Country of origin

[Darryle]

In this day and age, it's disappointing that more companies outsource manufacturing to China.

I know it's the American people who are at fault for buying the junk.

I received an email from Sig about their new Whiskey4 line of scopes. Looked interesting, but my curiosity got the better of me.

What is it going to take for manufacturers to start on shoring production or move it to countries we can trust?

 

[crashlanding]

A war

 

[Mark37082]

I don't want sound hypocritical as I have way too many things made in China, but it is time to onshore manufacturing or offshore only to democratic friends of the USA. I now consciously look at where items are made before I purchase.

 

[birddog 68]

It's very difficult to find much of anything that is actually made in the USA. We've been going down China road for quite some time and with inflation as it is some folks don't have a choice but to buy the cheapest product.
I remember someone mentioned "build back better" and was going to help increase American manufacturing.

 

[RockyMtnMT]

Trump!

 

[Weaver93]

Manufacturing corporations want gigantic margins and we want to pay as little as possible......the perfect storm. I buy US made work boots, last pair was Danner that cost $400. They last ten times a Walmart pair and I usually resole them at least once, but it is tough to convince someone when they can comfortably wear a $80 pair from Wally world.

 

[Frog4aday]

As I understand it, manufacturers respond to sales. If their Chinese made scopes quit selling, they will move manufacturing to somewhere else (like the Phillipines or Malaysia.)

But it would take time for them to see and correlate the data that "we" are no longer buying Chinese stuff and we'd have to band together & be serious about not buying for an extended period of time.

But I look at how many people still buy from Dicks & still buy Bud Light and I don't see much hope. If "we" can get a good scope for $200 less from China, many won't care about the politics of it...they want to save $200. We enrich our enemy because of the desire to save money. And they laugh all the way to the bank while growing their military might & global reach.

It really is hard to find some things NOT made in China. But scopes? Plenty of non-Chinese alternatives are out there. People just have to make a conscious choice to seek out the non-Chinese manufactured versions.

 

[Weaver93]

As I understand it, manufacturers respond to sales. If their Chinese made scopes quit selling, they will move manufacturing to somewhere else (like the Philippines or Malaysia.)

But it would take time for them to see and correlate the data that "we" are no longer buying Chinese stuff and we'd have to band together & be serious about not buying for an extended period of time.

But I look at how many people still buy from Dicks & still buy Bud Light and I don't see much hope. If "we" can get a good scope for $200 less from China, many won't care about the politics of it...they want to save $200. We enrich our enemy because of the desire to save money. And they laugh all the way to the bank while growing their military might & global reach.

It really is hard to find some things NOT made in China. But scopes? Plenty of non-Chinese alternatives are out there. People just have to make a conscious choice to seek out the non-Chinese manufactured versions.

Most of the products made in the Philippines and Malaysia are assembled there with Chinese parts. Foremost Group (Elaine Chow) and other Chinese shipping companies move many of the parts like that so China can hide country of origin.

 

[MtPockets]

In this day and age, it's disappointing that more companies outsource manufacturing to China.

I know it's the American people who are at fault for buying the junk.

I received an email from Sig about their new Whiskey4 line of scopes. Looked interesting, but my curiosity got the better of me.

View attachment 471917

What is it going to take for manufacturers to start on shoring production or move it to countries we can trust?

I hate to say it, but public companies will always resist bringing manufacturing back.
The ONLY manufacturing we have any chance if getting back is with non-Wall Street companies.
The large publicly traded companies have one focus and that is to maximize profits for their shareholders.
I remember reading some years ago in the New York Times about Carrier Corp (I think, anyway) who had made billions the previous year but were still shutting down their factories here and moving to Mexico.
Their reason?
Wall Street felt they could do better.
I believe the number of employees losing their jobs was in the thousands but it was not their fault in the least.
Pure Corporate greed perpetuated by the stock market.
I really believe that is why "they" invented the 401k- get the average American to invest so they play along with cutting all the jobs. People are more likely to allow it if their annual check depends on it.

 

[dfanonymous]

It's a 2 fold answer really.

1) The average American, like things they can afford. Things made with child forced labor and stolen intellectual property fits that price. If you believe in capitalism, then you have to take the good with the bad.

2) there are American made stuff still. However, due to progressive policies, the amount of environmental red tape and heavy restrictions on industry in the US, not to mention increase in state minimum wage and nervous investors, "American made" is simply unobtainable to most when it comes to pricing.

How many here know of Orgin, the clothing company by Jocko and Cam Hanes? Expensive pair of jeans relative to the $35 pair sold at a box store…
Thorogood moc toe wedge boots…American heritage…great boots…but like $300…

What about Vortex AMG scopes? 99% American made…glass comes from Germany. Yet, half the forum will refer to Vortex as "China junk."

Then there's the hard pill to swallow….Holosun, a brand that a lot of your fellow gun enthusiast love so dearly, that is a American company, China made, CCP controlled company literally makes a more technically advanced, feature rich product then a brand like Eotech…like the new Eotech, not the Eotech from L3Harris that had litigation. Even trijicon is meh.

American companies still have to earn business.

I can give more examples:
Like Snapon tools. Again, they made a lawsuit against Harbor Freight, because Harbor Freight Daytona jacks were being made at the same factory theirs (in China) but being sold for 1k less. Frankly, there isn't a Taiwanese tool that isn't as good or better then the snap on stuff. You don't have to believe me, go look up tool testing. China brands like Milwaukee or Dewalt and the such do just as good or better, with a better warranty, and without having to spend your kids college money on the tool truck. Harbor Freight icon hand tools test just fine, with a lifetime warranty…lifetime….

…half of you probably never heard of Proto unless you worked as a mech in government funded industry.

 

[Muddyboots]

Try to figure out COO for Big 3 vehicle. All a game of content and assembly versus definition of manufacturing.

 

[Darryle]

Well, when there are no American workers to purchase the products, it won't much matter.

It's disappointing to say the least.

 

[RockyMtnMT]

We do everything we can not to purchase anything in our company from China. We ruled out CNC machines from China when we chose our Swiss screw machines. That ruled out most of them. Our machines are made in South Korea.

 

[L2land]

Seems like all the outsourcing coincides with the time wages stagnated in the 70s and we became a debtor nation instead of the creditor we once were when it was real money. We're all experiencing the effects of 40 years of fiat trash. We have to do business with China because they own a lot of our treasuries (debt). There's benefits for the consumer along the way because of cheap goods but it has caught up. We struggle to produce here for what can be afforded because the dollar has been inflated so much. In 1930 a nice tailored suit could be had for $35. An ounce of gold. It still can but that's $2000 now. Wages may go up but the purchasing power is only going backwards. Do the best you can on buying domestic. Seek out quality options that are made here and see if it works. It's almost impossible to avoid buying foreign goods though.