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US manufacturing is more than half of China's. So, per capita, US actually manufactures more than China, at least when measured in dollars.

by badpun 1y ago

taylodl 1y ago
US manufacturing per capita dominates China, when measured in dollars. It's laughable to even bother comparing their industrial output. In other words, being an advanced economy, the US manufactures more complex, i.e. expensive, goods. The US doesn't waste time making low-cost items. There's no money to be made. Even China is getting out of that game. The US only has so many people and resources. Do you want to spend those resources making stuff destined for Dollar General? No.
- robomartin 1y ago
  I think you guys are reading something into these comments that is not being said at all. We are not talking about making kitchen utensils. When you actually engage in designing and manufacturing products the reality of the situation becomes very evident. Except for a certain class of products, you have to manufacture them where the supply chain exists. You cannot manufacture microwave ovens, blenders, refrigerators and stoves in the US and Europe because nearly the entire supply chain for these products exists in China. Attempting to do so would result in a massive COGS differential, even before you consider labor and regulatory costs. So, it isn't about shifting the entire industrial base back to Europe or the US. That's between ridiculous and impossible. It's about protecting and shifting enough to not destroy whatever is left. Here's one example: Displays. There are no manufacturers of LCD or OLED display panels in the US and Europe. Yet, almost every product we touch, including myriad critical infrastructure and military products need displays. We have a 100% dependency on China and Korea for this product class. These are massive, highly automated factories. Yet, without some degree of protectionist policies it will never make sense to build a single plant in the west. I was just at one of the main display technology conferences up in San Jose. I would say that nearly 100% of the companies and paper presentations were from companies in China and Korea. Which also means that the technology, manufacturing, knowledge and research in this field has shifted away from the west and is at risk of never returning. Take that scenario and multiply it by one hundred or a thousand different industries and domains to get the picture. Again, we are not talking about making plastic forks and knives here.
  - badpun 1y ago
    > You cannot manufacture microwave ovens, blenders, refrigerators and stoves in the US and Europe because nearly the entire supply chain for these products exists in China. Things are not quite as bad as that. There are multiple factories of such products in Poland alone. E.g. Electrolux has 5 factories in Poland, which make blow dryers, dishwashers, washers, stove owens and kitchen hoods. Other manufacturers are also present.
    - robomartin 1y ago
      Where are the components coming from? I would bet these are assembly plants, far more so than manufacturing facilities. Do they make the motors, wires, chips, circuit boards, metals and coatings, displays, connectors, etc. It is easy to look at a factory and think "we build this" and then, once you look deeper, you realize that you might only make 30% of it. There are things that are far more serious than these imbalances. Watching an economic forum presentation on this topic today I learned that China is extracting 600 billion dollars in intellectual property PER YEAR from the west (mostly the US). In case you are interested, here's the livestream. The China conversation is the second panel, after Jamie Dimon (JP Morgan Chase CEO). https://www.reaganfoundation.org/events/2025-reagan-national-economic-forum#sessions https://www.reaganfoundation.org/events/2025-reagan-national...

US manufacturing is more than half of China's. So, per capita, US actually manufactures more than China, at least when measured in dollars.

by badpun 1y ago

US manufacturing is more than half of China's. So, per capita, US actually manufactures more than China, at least when measured in dollars.

taylodl 1y ago

US manufacturing per capita dominates China, when measured in dollars. It's laughable to even bother comparing their industrial output. In other words, being an advanced economy, the US manufactures more complex, i.e. expensive, goods. The US doesn't waste time making low-cost items. There's no money to be made. Even China is getting out of that game. The US only has so many people and resources. Do you want to spend those resources making stuff destined for Dollar General? No.

robomartin 1y ago
I think you guys are reading something into these comments that is not being said at all. We are not talking about making kitchen utensils. When you actually engage in designing and manufacturing products the reality of the situation becomes very evident. Except for a certain class of products, you have to manufacture them where the supply chain exists. You cannot manufacture microwave ovens, blenders, refrigerators and stoves in the US and Europe because nearly the entire supply chain for these products exists in China. Attempting to do so would result in a massive COGS differential, even before you consider labor and regulatory costs. So, it isn't about shifting the entire industrial base back to Europe or the US. That's between ridiculous and impossible. It's about protecting and shifting enough to not destroy whatever is left. Here's one example: Displays. There are no manufacturers of LCD or OLED display panels in the US and Europe. Yet, almost every product we touch, including myriad critical infrastructure and military products need displays. We have a 100% dependency on China and Korea for this product class. These are massive, highly automated factories. Yet, without some degree of protectionist policies it will never make sense to build a single plant in the west. I was just at one of the main display technology conferences up in San Jose. I would say that nearly 100% of the companies and paper presentations were from companies in China and Korea. Which also means that the technology, manufacturing, knowledge and research in this field has shifted away from the west and is at risk of never returning. Take that scenario and multiply it by one hundred or a thousand different industries and domains to get the picture. Again, we are not talking about making plastic forks and knives here.
- badpun 1y ago
  > You cannot manufacture microwave ovens, blenders, refrigerators and stoves in the US and Europe because nearly the entire supply chain for these products exists in China. Things are not quite as bad as that. There are multiple factories of such products in Poland alone. E.g. Electrolux has 5 factories in Poland, which make blow dryers, dishwashers, washers, stove owens and kitchen hoods. Other manufacturers are also present.
  - robomartin 1y ago
    Where are the components coming from? I would bet these are assembly plants, far more so than manufacturing facilities. Do they make the motors, wires, chips, circuit boards, metals and coatings, displays, connectors, etc. It is easy to look at a factory and think "we build this" and then, once you look deeper, you realize that you might only make 30% of it. There are things that are far more serious than these imbalances. Watching an economic forum presentation on this topic today I learned that China is extracting 600 billion dollars in intellectual property PER YEAR from the west (mostly the US). In case you are interested, here's the livestream. The China conversation is the second panel, after Jamie Dimon (JP Morgan Chase CEO). https://www.reaganfoundation.org/events/2025-reagan-national-economic-forum#sessions https://www.reaganfoundation.org/events/2025-reagan-national...