Tube City Almanac

June 19, 2007

On a Slow Boat to China

Category: default || By jt3y

A couple of weeks ago I treated the sleek, gray Mercury to a tune-up ... new spark plugs, air filter, fuel filter. I was at an auto parts store in Our Fair City (hmm, that narrows it down now that Carquest has closed) and in an attempt to make small talk with the cashier I read the side of the spark-plugs and said, "Gee, made in the U.S.A. At least something still is."

She snapped at me: "Well, maybe everything wouldn't be made in China if Americans weren't so lazy and overpaid."

Though I thought about whipping my union card out of my wallet, I bit my tongue --- especially since she still hadn't approved my check yet. But I thought to myself: "You're working in an auto parts store. Do you think you're overpaid?"

. . .

Americans work more hours and get fewer holidays than any other industrialized nation, according to study after study and story after story.

There are still pockets of laziness and featherbedding, and yes, I've heard all of the stories about guys sleeping in cranes at National Works in the 1970s and blah, blah, blah, but I'd argue that overall, American productivity is probably at its highest point since World War II.

American quality is up, too --- among carmakers, Ford beat Toyota in the latest J.D. Power survey of best-made automobiles.

It's just difficult for American factories to compete with the Chinese since they're not allowed to put antifreeze in children's cough syrup and lead paint on toys.

Nor can American factories cut wages to ensure profitability, especially since they're not allowed to employ children or slaves.

. . .

I love the products sold in dollar stores, Wal-Mart and elsewhere that feature big American flags on their packages and then, in small print, say "Designed in the U.S.A." On the back they say, "Made in China."

But I saw a new variation on this the other day at a store in Olympia Shopping Center. It had an American flag and in tiny type underneath said, "Proudly distributed in the U.S.A." I didn't know whether to applaud the manufacturer's ingenuity or throw up.

Other than the war in Iraq and our deteriorating foreign policy, I'd really like to see one of the presidential candidates say something --- anything --- about the imbalance of trade and our collapsing manufacturing sector. Personally, I think it's much more destructive than illegal immigration.

Simply blocking imports isn't the answer, nor are prohibitively high tariffs. But we certainly have a right to defend ourselves against products that are making people ill.

. . .

Ultimately, some of the blame falls on us for not complaining to stores and manufacturers. But even if you try to buy American --- and I do --- it's becoming more and more difficult to find any products made here. Even extremely high-end goods are starting to come from China.

The steel industry was the canary in the coal mine. Its collapse foretold the decline of the American textile and furniture industries, and with the Chinese about to enter the U.S. car market, the already-shaky domestic automakers could very well be the next to tumble.

The "creative class" might pipe up (no pun intended, McKeesporters) and tell me that smokestack industries are dead, but not everyone is qualified to work in academia and research. And for defense purposes alone, I'd argue that we need to have some manufacturing base in this country.

Besides, even creative jobs (like journalism!) are being sent overseas. Unless you're in some service industry that depends on face-to-face contact, like retailing, your job could very well be the next to go.

("First they came for the steelworkers, but I wasn't a steelworker ...")

. . .

Blame Wall Street's continual demands for higher profits from American corporations. Blame Congress for gutting American trade policy and slashing regulatory budgets. Blame pundits who have prescribed "free trade" at all costs and damn the consequences.

But for crying out loud, stop blaming American workers.

. . .

P.S.: Besides curing a nasty little hesitation that had developed on acceleration, the tune-up improved my gas mileage by 3 to 4 mpg. If you're tired of paying $3 for a gallon of gas and your car has more than 90,000 miles on it, consider a set of plugs.

Even the supremo top-of-the-line platinum jobs won't set you back more than $3 or $4 each. Throw on a set of new plug wires, too. AC-Delco, Autolite and Champion plugs are made in the United States, and others are, too. Even if you're not mechanically inclined, it's not hard to do yourself, or have a local garage do it when you're in for state inspection.






Your Comments are Welcome!

UPDATE: Just tripped over this post at Anti-Rust that touches on the same topics, but does so much more pithily. (Is that a word?)

What I mean to say is, he ain’t so long winded:

http://antirust.typepad.com/my_weblog/2007/06/pittsburgh_make.html
Webmaster (URL) - June 19, 2007



I’ve got to say that the JD Power survey you noted is not as you say “latest J.D. Power survey of best-made automobiles.” It is more accurately the “J.D. Power Initial Quality Rankings” and as such is a far less accurate measure of the quality of the products.

It is a survey of new vehicle purchasers taken with the first 6 months or so of the vehicle’s purchase, and as the name implies only surveys the owner’s perception of the initial quality.

I’d have to believe that a lot folks are just as interested, if not more interested in the longterm quality of a major purchase like a new vehicle.

The reasons that the American manufactures are struggling so much are many and quite varied, and you also can’t ignore the fact that more and more of their vehicles are being made OUTSIDE American while the foreign manufacturers are building more and more of their cars INSIDE America.

Buy a Ford made in Mexico or a Nissan made in Mississippi? Frankly, I couldn’t give a hoot where the CEO lives that’s cashing my check. But the people building my Toyota LIVE here in America and pay taxes here in America.

I also don’t care that the Toyotas, Nissans, etc. that are made here are aren’t using union labor. With only 7% of the private workforce today being unionized compared to over 35% in the 1950s I think the workforce has pretty much settled that issue as well.
Bulldog - June 20, 2007



I don’t necessarily care if they use union labor or not, either, Bulldog. I’m also glad that Toyota and Nissan have plants here, even if they’re non-union. As you point out, those companies are paying taxes in America and hiring Americans.

My point (and I did have one) was more about the trade imbalance with China.

I oversimplified the J.D. Power rankings to make an argument. Initial quality is not an indication of long-term reliability. But if we’re talking strictly about the lowest number of manufacturing defects, surely credit for that goes to the people assembling the cars, and by that (very limited) standard, they are the “best made.”

Of course, they may deteriorate because of inferior materials five years later. I’d argue that’s a fault of poor engineering or the use of cheap materials, not shoddy assembly.

The problems with the U.S. car industry are many and varied —- expensive legacy costs for retirees are a big one, and restrictive work rules are another. Both are the result of labor agreements.

But that doesn’t explain why every other type of manufacturing is leaving, from plastic garbage cans to precision toolmaking. Most of the businesses leaving, as you point out, are not employing union labor anyway.
Webmaster (URL) - June 20, 2007



I guess I misunderstood that your bigger point was in reference to the trade imbalance with China.

Now that is one impossibly tough nut to crack. Obviously the economic juggernaut that is fueling their totalitarian, communist regime isn’t going to weaken on it’s own, or in response to any non-existent outside pressure from the UN or other international authorities.

They are now the #1 producer of CO2 emissions worldwide, but yet you don’t see Gore or any of the global-warming alarmists taking them on.

The burgeoning trade deficit with China may be the “elephant in the room” but it’s not the only one in the room. Nobody really seems to care as long as corporate profits are up and everybody’s 401Ks are heading up.

Of course, our security is somewhat helped by being the #1 consumer of Chinese goods. They wouldn’t kill off their best customers…would they…? Why not. There’s plenty of other folks around the world to buy their stuff.
Bulldog - June 20, 2007



Points!

Didn’t you think to change the points in the Merc? What’s a tune up without new points?

It just won’t run right without them and the Merc needs all the help it can get.
Prof. Windbag - June 20, 2007



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