US May machine tool demand off 36.4 pct from yr ago

Reuters ^ | Sun July 13, 2003 05:58 PM ET | Staff

[oceanview]

I wish it were that easy. What really irks me is that no one on the right even talks about this issue, it gets alot of thread action here on FR with the same set of posters, but do you ever hear Rush or Hannity or anyone on the "right" with some media prominence talking about this?

[SC Swamp Fox]

We are a non-union shop in a right-to-work state. The people that build our machines are highly skilled and well paid (compared to other local companies).

None of them are getting a COL wage increase this year, the employee's share of benefits is higher, we have laid off over half of them in the last two years.

Oh and did I mention that in order to sell into China, your product must be CCC certified. To obtain certification you have to:
- Provide the Chinese with all technical drawings and manuals for your product.
- Provide them with a sample of your product for testing.
- Pay for their inspection delegation to visit your facility so they may inspect your manufacturing processes and quality control measures.
- Recertify every 18 months.