Offshoring Is So Over

•  
  babuk1008@...09/04/08 Report as spam
  1

  RE: Offshoring Is So Over

  Indeed this was to be expected. Now that the euphoria of cheaper manufacturing costs have been slowly evoporating and with increased shipping cost, lower Dollar values, and cost of energy etc will convince the Offshoring Honchos to rethink.
  The technological breakthroughs attained in early 1990s have to come around to be more meaningful only, when other factors are also beneficial to overall costs. The expected slowing down after the Olympics 08 also also call for reduced usgae and demands for all commodities and this also might affect the overall price points. As they say, the cycle has to come around. Sooner or later the charms of Offshoring will fade away and may be US of A will regain its econmic prowess!!

•  
  grettapetersen@...09/05/08 Report as spam
  2

  RE: Offshoring Is So Over

  Today's report on rising unemployment in the US makes me wonder if this can be greater incentive to bring manufacturing back home. Wouldn't it be wise of the government to support this too--by giving corporations a break they can also tackle unemployment and retraining of the workforce in one fell swoop.

•  
  Michael Fitzgerald09/06/08 Report as spam
  3

  RE: Offshoring Is So Over

  That would be a nice boon for parts of the U.S. But if it happens, it probably won't help some of the hardest hit places. For instance, my hometown in Michigan has lost most of its manufacturing jobs. Service jobs have not made up the gap, despite the presence of a college in town. Perhaps local leadership could have tried to attract call centers or some such thing, but one certainly wouldn't expect to see law firms or consulting firms or other high-paying service firms come to a tiny city with a crime problem, slipping public schools and not much to do.
  
  Add in tax structure -- MIchigan pays some of the highest unemployment benefits in the nation -- and a tradition of unions, and it would seem clear that manufacturing won't move there. It will move to friendlier states, at least some of which have issues because labor is weak and taxes are too low to support things like the schools.

•  
  gerryharry09/09/08 Report as spam
  4

  RE: Offshoring Is So Over

  And as if on cue, the machinists at Boeing have provided a stark reminder to management of one reason they off-shored in the first place. I'm moderate about unions, but wonder where the tipping point is on the cost/cost analysis of off-shoring -- when the costs of off-shoring exceed the costs of on-shoring. I wouldn't assume that the only course of action in response to energy costs, etc, is to bring factories back to America.

•  
  MinnesotaDave11/22/08 Report as spam
  5

  RE: Offshoring Is So Over

  If anyone thought for a moment that free trade was going to raise the standard of living of the world to that of the American worker...
  
  Work will come back to America when American workers are forced to work/live at some lower common denominator standard of living, it looks like sooner than we thought might be possible.