China Happenings

I hope it doesn't slow down Atlas O passenger car production.

From other forums, it seems it was an Athearn contractor.

Brian

What some of us suspect will happen is that production will move back to Korea. At increased rates and consumer prices.

Hope it doesn't affect those Weaver MILW cars !

Well, I won't say anything very much here. It is my opinion that the Chinese Worker is tired of conditions in some factories up to and including anti suicide windows etc.

It is going to affect the hobby in different ways to different people. It is probably dependent on war or peace in the Koreas, Europe and Middle East. If I am not mistaken the price of Plastic material etc is tied somewhat to the cost of petroleum.

For years I have struggled with pre-orders required to have a company make a complete number of X product and ship it on the water to the USA. To some degree I still struggle.

My Local Hobby Shop has been good to me and am moving some dollars his way. I also rely on these forums as well as a number of sites to capture a out of production model of something useful for the railroad.

Ebay has undergone some changes as well, they used to be a good source for capturing imports when you did not have the money to pre-order one by a deadline.

It is good that companies like Woodland Scenics, RMT and others here in the USA do what they can to make good products that do very well.

Bottom line, it's going to cost more money. 30 years ago I recall brass prices of less than 200 dollars. If not also below 100. But wages and such in America then does not really exist now.

It's going to be an interesting year. I look forward to America experiencing a Renaissance in learning how to make good hobby models and such here at home.

It is also going to be a sort of war between HO folks and the O Folks. If my experience and the Nation's aging population is any guide, I expect O Scale to have a bright future for at least a few more decades.

Right now, I am content with what little I can do in O scale in today's current retail action regarding China. And hope for the future.


The biggest boost to my positive outlook is the willingness of various Companies such as Sunset, and others to communicate online or email and take care of everyone with various teething issues on models and so forth.

G is part of the "war". But it is a two edged sword: You can see it, but takes too much real estate.

There was an article written in the Wall Street News several months ago about the cost of products made in the USA vs China. 10 years ago, the savings for consumers was a 25% difference. Today that savings has shrunk to only 4%. Increased wages, benefits, tariffs, etc., that the Chinese workers are receiving, have cut into the bottom line. That is not much of a difference in money spent by we the consumers. I personally would like to see production done in this country and have the money spent benefit people in this country. Bring it home again.

Tom Mapes

quote:

Originally posted by docj1a:
I personally would like to see production done in this country and have the money spent benefit people in this country. Bring it home again.

Tom Mapes

I wonder how far away we are from that reality now?

Bob

I hear on the business channel that the US charges a 2.5% tarrif on Chinesee products entering and we are then charged 25% on our products going there. Go figure. Where is the equality. If we cna get the tariffs equal then we can possibly bring the jobs home.
I am worried about the use of N. Koreans in the south working for far less to help the north with employment and bring dollars north. Somewhere I see in the close future we will be bringing jobs home as I have heard in the wind of some jobs already returning.

Phill

our federal government has been trying at equalize the import tariffs for years. problem is many U.S. companies lobby against such an increase leveling the playing field, as it cuts into their profits.

it was forecast upwards up 10 years ago that the Chinese' standard of living would rise to the point where it was approaching parity with western countries. while there is a ways to go, what is happening in China now is the harbinger of that prophecy come to fruition.

I'll predict 2 things in 5 years: first, we'll be paying a lot more for Chinese imported goods. Second, as a result manufacturing will be moving back to the U.S.*

(*as there are very, very few places in the world where low wages and good manufacturing takes place)

Sanda Kan continues to give Atlas only limited production time for there O guage trains. It may be only a matter of time before Atlas and others may be shopping for a new factory. I would not expect Atlas,s product output to improve by much this year, expect to see more Trainman models at best.

Lee,

I just bought the three Woodland Scenics buildings on closeout from Menards here in fly-over country. Those three buildings were made in China.

Dick

quote:

Originally posted by docj1a:
There was an article written in the Wall Street News several months ago about the cost of products made in the USA vs China. 10 years ago, the savings for consumers was a 25% difference. Today that savings has shrunk to only 4%. Increased wages, benefits, tariffs, etc., that the Chinese workers are receiving, have cut into the bottom line. That is not much of a difference in money spent by we the consumers. I personally would like to see production done in this country and have the money spent benefit people in this country. Bring it home again.

Tom Mapes

Just recently I had direct dealings with a software supplier from Beijing. I was looking for a copy of Adobe Photoshop to do some work for a friend. I found on Ebay a copy of this code at a very reasonable price, so I ordered it. I had no idea that I was doing business with an overseas supplier. It turns out that the software was a knock-off and the serial number furnished with the item did not enable the installation. I even contacted Adobe to complain and they searched their database and told me that the product was not theirs (surprise!). So I went to Paypal and disputed the charge and after 6 weeks of dickering I got my money back, less shipping charges to Beijing.

I understand that price advantages are starting to narrow. But I also understand that certain unscrupulous suppliers try to hide behind distance and the language barrier. Just imagine trying to return an item to an address rendered in chinese chop characters. Amazing!

Let the buyer beware!

John McEnerney

Dear John, please email me at jdunn8888@hotmail.com . Thanks, John