Apple to build an existing Mac lines exclusively in US

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Jerome36

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Tim Cook tells NBC Apple will be building Macs in the U.S.

FORTUNE -- Tim Cook drops a bombshell in his interview with Brian Williams scheduled to air Thursday evening: Apple (AAPL) next year will begin manufacturing one of its existing Mac lines exclusively in the U.S.

In an interview with Bloomberg Businessweek released the same morning, Cook offers a bit more detail. He tells editor Josh Tyrangiel that the company plans to spend more than $100 million next year to shift assembly from Foxconn's Chinese plants to facilities in the U.S. "This doesn't mean that Apple will do it ourselves," he says, "but we'll be working with people and we'll be investing our money."

Full CNN Money Article
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The article mentions that some of the new 21 inch iMacs have "Assembled in the USA" on them (which I hadn't heard before), so perhaps in 2013 all the iMacs will be built in the US. Obviously there's quite a difference between being made in, and assembled in the USA, but I think this is good news.
 
might sound stupid, especially being in Canada but given the option of a Made in (insert random asian country here) and made in USA/Canada id pay a premium (within reason!) for the one made here

for example 20$ premium per 500$ of product, its not much but if it keeps jobs here, so be it..so an ipad costs me 20$ more... or 60$ more for an imac for example

the problem is in China or where ever they'll work for next to nothing and the American mentality with unions is more more more, no more? strike! that's gota go...you cant pay your janitors and assembly lines jobs 25-35$ an hour and make money(union or no union)...i think people are starting to see that these days be happy your employed first and fore most, the more money you demand the more jobs go overseas, if they aren't happy with a reasonable wage, someone else is these days, even in the US of A

i hope other companies take note and follow suit
 
Putz said:
might sound stupid, especially being in Canada but given the option of a Made in (insert random asian country here) and made in USA/Canada id pay a premium (within reason!) for the one made here

for example 20$ premium per 500$ of product, its not much but if it keeps jobs here, so be it..so an ipad costs me 20$ more... or 60$ more for an imac for example

the problem is in China or where ever they'll work for next to nothing and the American mentality with unions is more more more, no more? strike! that's gota go...you cant pay your janitors and assembly lines jobs 25-35$ an hour and make money(union or no union)...i think people are starting to see that these days be happy your employed first and fore most, the more money you demand the more jobs go overseas, if they aren't happy with a reasonable wage, someone else is these days, even in the US of A

i hope other companies take note and follow suit
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The wage offered needs to correspond to the costs of living in the area the job is offered. You can't build something in a place that requires the people living there to earn (as an example) $40,000 a year and then pay minimum wage. If you do you're not going to attract workers that can bring much to the table because the people with skills will go where the better money is.
 
dr.stevil said:
Good for Apple... now lets see others follow suit (hopefully)
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That's what I was thinking too. I think it's starting to happen, and it's kind of funny, because the Chinese company Lenovo had announced recently that they were going to be opening a production plant in North Carolina. The article mentions it near the end, but I remember when Lenovo came out with the announcement.
 
madmat said:
The wage offered needs to correspond to the costs of living in the area the job is offered. You can't build something in a place that requires the people living there to earn (as an example) $40,000 a year and then pay minimum wage. If you do you're not going to attract workers that can bring much to the table because the people with skills will go where the better money is.
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true, id just rather see allot more made in USA and made in Canada items on my local shelves..and every time China region area sees a typhoon we see shortages, surly north america and be somewhat self sufficient lol
 
Putz said:
might sound stupid, especially being in Canada but given the option of a Made in (insert random asian country here) and made in USA/Canada id pay a premium (within reason!) for the one made here

for example 20$ premium per 500$ of product, its not much but if it keeps jobs here, so be it..so an ipad costs me 20$ more... or 60$ more for an imac for example

the problem is in China or where ever they'll work for next to nothing and the American mentality with unions is more more more, no more? strike! that's gota go...you cant pay your janitors and assembly lines jobs 25-35$ an hour and make money(union or no union)...i think people are starting to see that these days be happy your employed first and fore most, the more money you demand the more jobs go overseas, if they aren't happy with a reasonable wage, someone else is these days, even in the US of A

i hope other companies take note and follow suit
Click to expand...


Yep even the union that had workers under GE gave in. They even said it themselves, it's better then nothing. GE now has an exclusive line of refrigerators made here in the USA
 
This is very promising news for the US. It makes me wonder though the true reason why companies would move from China back to here. Are Chinese wages finally starting to reach comparable levels to here in the US? Is the US handing out incentives? Or is the Chinese government getting too involved other there?

My biggest gripe with things made in China, besides being cheap, is that companies still charge the same amount for their products even though they are producing it for less.

Also, Assembled in the USA is different than Made in the USA.
 
Putz said:
might sound stupid, especially being in Canada but given the option of a Made in (insert random asian country here) and made in USA/Canada id pay a premium (within reason!) for the one made here

for example 20$ premium per 500$ of product, its not much but if it keeps jobs here, so be it..so an ipad costs me 20$ more... or 60$ more for an imac for example

the problem is in China or where ever they'll work for next to nothing and the American mentality with unions is more more more, no more? strike! that's gota go...you cant pay your janitors and assembly lines jobs 25-35$ an hour and make money(union or no union)...i think people are starting to see that these days be happy your employed first and fore most, the more money you demand the more jobs go overseas, if they aren't happy with a reasonable wage, someone else is these days, even in the US of A

i hope other companies take note and follow suit
Click to expand...

I don't know...have you done the math? If the CEOs are getting $25mil a year, maybe you can pay employees more if you set your priorities right. Not saying that's the right number, but it seems like CEOs and other top execs are getting paid a lot these days...and one has to wonder if that job is really worth that much.
 
Putz said:
might sound stupid, especially being in Canada but given the option of a Made in (insert random asian country here) and made in USA/Canada id pay a premium (within reason!) for the one made here

for example 20$ premium per 500$ of product, its not much but if it keeps jobs here, so be it..so an ipad costs me 20$ more... or 60$ more for an imac for example

the problem is in China or where ever they'll work for next to nothing and the American mentality with unions is more more more, no more? strike! that's gota go...you cant pay your janitors and assembly lines jobs 25-35$ an hour and make money(union or no union)...i think people are starting to see that these days be happy your employed first and fore most, the more money you demand the more jobs go overseas, if they aren't happy with a reasonable wage, someone else is these days, even in the US of A

i hope other companies take note and follow suit
Click to expand...

A 4% premium? Come on! I'd pay a 10% premium without a second thought and I'm European. I don't think 4% comes close to covering the difference in labour costs, depending on how much of the work is done in the States of course.
 
I assume it will be the Mac Pro. It's due for a redesign in 2013, if one believes the Tim Cook email. Apple already does BTO for it stateside. It's probably their highest absolute (not percent) margin product. We'll see.

I continue to vainly hope for a decent gaming box out of Apple. Maybe this'll be it.
 
You guys seen that movie "The Campaign"? I hope Apple isn't looking to "insource".
 
Labor costs may be the major factor in the production of simple commodities, but for complex electronics products, etc., expenses due to logistics are of a real concern. Labor costs for assembly are one thing, but logistical expenses, including those for intermediary and final product shipping, product delivery and time sensitivity, and adaptability, are another.

It is my understanding that while it is true that labor costs are rising in China, expenses due to logistics are increasing even more rapidly. Logistical expenses also apparently have more impact than labor expenses to the point where, even with lower labor costs overseas, other increases are no longer making the move overseas as lucrative.

This, and advances in robotics are eroding any benefit to overseas assembly even further. (Unfortunately this also means that we most likely will not see anywhere near an equivalent shift in the number of jobs brought back to the US.)

Also, for a US based company, dealing with setting up overseas production is a hassle and not free of problems.

cnick79 said:
This is very promising news for the US. It makes me wonder though the true reason why companies would move from China back to here. Are Chinese wages finally starting to reach comparable levels to here in the US? Is the US handing out incentives? Or is the Chinese government getting too involved other there?

*** snip ***
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