Tariffs trip up the all-American RV industry

Cummins12V98 wrote:

Grit dog wrote:
Is this what ya do when you get old? Sit around and argue about economics, politics and the weather (and axle ratings, lol)?

YUP

Shop local only and you need a 1 ton to tow a pop up!

Grit dog wrote:
Is this what ya do when you get old? Sit around and argue about economics, politics and the weather (and axle ratings, lol)?

YUP

Is this what ya do when you get old? Sit around and argue about economics, politics and the weather (and axle ratings, lol)?

WalMart did NOT do anything but provide products that people wanted at the price they wanted to pay.

Don't think anyone has been forced to shop at WalMart. Personally don't care to shop there.

We can compete with ANYONE "IF" you impose the same Labor and Environmental regulations on products coming into this Country as we place on our Companies. It's called "FAIR TRADE".

Look what happened to the previous "world currencies" For example the British Pound. The longest of these currencies may possibly be the Roman Denarii, which lasted about 8 centuries.

Somewhat unrelated, but I heard something, and maybe some of it is true…
Americans specialize in providing services, which are worth more than manufacturing.
Say, an iPhone cost 30 cents to make in china (I made up that number, so substitute another item if your brain is hurting). China makes a few more than 30 cents selling it to apple.
Apple creates the software, which is worth thousands times more than the plastic and sand based product.
The design technology is also worth much, much more than the physical thing that rolled off the line.
We do the work that is worth a lot of money and let the others do the dirty work that is not worth as much.
food for thought.

Also, understand that the Dollar is the World's currency. The world need currency, and in order for them to get dollars we have to spend dollars on them, or we (govt) has to just give them dollars. We have to buy their stuff.
A little bit of deficit is needed to fill the world with dollars.
We are king because the dollar originates from us. The bank always wins. The house always wins….
We get stuff dirt cheap, they get dollars and our currency remains in charge.
Look at worlds politics through that lens. We do have obligations to the world or they may one day reject the dollar as the currency, then we lose that guarantee of always having world money.

The dollar is headed to its end of domination. Hopefully we can string it along as long as possible, but for the past couple decades momentum has been building that another currency(s) will arise. Hopefully our leaders see this and are preparing us to be able to still trade (make stuff and have stuff to sell/trade) with the world without the power of global currency holding us up.
As long as we are the global currency then we do not need to produce anything except dollars, but if one day that ends, then without the ability to produce anything of value the world needs, then we are not able to trade, so can't buy stuff we need and we decline very rapidly as a nation.
The fight in DC is do we prepare our nation or do we help push our nation over the cliff of death….

philh wrote:
As a free market libertarian, this bothers me a lot... but working for an international firm and doing business all over the globe bothers me that other countries are permitted to apply tariff's to our product and we have to just sit back and take it.

Another problem here, If you think a US mfg is suddenly going to sell their product for less money, you've been smoking too much of something. They will raise their price to match the importers price.

WRT the business owner forced to raise his prices... gotta love free market and options. I watched a local hardware business known for charging 50% more than the big box stores. He Lowered his prices some when home depot opened up 7ish miles away. Now that Menards is opened up 2 miles away, he's only a short period away from closing his doors... but he sure made a lot of money before they showed up.

Your hardware guy wouldn't have kept Home Depot and Menards at bay even if he had undercut their prices to begin with. The big box retailers have huge pricing advantages due to their size. Their logistics alone give them a competitive advantage. I seriously doubt that local hardware guy made huge profits before the Box Stores set up shop nearby. There has been consolidation in that industry for as long as I can remember.
40 years ago the small town I lived in had three lumber yards and a Coast to Coast hardware store. Coast to Coast went out first, driven out by a new Ben Franklin five and dime and a Gibson's warehouse. They both only lasted a few years because people could get better selections and lower prices driving to the major metro area 40 miles down the road. The lumber yards put each other out of business over the next 10 years or so and the town was circling the drain. Then Walmart came in and up popped the fast food chains, the specialty shops offering what Walmart didn't, and economic recovery. People no longer felt the need to drive 40 miles to the major city. Furthermore, with a Walmart, the town was figuratively on the map, so several small to midsize manufacturing businesses took advantage of the lower costs of real estate and labor compared to the large metro area and set up shop in the town. The local population was never going to support the local Five and Dime, Radio Shack, and greasy spoons to the extent they would thrive. And businesses were never going to locate themselves in an area that didn't have the services of a big box retailer. It took Walmart to save the town and make it a viable community.

2112 wrote:

troubledwaters wrote:
The fact of the matter is, if you are satisfied with the cost of the product your buying, buy it; if not, don't buy it.

My 325gal home propane tank started to leak last week. All the suppliers had in stock for a replacement were 500 and 1000gals. I needed a new tank right then. All three companies I called said 8 months ago the price of a 500 gal US made tanks jumped from $1400 to $2000 overnight. I didn't have a choice, I had to buy it. The tariff cost ME $600.

Or, the retailer changed suppliers. Or the wholesaler changed suppliers. Or the manufacturer had a new labor contract go into effect this year and had to increase prices to cover the additional labor costs. Or maybe propane tanks are in short supply because there is a push for people to convert their homes from Fuel oil to propane because it is cleaner and cheaper, proving Adam Smith's theory of supply and demand once again.
A 500 gallon propane tank weights around 1000 pounds. Steel is currently priced around $570 per ton. So the steel in a tank is about $285. A 25% tariff would add only about $75 to prices. The other $525.00 is likely spread over an increase in the costs of transportation, manufacturing costs, and yes the profits of the manufacturer, wholesaler, retailer and everyone else who touches a tank from manufacturing to final delivery.

Interesting but sameo. We ranted buy American in the 70's and most people ignored the chant. Walmart killed small towns and business and no one cared as China became their big supplier.
Now today you rant about China. We get screwed again forcing our deficit into the highest it has ever been. WE lose, farmers lose, consumers and labor both lose but we don't get it.
America is a rudderless ship when it comes to world affairs, no change there.