Material Handling & Supply Chain Technology

I thought CFLs were going to spur US manufacturing.

GE could retrofit its Winchester plant to produce CFLs, but GE CFLs would be 50 percent more expensive than bulbs made in China with the benefit of cheap labor. Realizing it could not compete with such a cost disadvantage, GE is closing down its Winchester factory.

Oh well.

That article is one sided for the Tea Party. The heartland Institute believes strictly in free market and no government regulations which would put us back into the smog filled cities that we used to have. Also, free market is filled with greed with no middle class due to poor wages and has no benefits. Granted, I think the unions have gone way overboard on both of these (since when does a laborer with no education get paid more than an engineer? Only in a union shop. Since when is it better to be out of work (GM stamping plant in Indiana) than to take lower wages in a new trade? Only in a union shop.)

Ugh, I wish someone would come up with a good balance and everyone would quit trying to have huge profits off of everything. When did 10% profit in the manufacturing world become such a bad thing? When did 50% profit (just an overexagerated guess for imphasis) or higher become a requirement?

I wasn't trying to tow the tea party line or the opinions of that particular site. I just googled- GE moving lighting jobs to China..............or something like that, and posted one of the first few hits to come up.

Just attempting to make a point that I thought pertained to this thread.

I don't think LED lighting is going to bring a comeback to US manufacturing any more than CFLs did. That's all I was saying. I sure would like to be wrong.

I agree that no one industry is going to revamp US manufacturing. It will take many.

I wish someone would come up with a good balance and everyone would quit trying to have huge profits off of everything. When did 10% profit in the manufacturing world become such a bad thing? When did 50% profit (just an overexagerated guess for imphasis) or higher become a requirement?

as an OEM, 30% is the norm. of what you want to shoot for. And that is due to high risk. which levels out because at times on some projects, that is not enough. 12%-20% seems to where it averages out.

8% wide gap is due to the fluxuation in economy.

until US dollar has weaken so much against RMB, no factory for mass mass market products will go back to US. LED lighting is just another electronic products China is manufacturing by the billions.