Originally Posted by Seadog

For most major electronics companies, it is impossible to manufacture their products in the US. Smaller companies that do not do mass production are doing just fine. In fact, many smaller companies have moved their manufacturing back to Silicon Valley. A jounalist looked into the decision making process and found out that at the large scale level, it was not possible to build them here in the states. It was not just wages and working conditions, it was the endless bureacratic snafus, lack of qualified workers, and many other features. This type of manufacturing requires a different work concept than we have here. It is like the Japanese automakers when they were faced with a shortage of workers to build cars in Japan. One company tried to go to a robotic factory. They found that it did not save them any money, and it limited them when they had to make changes. You can tell a human to use part B instead of part A, but a robot has to receive extensive re-programming to do even the simplist change. And instead of production line workers, you had a lot more maintenance crews and programmers.

You're no doubt referencing the same NYT article I am. And the conclusion in part was not that it was impossible to build them here, but that it was much more cost-prohibitive. Not the same thing. Apple and others don't want to deal with the "hassle" of having to use companies that treat and pay their employees in a manner US workers are accustomed to. But that's not the same as being impossible.

Big business (Apple) will find a way around this.
China is also making money, ceretainly not as much as Apple perhaps but it needs consumers to buy the products made in its country.

Originally Posted by idave23

You're no doubt referencing the same NYT article I am. And the conclusion in part was not that it was impossible to build them here, but that it was much more cost-prohibitive. Not the same thing. Apple and others don't want to deal with the "hassle" of having to use companies that treat and pay their employees in a manner US workers are accustomed to. But that's not the same as being impossible.

I have to agree with this. I've about had enough with companies seeking out the cheapest and most miserable workforce. As soon as a country starts to increase their standard of living and actually wants a little more out of the deal, the companies find the next most desolate and downtrodden area to build things in. It's not a lack of a workforce or skill set. That's a bunch of fooey. I'm all about capitalism and generating wealth though business and such. But, what's wrong with paying the workforce a little more? What's wrong with facilitating a strong middle class...ya know, people that buy iPads and stuff? Why does it always have to be the lowest common denominator when dealing with labor? Geeshus.

Awe well. I hope this all works out for Apple.

The article I read was that it was not about paying more for the workforce. It is about quickly assembling a large skilled work force. We do not have that. Oklahoma is home to one of the best vocational/technical programs in the nation. Every school has a technology training center within its travel range, and they teach an excellent course selection. But even so, there is no way that they could train to staff a large industrial complex. And I know the type of work forces available. It would take an eternity to assembled the required number of people, weed out the ones that cannot cut it, and get the rest trained to the level that most of the Chinese are at. It is not in our collective skill set, because it was never there to begin with. It requires a mobilization effort similar to a military function. A lot of companies are leaving China because the cost of workers is going up faster than anywhere else in the world. Apple is not making any major plans to leave. They will be diversifying their manufacturing, but I think you will find that the past year has shown them that despite the advantages of having almost all your suppliers in a zone, if there is a major disaster, you are in big trouble.

Apple has over 10,000 dedicated workers at Foxconn. No place in the US is this possible today.

Originally Posted by idave23

And the American consumer's demand to have the latest and greatest version of each device at the cheapest price plays no role either I suppose.

Cheapest price!?! I think Apple products are incredibly expensive! I can get 2 fully featured Windows laptops for the cost of one iPad! Don't get me wrong, I LOVE my iPad and haven't touched my laptop since I got the iPad, but I think Apple products are way overpriced! My 2 cents.

Originally Posted by NYHorsewoman

Cheapest price!?! I think Apple products are incredibly expensive! I can get 2 fully featured Windows laptops for the cost of one iPad! Don't get me wrong, I LOVE my iPad and haven't touched my laptop since I got the iPad, but I think Apple products are way overpriced! My 2 cents.

iPad prices are actually hard to beat. That's why competitors have had trouble delivering comparable tablet functionality for less.

You might prefer to pay less, but that doesn't make them overpriced in the marketplace.

Adding link for perspective:

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/24/te...plan.html?_r=1

No, Apple is not cheap, but they deliver a higher value product for less than their competition can afford to sell at. Complaining about Apple products is like complaining that you cannot buy a Lexus for the same price as a Yugo. The highest cost of owning any Apple mobile device, is usually due to telephone company fees. And these fees are universal. They are the same with any manufacturer's device.

Originally Posted by Seadog

No, Apple is not cheap, but they deliver a higher value product for less than their competition can afford to sell at. Complaining about Apple products is like complaining that you cannot buy a Lexus for the same price as a Yugo. The highest cost of owning any Apple mobile device, is usually due to telephone company fees. And these fees are universal. They are the same with any manufacturer's device.

Bingo.

Besides, I used to own a Yugo....bought it new and it was cheap. Not the fanciest style or interior but it got the job done. Very underrated little car that did very well in the winter. It got me 40mpg and ran for 231,000 miles before it gave up the ghost. The secret? Change the timing belt after the first 45,000 miles THEN as the manufacturer recommended. The stock one was crap. This, in part, lead to why the Yugo became a "throwaway" car so early in its life.

Michael "Spam, spam, bacon, eggs and spam. Hold the bacon and eggs." Sent from my iPad 2 using iPF

It's only in china, rest of the world will have.

But for some reason, norway doesn't have priority for istuff by apple-.- was lucky to get the next to last black ipad 2 32gb wifi the other day. all other shops in my region/county was empty of it-.-