4 ms·

I guess a counterview here: These are the sorts of things small companies can actually make and be successful making. Are they representative of the economy a

I guess a counterview here: These are the sorts of things small companies can actually make and be successful making. Are they representative of the economy as a whole? Maybe not - the majority of that spend is going to go towards housing (~35%), transportation (~17%), basic food (~13%), and (somewhat surprisingly) insurance/pensions (~12.5%). Those are all incredibly competitive. High barrier to entry, legally challenging (lots of bureaucratic red tape and hoops), already dominated by large companies with economy of scale in their favor. So that essentially leaves niche, high margin, products as the ONLY products a small company can competitively make. So it you want to be a small company selling a physical item... this is the market you tend to play within. You make an expensive niche/luxury product with a limited appeal but higher margins. We already get plenty of news about how the large corporations say they are going to respond (prices will go up).

bluGill 1y ago
And on the third hand, those are things that you cannot buy off the shelf machines to automate. Sewing is an active area of research, but it still needs as much labor as in 1930. Beverage packing is automated but a lot of it is custom machines so you need a lot of up front money. (though it appears their limits were containers - al is made in the US so I'm surprised they cannot order the alloy they need).
- giantg2 1y ago
  It's probably material cost and not the actual manufacturing. The aluminum smelting industry in the US has been in decline (and for other metals too). It was also only 4 cents per can, a 1% increase in end unit price. But how it it affecting the products that can be made with off the shelf machines? How about in sectors other than consumer discretionary, like consumer staples?
giantg2 1y ago
I'm just saying, every single example is a consumer discretionary item. Maybe they could pick some examples from other sectors. We already know consumer discretionary spending is a weak sector and will get weaker with tariffs.
- mrweasel 1y ago
  That's my thinking as well, these are items where if they cross a certain price point consumers can easily opt to just not get them. They aren't even really luxury items, they are unnecessary luxury items. A better example I've seen is machinery, like construction equipment. Some contractor on YouTube points out that a Chinese skid steer is every bit as capable as a US made, but that 25 - 33% of the price. If he had to buy US made equipment he wouldn't have a business.
SoftTalker 1y ago
Yes but they are bullshit products. Dog beds? A dog is happy with an old blanket. "Stress-reducing carbonated beverages" no comment. A $65 paper day planner? These are things that nobody needs. They are the poster children for mindless consumerism, feasible only because they are made in overseas sweatshops.

bluGill 1y ago

And on the third hand, those are things that you cannot buy off the shelf machines to automate. Sewing is an active area of research, but it still needs as much labor as in 1930. Beverage packing is automated but a lot of it is custom machines so you need a lot of up front money. (though it appears their limits were containers - al is made in the US so I'm surprised they cannot order the alloy they need).

giantg2 1y ago
It's probably material cost and not the actual manufacturing. The aluminum smelting industry in the US has been in decline (and for other metals too). It was also only 4 cents per can, a 1% increase in end unit price. But how it it affecting the products that can be made with off the shelf machines? How about in sectors other than consumer discretionary, like consumer staples?

giantg2 1y ago

I'm just saying, every single example is a consumer discretionary item. Maybe they could pick some examples from other sectors. We already know consumer discretionary spending is a weak sector and will get weaker with tariffs.

mrweasel 1y ago
That's my thinking as well, these are items where if they cross a certain price point consumers can easily opt to just not get them. They aren't even really luxury items, they are unnecessary luxury items. A better example I've seen is machinery, like construction equipment. Some contractor on YouTube points out that a Chinese skid steer is every bit as capable as a US made, but that 25 - 33% of the price. If he had to buy US made equipment he wouldn't have a business.

SoftTalker 1y ago

Yes but they are bullshit products. Dog beds? A dog is happy with an old blanket. "Stress-reducing carbonated beverages" no comment. A $65 paper day planner? These are things that nobody needs. They are the poster children for mindless consumerism, feasible only because they are made in overseas sweatshops.