Posted on 12/20/2016 8:25:24 AM PST by bigbob
After decades of offshoring, established bicycle brands and entrepreneurs are bringing bicycle manufacturing back to the United States as overseas costs rise and companies realize the value of "local for local" production.
Kent International will roll out approximately 350,000 bikes at its Manning, S.C. factory, but expects to produce about 500,000 bikes in the U.S. in 2017, and has set a target to ramp up to more than 1 million bicycles by 2020.
From hand-crafted boutique brands to high-volume manufacturing and assembly, dedicated U.S. bicycle makers are reshoring bike production to the U.S. A confluence of factors including rising offshore costs, the benefits of a “local for local” business strategy, the growing popularity of bikes in expanding urban areas and patriotism are giving rise to new opportunities for an “old” mode of transportation.
The move of American-made bicycles offshore began with industry leader Schwinn shifting manufacturing to Asia in the 1980s. In an effort to take advantage of low wages, other large bicycle manufacturers like Huffy and Trek soon followed, at least in part. “By 2015 only 2.5 percent of the estimated 12.6 million bikes sold in the U.S. (not including those for children) were made here, according to the National Bicycle Dealers Association.” However as offshore wages began to rise, bicycle manufacturers began to rethink their offshore manufacturing and sourcing decisions. Driven by rising offshore costs, the cost savings of automation and innovative processes, and the benefit of “Made in USA” branding, reshoring bike manufacturing and assembly began to make good economic sense.
(Excerpt) Read more at industryweek.com ...
President Trump and his team will be paving the way for a more favorable and less punitive business climate, then standing back to let the private infestment and risk-taking work. That's how it should have been done all along, but government meddling created an unholy mess.
What an amazing coincidence...Trump gets elected....Hmmmm.
a good omen!
Well, its coming! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6h_GChgSv_A
When things can be manufactured by machine, the only things affecting where they are manufactured are things like:
1. proximity to end customer.
2. tax environment of the government of the location of manufacturing.
Once robotics go 100%, lots of manufacturing will return to the US, assuming the government doesn’t try to tax the crap out of them.
bttt
Maybe even the metal pedal car will return.
Most of the products I saw moved to Mexico and China were already automated, millions of parts a year being built on automated lines with only a few operators tending the machines and a couple of skilled techs to keep them running. So it wasn’t driven by direct labor as much as the fact that the factory was in the state of Illinois, which has an unfriendly business and regulatory climate, and in the USA which has an unfriendly business tax environment.
Trump can fix the latter, it’s up to individual states to do their part. Proximity to suppliers can sometimes be more important than proximity to the end customer, but both are factors, and it was the emergence of clusters in areasl ike Detroit which really fueled the fire of growth for decades. We won’t get that back - maybe ever - but small steps and new directions all are positive.
I’ve long said the best thing the US or any state could do is eliminate business taxes entirely. Change the game and watch business flood in, then once you have the “engine” you can pay for all necessary public services from the sales taxes that wage-earners reinvest in their communities.
Not much room in that equation for democrat-progressive-big gov’t policies.
One personal injury lawsuit from a shoddy Chinese-made bike falling apart will rob the maker of whatever additional profits they might make.
Trump is correcting the economic field to the specs we at FR have been praying and begging for for 20 years. There should be scores of threads on investments, ideas, renaissance in general.
I get the feeling that DJT wants the humongous opportunities coming shortly to be enjoyed by sane capitalists, not degenerate Che-lovin’ leftists.
——Many of those shippers are holding ships for extended periods to find valid payment for cargo, transport and unload-—
By shippers do you mean the exporters or the steam ship lines. I never heard of that practice. I have heard of ships being arrested to satisfy liens
I’ve long said the best thing the US or any state could do is eliminate business taxes entirely. Change the game and watch business flood in, then once you have the “engine” you can pay for all necessary public services from the sales taxes that wage-earners reinvest in their communities.
Fact is, all business taxes are paid by the end consumer anyway. The more people are aware of that, the harder it is for governments to raise business taxes.
I’ve worked with the tax departments of large corporations and learned some interesting things about “special tax districts”. e.g. a shopping mall (or even group of strip malls) that pays higher taxes than less popular areas. It’s one reason I don’t shop at shopping malls and downtown areas, and haven’t for decades.
People don’t really understand just how much AFTER TAX dollars they can save every single month by their choices in sources of products.
Dang! I thought this was a motorcycle thread!...................
If we go to a no-loophole flat-rate personal income tax in the 17 to 19 percent range and a flat-rate corporate income tax in the 10 percent range, the economic growth would make the 1980's seem like a minor event.
3. Energy costs.
MAGA!
Yep. Forgot that one. And it is HUGE.
Maybe the US now being a net exporter of energy is helping right now.
Interesting!
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