4 ms·
It's less about cost of living and more about the fact that all the expertise and parts all the way through the supply chain are in Asia. Bringing that industry
by eloff 5y ago
It's less about cost of living and more about the fact that all the expertise and parts all the way through the supply chain are in Asia. Bringing that industry to the US requires bringing many of the supporting industries too. It's no simple task and probably won't happen at this point.
- landemva 5y agoPeople expertise can be hired. That doesn't overcome the pollution allowances other countries have. It's cheaper and easier to pollute over there.
- eloff 5y agoIs iPhone production very polluting? I don't think that factors into it very much really. More cost of labor, proximity to suppliers, and domain knowledge.
- landemva 5y agoChemical etching, perfluorocarbons, and massive water consumption is cheaper where pollution regulations are weak. Most of the lines are automated, so labor costs of a running line aren't the big cost issue. Environment and human health have few protections over there. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1566445/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1566445/
- shagie 5y ago... and the logistics of getting those parts. Everything you need to build an iPhone is in one city. This is quite a bit like Detroit of the 50s - where the manufacturer and the entire supply chain for it is geographically compact. Today, it is hard to find a geographically compact industrial chain within the US. http://free.sourcemap.com/maps/57d154a89ca3b16d44e95e5e http://free.sourcemap.com/maps/57d154a89ca3b16d44e95e5e Compare that to, say, the supply chain for the Ford F150 - https://open.sourcemap.com/maps/582b47c785e240e442569015 https://open.sourcemap.com/maps/582b47c785e240e442569015