Craftsman shut down Texas plant

Screenshot 2023-03-25 at 9.26.25 AM.jpeg
 
I was hoping to see them comeback but I guess we won’t be seeing that for even longer now. I’ve for the most part written off Craftsman except the old stuff because they said I used the warranty too much so they don’t want to help me know. That’s why I get more stuff from the parts stores now plus it’s better made than the modern Craftsman in my opinion. And more affordable too. I’ll still get an occasional something from Craftsman but nothing like what I was. I know someone had shared pictures of some new USA made stuff it looked nice not sure it was worth the price they were asking though.
 
I'm guessing if you can make $15/hour flipping burgers or cashiering, why would you take a heavy labor job at a tool factory working on the floor in 90° heat. They probably had to pay so much more for labor and then price the tool so high to make a profit that few people would buy them.
 
No general USA made goods can survive as long as they have to compete in a rigged game. If companies were rewarded for manufacturing here and punished for going overseas we would bring back factories and jobs, but just the opposite has happened, we reward leaving and punish staying. Short term gains over long term stability.
 
wpod said:
Pepole like cheap and corporations like high profit margines. Our politicians have destroyed this nation by allowing the off shoring of our manufacturing base. Prove me wrong.
Click to expand...
samven said:
No general USA made goods can survive as long as they have to compete in a rigged game. If companies were rewarded for manufacturing here and punished for going overseas we would bring back factories and jobs, but just the opposite has happened, we reward leaving and punish staying. Short term gains over long term stability.
Click to expand...
Need to take a look at the bigger picture. You can’t export if you don’t import and other countries don’t like to rely solely on imports either. Maybe not a specific argument to tools but still relevant.

You can’t sell a name and COO when the advantage to the name and COO disappeared. Name recognition declines when it doesn’t support the people you interact with every day..
 
wpod said:
Pepole like cheap and corporations like high profit margines. Our politicians have destroyed this nation by allowing the off shoring of our manufacturing base. Prove me wrong.
Click to expand...

This doesn’t need to go P. Follow the money. The individual person’s money.

If they were thinking about it, their money flows might go different. I wouldn’t get an email from HF about a new store opening all the time nearby (this doesn’t need to be an HF bash either, but we know their sourcing).

Years ago I was concerned about jobs. I’d rather my countryman have a job making tools than unemployed. These days it’s more of a strategic issue. Everyone in the news cycle is saying battle with China. And we just send endless money there to buy hard goods made there versus here. But Joe Consumer is saving a few bucks.
 
wpod said:
Pepole like cheap and corporations like high profit margines. Our politicians have destroyed this nation by allowing the off shoring of our manufacturing base. Prove me wrong.
Click to expand...
The amount of red tape and bureaucracy is a huge part of the problem. No doubt cheaper labor but that is narrowing. Five years ago you could get a Chinese made ice cream scoop for a $1 at Walmart etc while the USA made was $15-17? Now I'm seeing the price delta narrow considerably. The "between 1978 and 1992, the output of state-owned enterprises declined from 56 percent of national output to 40 percent,while the share of collective enterprises rose from 42 to 50 percent and that of private businesses and joint ventures rose from 2 to 10 percent." Chinese wages have quadrupled, quintupled and in the last decade some factory workers have gone from .60 cents an hour to $6.00 an hour. The USA and other markets are already looking at Malaysia and the Philippines for future manufacturing as wages soar in China.
 
97prizm said:
The amount of red tape and bureaucracy is a huge part of the problem. No doubt cheaper labor but that is narrowing. Five years ago you could get a Chinese made ice cream scoop for a $1 at Walmart etc while the USA made was $15-17? Now I'm seeing the price delta narrow considerably. The "between 1978 and 1992, the output of state-owned enterprises declined from 56 percent of national output to 40 percent,while the share of collective enterprises rose from 42 to 50 percent and that of private businesses and joint ventures rose from 2 to 10 percent." Chinese wages have quadrupled, quintupled and in the last decade some factory workers have gone from .60 cents an hour to $6.00 an hour. The USA and other markets are already looking at Malaysia and the Philippines for future manufacturing as wages soar in China.
Click to expand...

I remember visiting China a couple of decades ago. Ended up talking with someone who did marketing of the kind of cheap shoes or slippers that would be sold as American house brands at retailers like Walmart or Target. Even then she was saying they were having to compete with cheaper labor in Vietnam or Thailand.
 
97prizm said:
The amount of red tape and bureaucracy is a huge part of the problem. No doubt cheaper labor but that is narrowing. Five years ago you could get a Chinese made ice cream scoop for a $1 at Walmart etc while the USA made was $15-17? Now I'm seeing the price delta narrow considerably. The "between 1978 and 1992, the output of state-owned enterprises declined from 56 percent of national output to 40 percent,while the share of collective enterprises rose from 42 to 50 percent and that of private businesses and joint ventures rose from 2 to 10 percent." Chinese wages have quadrupled, quintupled and in the last decade some factory workers have gone from .60 cents an hour to $6.00 an hour. The USA and other markets are already looking at Malaysia and the Philippines for future manufacturing as wages soar in China.
Click to expand...

What about India ?

They have a population over a billion and many wanting (needing) a job.
 
OVERKILL said:
We used to make stuff.
View attachment 146733

Germany still does. I may despise their idiotic energy policies, but they still have strong domestic industry.
View attachment 146734
Click to expand...
I do like my Snap On tools, but I still have more Craftsman esp when it comes to sockets and wrenches. I think I have Snap On ratchets in many different tooth sizes from 36 beyond 80....they imho are excellent and worth it....
 
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