A customer of mine makes electrical connectors for computers and other types of consumer products. They would develop a new-style connector then tool-up to stamp the contacts & mold the plastic housings. As the demand for the new connector 'ramped-up' they would invest a million dollars or more in high-tech automation to stuff the contacts into the housings thereby saving labor. No more. Now they never get that far. As soon as demand rises they make some down & dirty hand-assembly tools & ship the process line off to China (previously Mexico).
Bottom line: American Automation Engineering can still lose to dirt-cheap labor.
"Bottom line: American Automation Engineering can still lose to dirt-cheap labor"
Yup. I've seen that too. Why invest in automation when Chinese are a buck an hour or whatever?
Can't really blame 'em, I guess.