cheap that i think for every $100 bike walmart sale they make $20 to $40 that is depending if its on sale.

 

[mojo66]

really?? what data do you have to show that American Made Toyotas are of lesser quality? The quality of Ford vehicles are on par with Toyota... I also imagine people that worked for Schwinn in Chicago were proud of the bikes they built, not embarrassed. We, as AMERICANS need to stop insulting our fellow workers and the products they create..and buy as many American made goods as possible. did you ever consider that maybe the American corperations that make their products overseas want us to believe that American products are inferior so we WANT to buy foreign made products to help their bottom line???? And as for the regulations and taxes, we care about the enviornment, not just turning our countru into a sespool of garbage and pollution. Just a thought, I may be wrong, but I really dont think so.
Sorry about the rant.

http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases ... 42349.html

 

[g-ratter]

Just saw a news story on a american company that needed over 2,000 workers for their production area but can not find people with the skills to run the machines. Seems to me every one wants to work on computers creating apps and games. I know the amount of people going to colleges has increased with each generation but I always wonder if so many people are getting degrees and becoming "managers" were are the working bees coming from?

 

[axsepul]

really?? what data do you have to show that American Made Toyotas are of lesser quality? The quality of Ford vehicles are on par with Toyota... I also imagine people that worked for Schwinn in Chicago were proud of the bikes they built, not embarrassed. We, as AMERICANS need to stop insulting our fellow workers and the products they create..and buy as many American made goods as possible. did you ever consider that maybe the American corperations that make their products overseas want us to believe that American products are inferior so we WANT to buy foreign made products to help their bottom line???? And as for the regulations and taxes, we care about the enviornment, not just turning our countru into a sespool of garbage and pollution. Just a thought, I may be wrong, but I really dont think so.
Sorry about the rant.

http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases ... 42349.html

i dont think he is insulting our fellow workers it all comes down to the employee cost per hour. it is way more expensive to run a company here so to bring the cost down the company uses cheap materials. it has nothing to do with the quality of the workers. 1980 toyota is way better than any 2011 toyota, just like any 70's ford pickup is way better than any 2011 model. i think that all cars built today are built to last a good three years at the most just so you have to buy another one or have to spend money on parts. car companies will not make any money if they built cars that can operate for 10+ years!

 

[mojo66]

I have a 2007 Ford Explorer with 140k mikes on it...few problems....cars 20 yrs ago couldnt go 100k mikes without a plug change..... its perception....that truck still looks good and runs great. my wife has a 10 yr old Tiberon with 98k miles...why do we still have both of them?? because they are both fine...and paid for.....How many rusted out cars do you even see anymore??? FEW.. I also have a 66 Ford and a 72 Scout....neither of which I would want to commute in every day, even if those cars were new....I love heated seats in the winter...

 

[deorman]

The only things better about my old 60's cars relative to my 96 Buick were styling, and home fixable for a few bucks electrical systems. :| Oh yeah, thicker rear brake pads. :roll:
(Chrome dashes, trim etc. 8) included under styling.)

 

[axsepul]

my 1987 toyota pickup has 1,252,400 miles, use it every day, AC works great, don't need the heater here in puerto rico. although i got a minor engine oil leak about 2 months ago when i took it for some off road fun.

 

[TornadoDave3]

I've got to disagree that the American Worker produces less quality, or lesser quantity than their Asian or European counterparts..... OR that American workers don't want to work. The statistics simply don't support such an arguement. If you look at the dollar value produced per hour worked you find that Americans produce more per manhour than most other countries, including Japan. If you look at units produced per manhour, you'll see the same thing. If you look at vehicle reliability you will find that Ford 150's made in American factories last as long as any other vehicles.... including Mercedes Benz (My own 150 has 250,000+ miles on it, and I expect it to go at least a nother 50,000 miles.)

I recently managed the construction of a $5 Billion dollar manufacturing facility here in the US, and one of the primary reasons for the choice of location was the availability of a skilled workforce. When they advertised for workers, they had 30,000 applicants for a wide variety of positions ranging from furnace operators, to machinists, to computer technicians, to financial gurus.... and they filled all of their open positions without real difficulty.

I too saw the news story where a company claimed they could not find "sufficiently trained and experienced" workers. I've seen claims like that before.... and don't buy it. Typically when a company makes such a claim it is because either A. They don't pay a wage competitive with what the workers can earn elsewhere, or B. The company doesn't want to invest the effort required to train the workers, or C. THey set unreasonable requirements.... like college degrees for lower tier or manual work. OR all of the above.

YES, we do have a problem with our manufacturing sector here in the US.... but the problem is not with the workforce. The problem is with shortsighted multi-national corporations. It's like the old adage "There are no bad soldiers.... only bad Officers" In this country, our business leaders have failed to lead.

And THAT is why I'm starting my own company. If our business leaders fail to lead... we don't HAVE to follw them to the ruin of the nation. We can start our own companies, and do our own thing. While we do have our problems, we are still a free nation.

 

[axsepul]

just what i said!!

 

[longshort]

well for one china has no enviromental policies , the air and water is full of lead and they dont care that is why u see so many toys from china causing lead poison , second they have cheap child labor, and no quality control on there products just producing as many as possible regardless of quality some good some bad who cares just ship it, so then they ship full shipping container packed for set rate and this make the shipping cheap actually with the number of bikes or whatever is in the container. But if u ever look at a low end china frame the welds are not really that neat .american companies have gone overseas so they can fill there pockets with more profits , they could produce the product in the usa but they would not make as much money off the product . i think is called GREED .

 

[axsepul]

a funny bumper sticker that i made for harley owner comes to mind

"better my sister as a prostitute than see my brother on a honda"

 

[deorman]

Honda? Tell Ohio to close their plant. It's not like they need the jobs or anything. :roll:

 

[motopsyco]

Normally I ignore threads that get like this but Made in the USA does not mean what in once did and made overseas is not always so horrible. I buy what I like regardless of where it comes from. I always loved Fords, but they have never been as trouble free as the imports that I have owned. My current Ranger truck just turned 100k a month ago and it has already had a complete front suspension overhaul,new wheel bearings and brakes, burns oil, and has a really loud strange humming sound coming from underneath (probably a u-joint). My wife's Mitsubishi has 110K runs like new and just got it's first set of new brake pads about 6 weeks ago.
As for the bikes the best way to stamp out cheap imports is to buy nothing but expensive high quality American made products. As I have found out here http://www.ratrodbikes.com/forum/vi...start=45&sid=d43cbbdb6b12c0e2e8e1a7ff5edbd549 and here http://www.ratrodbikes.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=35174&st=0&sk=t&sd=a&start=15 that cheap is cheap no matter where it is made.

I like cheap stuff. It's about all I can afford.
Peace Y'all

 

[Rat Rod]

This same discussion seems to be showing up in several threads lately. :?

Here's my suggestion....change the subject quickly. :lol: :lol: :lol:

 

[Lucky Strike]

Deleted due to pot stirring content that, although correct, the author has had second thoughts about sharing...

 

[Lucky Strike]

List of countries by exports:


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_co ... by_exports

U.S. is 4th, behind (in order) E.U., China, GERMANY...


Damn, Rat Rod, you are quick!

Probably should delete this whole thread. Kind of a spit ball fight at this point.