Carmakers quietly cut ties with China in supply chain shake-up

[DweezilAZ]

I am finding more and more products at the dollar stores coming from countries other than China. Including the US and Canada as well as Mexico. Viet Nam, Peru, Egypt...

The 13" tires purchased for the Valiant in November were made in Turkey. The 14" Starfires for the ION I bought in June were made by Cooper in the US. The last ones for both IIRC were Chinese.

 

[Brons2]

Flavour of the month (decade?) remember contracting out employees rage in the 90's, now the companies are crying 'cause they thought they could just hire the skilled trades as needed instead of investing in old practices of training. Now everyone wants an almost nonexistent commodity.

Everyone on my sub-team other than me is a contractor. India has more honor students than America has students, so they tell the smart ones to go get tech credentials. It works for them. I don't like it but what can you do when we can't find qualified engineers? A lot of it is the fault of American kids, they aren't acquiring the STEM skills that are needed in the marketplace, and by the time they realize it, they are saddled with obligations that make it difficult to go back to school. $0.02.

 

[edyvw]

But it's cheaper they said!!!

Capitalism at work.
Few threads away people talk about how bad socialism is, and here they complain about basic tenets of capitalism.
Government can invoke DPA in cases like that, like during COVID19 vaccine production. Of course, businesses are generally not happy about it, but at that point, no one cares nor it should.

 

[camrydriver111]

I recently read that 97% of our antibiotics come from China. Can you imagine our military being dependent on our main adversary for essential meds....Somebody should be held accountable for this stupidity.

I work in the pharmaceutical industry and this sounds like total ********.

Most pharmaceutical manufacturing of the finished product is done domestically.

The raw materials are sourced globally, and India is the dominant player, not China.

 

[BMWTurboDzl]

They sure are quiet about the slave labor used to mine cobalt for EV batteries

And solar panels.

And oil/gas industry. Yes it happens but isn't as newsworthy because ya know everyone needs oil/gas..

 

[BMWTurboDzl]

I work in the pharmaceutical industry and this sounds like total ********.

Most pharmaceutical manufacturing of the finished product is done domestically.

The raw materials are sourced globally, and India is the dominant player, not China.

Don't let facts get in the way of another's confirmation bias!

 

[buster]

Capitalism at work.
Few threads away people talk about how bad socialism is, and here they complain about basic tenets of capitalism.

I've grown tired of "isms". The most prosperous and successful nations on this planet are all mixed economic systems.

 

[loneryder]

I was scheduled for MRI with contrast at the hospital a few months ago. Before the test I was informed "we are so sorry but we have no contrast due to supply chain issues from China!" Of course being shocked I did some reading. I looked into some of this stuff and even more upset to realize a vast majority of medicines are being made there and sent here. Where does it end?

almost all of our medicines raw ingredients are from China I bought some Tylenol. Box said Made in USA. Inside box said Made in USA from ingredients made in China. You can't get away from it.

 

[loneryder]

Everyone on my sub-team other than me is a contractor. India has more honor students than America has students, so they tell the smart ones to go get tech credentials. It works for them. I don't like it but what can you do when we can't find qualified engineers? A lot of it is the fault of American kids, they aren't acquiring the STEM skills that are needed in the marketplace, and by the time they realize it, they are saddled with obligations that make it difficult to go back to school. $0.02.

But many of those Indian engineers are really engineers as we know them in the US. They work for half of what American ingineers do.

 

[camrydriver111]

When it comes to the API suppliers there are many suppliers outside of India and China but drug companies typically don't want to use them because of increased costs.

Everything is cost driven. Companies leaving China is also cost driven. Apart from the covid disruptions, labour costs in China have risen. The textile industry left to Bangladesh a long time ago.

However, I think China will continue to have a competitive advantage in terms of electronics and machinery.

I wouldn't envy them for some of the industries like mining. Mining can be extremely hazardous and environmentally destructive.

 

[OVERKILL]

And oil/gas industry. Yes it happens but isn't as newsworthy because ya know everyone needs oil/gas..

Oil and gas is pretty diversely supplied. I'm not seeing Chinese slave labour in Fort Mac for example. On the other hand, China absolutely dominates solar production:

 

[BMWTurboDzl]

Oil and gas is pretty diversely supplied. I'm not seeing Chinese slave labour in Fort Mac for example. On the other hand, China absolutely dominates solar production:

Why make the distinction between slave labor used to manufacture solar panels in China vs other Chinese exports which are consumed by board members without a second thought with regards to worker conditions (ex, iPhone, Samsung, Nike,)? Hypocritical perhaps?

China: 83 major brands implicated in report on forced labour of ethnic minorities from Xinjiang assigned to factories across provinces; Includes company responses - Business & Human Rights Resource Centre

www.business-humanrights.org

 

[Vil_Riker]

Why make the distinction between slave labor used to manufacture solar panels in China vs other Chinese exports which are consumed by board members without a second thought with regards to worker conditions (ex, iPhone, Samsung, Nike,)? Hypocritical perhaps?

China: 83 major brands implicated in report on forced labour of ethnic minorities from Xinjiang assigned to factories across provinces; Includes company responses - Business & Human Rights Resource Centre

www.business-humanrights.org

I think the US is one of the few countries in the world where slavery is legal and protected in the constitution. Hence the largest prison population in the world both by number and per capita.

 

[OVERKILL]

Why make the distinction between slave labor used to manufacture solar panels in China vs other Chinese exports which are consumed by board members without a second thought with regards to worker conditions (ex, iPhone, Samsung, Nike,)? Hypocritical perhaps?

China: 83 major brands implicated in report on forced labour of ethnic minorities from Xinjiang assigned to factories across provinces; Includes company responses - Business & Human Rights Resource Centre

www.business-humanrights.org

If you are questioning my personal motivations here, it was because I was responding to a post about EV batteries, which ties into power generation, a sector in which solar is currently being pushed as the second coming of Christ in terms of climate change mitigation.

Yes, there are all sorts of components currently being produced under abhorrent conditions in China that need attention drawn to them.

 

[barryh]

Tylenol

With a very low cost product like Tylenol I'm surprised even the box was made in the USA. The big western pharma companies could never make a profit on a product like that when the generic versions sell for pennies in the supermarkets. Big pharma generally only make high value products usually still in patent.

 

[Cujet]

Ford part, probably madeinchina from recycled steel. These failed because they are made from crap.

 

[ecotourist]

In my last job I had many transciptionists. We had an offer to outsource that work to India where English is (essentially) the first language. The typing would be done overnight with delivery the following morning.

I could have saved a little money.

I wasn't interested. My transcriptionists were a high performing group. I liked most of them personally. I liked having on site transcriptionists. And I think a business should support the local economy.

The cheapest product is often not the best product.

 

[Revving2Redline]

And solar panels.

Doesn't fit their narrative.

 

[pbm]

I work in the pharmaceutical industry and this sounds like total ********.

Most pharmaceutical manufacturing of the finished product is done domestically.

The raw materials are sourced globally, and India is the dominant player, not China.

I'm certain that I read what I posted and I think I still have the article....I'm snowbirding in Florida right now so I'll look for the article and post it in March if I find it.

Edit: These aren't the articles that I read but they state basically the same thing. I know it's hard to believe anything that's said or written anymore (because bias is everywhere) but regardless of that...we have become too dependent (for virtually everything) on our main geopolitical adversary....and it would be interesting if our media got back to doing 'investigative journalism' and did an actual 'follow the money' to see who benefited most from it?

97% of antibiotics are made in China; “supply chain Armageddon” will see U.S. pharmacy supplies wiped out | The Common Sense Show

97% of antibiotics are made in China; “supply chain Armageddon” will see U.S. pharmacy supplies wiped out

thecommonsenseshow.com

China's Antibiotics Dominance - The Wire China

By some estimates, 90 percent of the world’s supply of antibiotics originate at factories in China.

www.thewirechina.com

 

[zzyzzx]

Carmakers quietly cut ties with China in supply chain shake-up​

In before the lock!