The long, rough ride ahead for ‘Made in America’: HumSub.TV
The long, rough ride ahead for ‘Made in America’: HumSub.TV: Mini motorcycle and go-kart maker Monster Moto made a big bet on US manufacturing by moving assembly to this Louisiana town in 2016 from China.
But it will be a long ride before it can stamp its products “Made in USA.” The loss of nearly one out four US factories in the last two decades means parts for its bike frames and engines must be purchased in China, where the manufacturing supply chain moved years ago.
“There’s just no way to source parts in America right now,” said Monster Moto Chief Executive Alex Keechle during a tour of the company’s assembly plant. “But by planting the flag here, we believe suppliers will follow.”
Monster Moto’s experience is an example of the obstacles American companies face as they, along with President Donald Trump, try to rebuild American manufacturing. US automakers and their suppliers, for example, have already invested billions in plants abroad and would face an expensive and time-consuming transition to buy thousands of American-made parts if President Trumps proposed border tax on imported goods were to become law.
When companies reshore assembly to US soil in Monster Motos case that took two years to find a location and negotiate support from local and state officials they are betting their demand will create a local supply chain that currently does not exist.
For now, finding US-based suppliers “remains one of the top challenges across our supplier base,” said Cindi Marsiglio, Wal-Mart Stores Incs vice president for US manufacturing and sourcing. Wal-Mart partnered with Monster Moto and several other US companies in a drive to increase spending on American-made goods by $250 billion by 2023 in response to consumer demand for American-made goods.
Their experience has shown Americans patriotic shopping habits have limits, namely when it comes to price.
Take Monster Moto’s bikes, which sell for between $249 to $749. Keechle, the CEO, says he cant raise those prices for fear his price sensitive prospective customers will turn to less expensive rivals made in China.
“Consumers won’t give you a free pass just because you put ‘Made in USA’ on the box,” Keechle says. “You have to remain price competitive.” Keeping a sharp eye on labor costs in their factory is one thing these US manufactures can control.
They see replacing primarily lower-skilled workers on the assembly line with robots on American factory floors as the only way to produce here in a financially viable, cost-competitive way. Its a trend that runs against the narrative candidate Donald Trump used to win the US Presidency.
Since taking office, Trump has continued promises to resurrect US manufacturing’s bygone glory days and bring back millions of jobs. On March 31, Trump directed his administration to clamp down on countries that abuse trade rules in a bid to end to the “theft of American prosperity.” But it’s more complicated on the ground for companies like Monster Moto.
“It’s almost as if people think you can just unplug manufacturing in one part of the world and plug it in to the US and everything’s going to be fine,” said David Abney, Chief Executive Officer of package delivery company United Parcel Service Inc, which helped Monster Moto reconfigure its supply chain to bring its Chinese-made parts to Ruston.
“It’s not something that happens overnight,” he said.
A White House official said that the Trump administration’s efforts to encourage manufacturers to reshore production will be focused on cutting regulations and programs to provide new skills to manufacturing workers.
We recognize that the manufacturing jobs that come back to America might not all look like the ones that left, a White House official said, and we are taking steps to ensure that the American workforce is ready for that.
A solitary, long-bearded worker by the name of Billy Mahaffey fires up the bikes to test their engine and brakes before a small group of workers puts them in boxes declaring: “Assembled in the USA.” Helped by that label, Monster Moto has experienced a recent boom in demand from major customers that include Wal-Mart. The company expects to double production to 80,000 units and increase its assembly workers – who make $13 to $15 an hour – to 100 from around 40 in 2017.
The most likely components Monster Moto could produce in America first are black, welded-metal frames for bikes and go-karts, but they would have to automate production because human welders would be too expensive.
“We can’t just blow up our cost structure,” said Monster Moto President Rick Sukkar. “The only way to make it work in America is with robotics.” The same principle applies for much larger manufacturers, such as automotive supplier Delphi Automotive PLCs. Chief Financial Officer Joe Massaro told analysts in February that 90 per cent of the company’s hourly workforce is in best-cost countries.
When asked about shifting production to the United States from Mexico, Massaro said depending on what happens to trade rules it would have to be much more of the sort of the automated type manufacturing operations just given the labour differential there.
The long, rough ride ahead for ‘Made in America’: HumSub.TV
About HumSub TV
Introduction
HumSub TV is Pakistan’s leading forwarding-thinking, edutainment channel, aimed at promoting and upholding peace, interfaith harmony and social responsibility within Pakistan through informative and insightful programmes and documentaries; analytical interviews on issues pertaining to social, economic, legal and environmental set-up; dedicated shows to canvass and thereby promote the culture and heritage of Pakistan and in-depth coverage of national and international news.
HumSub TV is the first channel and thus a pioneer within its own right that mainly focuses on emphasising the “Rights” as well as the “Obligations” of the citizens in light of the Constitution of Pakistan, numerous International declarations signed by the Government and various laws that have been promulgated over the years but are not in the knowledge of the common citizen.
HumSub TV also aims to enter into bilateral agreements with other countries to promote not only their culture, heritage and tourism, but also their educational and medical facilities.
Following the successful launch of HumSub TV’s head office in Blue Area, Islamabad; the bureau office has been set up in Lahore.
Vision
To project positive image building of Pakistan and inculcate nationalism, as per the vision of the founder of the nation, Quaid-e-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah.
Mission
HumSub TV is resolute about the promotion of a pluralistic, inclusive and egalitarian society in Pakistan where all citizens are allowed to contribute to promote interfaith harmony, peace and collective wisdom in the social, political and economic development of Pakistan and to encourage critical and lateral thinking in the society. HumSub TV strives to make a positive contribution to this end.
HumSub TV’s Theme
HumSub TV, Pakistan’s first EDUTAINMENT Channel, has been set up for not only those audience residing in Pakistan or overseas but the international community on the whole. The vision of the channel is to project positive image building of Pakistan and inculcate nationalism as per the vision of the founder of the nation.
HumSub TV strives to make a positive contribution to this end by promoting pluralism, inclusiveness and egality in Pakistan and give voice to the suppressed. It endeavors to act as a positive catalyst for social change and Pakistani nationalism. It envisions providing a platform for airing critical and lateral thinking and collective wisdom by inviting positive minded intellectuals and opinion forming individuals for the promotion of interfaith harmony and peace in the social, political and economic development of Pakistan.
Whereas the channel airs upbeat edutainment programmes, it, nonetheless, has the primary objective of countering negative anti-Pakistan regional and international propaganda as well as advancing fundamental rights as encapsulated in the Constitution of Pakistan.
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