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In a talk Jobs gave at MIT [1] he described the NeXT automated manufacturing facility in a positive light. I can only begin to imagine how much better it could

In a talk Jobs gave at MIT [1] he described the NeXT automated manufacturing facility in a positive light. I can only begin to imagine how much better it could be done today than back then. Articles like this one like to point out the number of people involved in the Chinese iPhone manufacturing as if that's somehow indicative of something other than simply using cheap labor instead of automation. If we wanted to manufacture this stuff in the USA, we definitely could, and it would be done using fewer people through automation. My understanding is the core reason we don't do manufacturing here anymore is it's a lot cheaper to do it where industrial pollution goes unchecked, where regulatory bodies are immature or entirely nonexistant. When China gets its shit together enough to protect its lands and people from the toxic output of all this industrial activity, large-scale manufacturing will move on to the next victim. [1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gk-9Fd2mEnI https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gk-9Fd2mEnI

froindt 8y ago
I've read articles about the supply chain impacts of being in China, very near all your suppliers, compared to being in the US. When you need the screws in your first production run to be 0.1 mm shorter, you can call the screw manufacturer, they'll make a new mold right away and get you screws in 3 hours. Your screw manufacturer is almost certainly more than a 3 hour drive if you're in the US. [1] Looks like labor flexibility is another factor. In the US, culturally, you can't summon people from their sleep to start making phones urgently. Apparently this happened after the iPhone prototype Steve Jobs had got a scratched plastic screen 6 weeks before launch. [2] [1] https://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/22/business/apple-america-and-a-squeezed-middle-class.html?pagewanted=all https://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/22/business/apple-america-an... [2] https://www.forbes.com/sites/willyshih/2018/11/05/apple-only-in-china-can-you-change-your-forecast-like-that/ https://www.forbes.com/sites/willyshih/2018/11/05/apple-only...
ardy42 8y ago
> When China gets its shit together enough to protect its lands and people from the toxic output of all this industrial activity, large-scale manufacturing will move on to the next victim. That's already happening: https://www.reuters.com/article/us-china-pollution-zibo/chinas-ceramics-capital-struggles-to-adapt-amid-war-on-smog-idUSKBN1DU0UM https://www.reuters.com/article/us-china-pollution-zibo/chin... An acquaintance recently told me that Chinese ceramics production capacity is getting relocated to places like Cambodia.

froindt 8y ago

I've read articles about the supply chain impacts of being in China, very near all your suppliers, compared to being in the US. When you need the screws in your first production run to be 0.1 mm shorter, you can call the screw manufacturer, they'll make a new mold right away and get you screws in 3 hours. Your screw manufacturer is almost certainly more than a 3 hour drive if you're in the US. [1] Looks like labor flexibility is another factor. In the US, culturally, you can't summon people from their sleep to start making phones urgently. Apparently this happened after the iPhone prototype Steve Jobs had got a scratched plastic screen 6 weeks before launch. [2] [1] https://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/22/business/apple-america-and-a-squeezed-middle-class.html?pagewanted=all https://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/22/business/apple-america-an... [2] https://www.forbes.com/sites/willyshih/2018/11/05/apple-only-in-china-can-you-change-your-forecast-like-that/ https://www.forbes.com/sites/willyshih/2018/11/05/apple-only...

ardy42 8y ago

> When China gets its shit together enough to protect its lands and people from the toxic output of all this industrial activity, large-scale manufacturing will move on to the next victim. That's already happening: https://www.reuters.com/article/us-china-pollution-zibo/chinas-ceramics-capital-struggles-to-adapt-amid-war-on-smog-idUSKBN1DU0UM https://www.reuters.com/article/us-china-pollution-zibo/chin... An acquaintance recently told me that Chinese ceramics production capacity is getting relocated to places like Cambodia.