Offshore relocation of tool producers. some insid

I've noticed the same trend in many manufactured products from major name brands. Often the last years of US manufactured product are of ever lower quality as attempts are made to lower production costs, then when subcontracted offshore product kicks in the specs are often higher.

John

Started? Did you mean to post this years ago?

It's been going on for many years -- at least since I started seeing them at Wal-Mart, probably much longer.

I buy American whenever possible. I bought some foreign tools when I was young, but no more.

At the risk of being unpopular here, *I* have observed that some of the stuff coming out of Taiwan is really nice. Fit, finish, detail... I don't know about steel quality, but the tools that I have from Taiwan seem to work very well for me. Some of my Taiwanese 3/8" extensions are nicer than the Craftsmans that I have. Better chrome plate, knurled grips, etc.

That being said, I try to buy American just out of principle. Still, the US companies need to pay close attention. Keep the quality up, keep the pride, craftsmanship and warranty up... that'll keep the sales up.

My .02.
-Ed

I hate to see all our manufacturing go overseas, but it is not always the "company" that is fully to blame. The American steel industry was hurt by foreign competition but also by the unions that made it impossible for American steel makers to compete.

The Black and Decker plant here is closing, but at least some of those jobs are going to Tennessee.

I hate to see all our manufacturing go overseas, but it is not always the "company" that is fully to blame. The American steel industry was hurt by foreign competition but also by the unions that made it impossible for American steel makers to compete.

The Black and Decker plant here is closing, but at least some of those jobs are going to Tennessee.

I hate to see all our manufacturing go overseas, but it is not always the "company" that is fully to blame. The American steel industry was hurt by foreign competition but also by the unions that made it impossible for American steel makers to compete.

The Black and Decker plant here is closing, but at least some of those jobs are going to Tennessee.

T_Bone

What was even worse was the union big wigs got golden parachutes from the foreign companies that bought out the steel makers while the factory workers lost their pensions. The workers lost their jobs and got shafted by the union bosses.

I was in Sears yesterday to get some router bits. Every box I picked up was marked "Made in China". Can you still buy American made router bits?

Interesting observation from looking for power tools recently. Dewalt, Skil and Black and Decker were all made in Mexico or Asia while Makita and Hitachi were made in the US. I bought the Hitachi and it works great.

A friend of mine runs a plant that makes ground rods here in North Carolina. Their business is doing excellent with each year doing better then the previous one since opening 6 years ago. A lot of their sales are to South America and Europe and even some to Asia so it is possible to compete under certain conditions.

What really tears me up is hearing someone complain about losing American manufacturing jobs then buying all their tools at Harbor Freight.

IF we could all get together and start buying our "things" made ONLY in the United States, we may put a krimp to their idea giving the foreigners pocket money. I say, let them sell to their people and we sell to our people, that way our econony will grow at home where it belongs. If the foereigners want to make things for the USA, they can come over here and set up their business, and give us some jobs. my 2 cents worth.....

Joe, if you're referring to NAFTA, that was signed by President Clinton. When the profit margin on computers, especially p.c's, became so low is when production began to move overseas.