Posted on 06/20/2015 7:37:03 AM PDT by dennisw
Mexico has become the most attractive place in North America to build new automobile factories, a shift that has siphoned jobs from the United States and Canada, yet helped keep car and truck prices in check for consumers.
The past two years, eight automakers have opened or announced new plants or expansions in Mexico. In April alone, Toyota announced a new plant in Guanajuato to build the popular Corolla, work now done in Canada, while Ford unveiled plans for Mexican engine and transmission factories.
Low labor costs and fewer tariffs are the swing factors. A worker in Mexico costs car companies an average of $8 an hour, including wages and benefits. That compares with $58 in the United States for General Motors and $38 at Volkswagen's factory in Tennessee, the lowest hourly cost in the country, according to the Center for Automotive Research, an industry think tank in Ann Arbor, Mich. German auto workers cost about $52 an hour.
Mexico also trumps the United States on free trade. It has agreements with 45 countries, meaning low tariffs for exporting globally. That, along with low labor costs, convinced Audi to build an SUV factory in the state of Puebla. The German automaker will save $6,000 per vehicle in tariffs when it ships a Q5 to Europe, compared with building the same vehicle in this country, says Sean McAlinden, chief economist at the Center for Automotive Research.
Audi also sells the Q5 in the States, where tariffs on cars built in Mexico were dropped under the North American Free Trade Agreement.
The cost savings also should allow automakers to add expensive fuel-saving features to meet stricter U.S. government gas mileage requirements without raising car prices. Two-thirds of cars made in Mexico are shipped to the United States.
(Excerpt) Read more at providencejournal.com ...
Probably not.
We may still be the biggest single market, I don't know, but I do know that over 90% of the world's consumers are outside of the US. More importantly, their numbers and their wealth are growing.
We're fools if we don't engage and help define the rules for global trade.
Doesn’t matter. The free trader crowd has effectively gutted the US auto industry. You got what you wanted. Now you have to figure out what to do with all of the US workers, and all of their family members, because they just didn’t disppear like you expected. The taxpayers have to support them now, because all of the service jobs and tech jobs have gone to illegals and H1-B workers.
So if you are a free trader type, don’t whine when the feds tax the shit out of capital gains and foreign income. Someone has to pay for all of those new welfare recipients that used to be gainfully employed, and there isn’t enough left of the middle class for you to squeeze.
The lowest 50% don’t pay any taxes, because the don’t make any money.
“I never thought I would miss the 70s, 80s and even the 90s like I do today.”
Amen brother.
Bullshit. Stop your liberal crap. The young kids especially girls even in college get pregnant and move home. They even expect dad to let the boyfriend move in.
Perot was right on the money. Many of the cultural issues we see today are connected to the loss of the low ed requirement manufacturing jobs. Its fed into the cost of education and its fed into the growing dependency class and decrease in the number of marriages and intact families. Its been good for Mexico and good for China. I’m not anti trade. I just believe in fair trade and trade that puts the interests of the citizens first not just those arm chair billionaires.
Yes, they don’t know what is coming. And won’t believe how it has been spoon-fed to them, with lies masquerading as “truth” all these years.
I get some looks from some of them when I tell them. I then tell them, laugh at me know, for your reality will be much harsher than you imagine.
Only the blind don’t see how the loss of manufacturing jobs has accelerated the decline of the United States economy and values.
Findings link loss of millions of U.S. factory jobs to cheap imports
http://www.pressherald.com/2015/06/20/findings-link-loss-of-millions-of-u-s-factory-jobs-to-cheap-imports/
We had hope then, that we could make things better.
Now I pray they don’t get much worse any quicker.
And yet I’m still in shock every week, if not ever day, sometimes.
Kinda misleading, I thought the Mexicans were coming here for jobs. Oh well.
True. I recall the textile industry in SC. I could buy Gant, or whatever brand shirts in outlets. Then workers got greedy. The unions have made a joke of highly skilled labor. Look at the AFGE. Yes, the Gov employees union that you and I cannot fire and no one can. Look at the TSA. They are idiots. It is high time we realize private business can do it better.
They do not want to work.
You really believe these folks want to work? we all know someone who is scamming the GOV for money.
But, but, but
.they say 'cheap imports are a 'tax cut for the middle/lower class and raise their standard of living'. That's just swell until the unemployment runs out.
Darn right Ross Perot and Pat Buchanan were right! I worked for both in 1992 and was aware of stupid traitorous trade deals and out of control immigration back then. Here we are 23 years later. Immigration and trade should have been corrected 20 years ago but too many people made money off of open borders and rotten trade treaties and deals. We frittered away lots of advantages we had back then.
We used to have lots of light industry and metal fabrication in our large cities and nearby suburbs////// Making light fixtures for example. The commie Chinese copied all the designs and made them cheaper. We should have slapped heft tariffs on these Chinese made light fixtures. But in America its all about the degenerate consumer and his degenerate desires for cheaper
Trump and Scott Walker are who I support.
I knew that.......lol
Like the rest of the world would let cars from Mexico in duty free....
We are not talking about astronomical savings for what we give up. I question whether the consumer sees any of that $920.
Or a $1000 tax credit if you can prove your new car was built in the USA.
New Nike Air Jordan’s cost 15$ retail 300$
Apple watch (base) cost 85$. retail 350$
Big savings for the consumer/sarc
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