Just how much better is USA parts

I got to thinking about China parts. I think their work ethic may be a little better than the workers in the US. Just a wild guess. I wonder how many workers making our car parts go to work stoned, or take drugs at work? A lot of people talk down China parts, including my self. Maybe we should take another look at the big picture of remanufactured parts from China. Something to chew on tonight. Stan

I am told by people who outsource parts from China that the Chinese are capable of high quality work or low quality work, depending on what the customer demands or is willing to accept. I had the opportunity to tour a metal casting plant in Tennessee. The engineer told me that he has seen the reject rate for Chinese castings as high as 20%. He said that his company could compete with the Chinese because their quality control could hold the reject rate to nearly zero.
On a personal note, I bought a Chinese drill press from Lowes. I found the quality to be quite good.

I don't think the quality of the part has anything to do with the color of the persons skin that put it together it's the integrity of the manufactures that sourced the materials to make the parts and how much money they want to invest into time to do it to make a part to hold up. There's quite a few people that either can't afford or would rather not spend a lot of money for quality parts. Therefore there's a huge market for cheaply made parts sold cheap. The way to do it cheap is use cheaper materials spend less time making sure it's made to last and the cheapest labour available. How many long standing companies that for decades made high quality built to last parts saw huge sale declines to cheaper parts that are in evidently made over seas. They're than either forced to follow suit to remain competitive or go out of business. So many things are made cheap now a days. Who fixes tv's and electronics anymore? If it lasts a few years when it quits throw it out and get the latest best thing. Not to rant but Chinese and North Americans are physically and mentally capable of the same quality of work they're just doing their job with the materials provided to them the way they're instructed to do it.

I've long believed the Chinese can make the same quality as anyone.

I work at a small machine shop, we have 13 CNC mills/lathes, all made in China or Korea.(I don't make the decisions on purchasing machines.) They run amazingly well with little maintenance or down time, appear to be well built, and are well supported by the local distributors.

The companies that outsource or move their operation to foreign lands get what they pay for, just like here. They may even get more due to the economic differences. But seek out the lowest bidder, pay the lowest wages, guess what comes off the assembly line!

As for the employee behavior, again, get what you pay for. Pretty much a world wide problem.

We buy cheap parts and tools because we are a nation of cheapskates. Any time a part or tool comes around cheaper, we jump at it. If we did not, places like Wal-Mart and K-mart would have been out of business a long time ago.
Without fail, if a mechanic gives you a price on a repair, we invariably want it done cheaper. Same thing with tools. Otherwise, Harbor Freight would have no customers.
Something to think about. We simply will not pay for quality most of the time.

(quoted from post at 17:42:10 11/03/17) I am told by people who outsource parts from China that the Chinese are capable of high quality work or low quality work, depending on what the customer demands or is willing to accept. I had the opportunity to tour a metal casting plant in Tennessee. The engineer told me that he has seen the reject rate for Chinese castings as high as 20%. He said that his company could compete with the Chinese because their quality control could hold the reject rate to nearly zero.
On a personal note, I bought a Chinese drill press from Lowes. I found the quality to be quite good.

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That is one experience, and I had the opposite. We were buying USA castings, cast iron, and an importer wanted the chance to bid a Chinese foundry. He wanted a drawing to let them make a sample casting for us. It came back quickly, finish was as good as die cast, with all our numbers very readable. The American foundry could never get the numbers very readable because the part was small, but that was not a big issue. Chinese casting was 20% of the USA casting. I hated it, but that's where the work had to go, we were selling internationally and had to compete against similar Korean equipment.

I am not making any judgments about what any group of persons is capable of, as that is not something I've studied. What I can comment on is my own experience over quite a few years in actually using lots of parts from all over the world. While I don't doubt there are some lousy workers in some US factories, I have almost always found American made to hold up better than parts from say, China, India, Brazil, etc. Foe example, I got an oil pressure gauge for one of my Molines about a year ago. It was made in India, and filled up with oil in its face within about an hour of being used. I got a gasket set that was made in Mexico, and the holes punched in it were too small for the bolts that had to go through it. I got another heat gauge made in China, and the needle fell off when I was putting it on, and it wasn't like I was being rough with it. I could go on, but you get the idea. The US parts tend to be more expensive, but seem to last better.
I do not necessarily blame the workers in the factory, who perhaps know nothing about what the part they are putting together even does. I do suspect there is very little in the way of quality control in many of these foreign factories. I've also noticed that tools made in Asia seem to made of very poor metal, that bends or breaks quite easily compared to US tools. My practice has been to keep my good quality wrenches in my shop, but put the cheap Chinese and Indian wrenches in to tractor toolboxes, as those are much more likely to bounce out and get lost. I would really hate to see that happen to a Snap On or MAC wrench.
From what I have read, the workers in many of these foreign factories are very poorly paid, and that probably affects their interest and morale. Also, the workers are not to blame if they are given poor quality materials to work with.
Just so it doesn't look like I am totally down on all non-US goods, I will admit I have a car that was made in Korea, that is holding up very well.

On Rush show today

China's population 1.4 billion
USA 325 million.

In china you don't work you don't eat they have to create 25 million jobs a year to keep up with population growth. China is letting other country's come in and build city's in out reaching un-populated land. Taiwan is building city's/manufacturing centers that will hold 500 million folks in china.

I don't see it changing unless the US changes its tax structure then its still going to be hard to beat china.

If we had a conventional war with them they would win you can not kill them off. We could only hope to starve them to death.

I have seen parts and tools that are of poor quality just by looking at them. A year ago our Jeep needed a new rear wheel bearing. The dealer wanted close to $800 for a pair. NAPA had two brands, one set for 700 and the others from China for $550. So I got to looking on Ebay using the OEM part number. Found a pair for $76 with free shipping. They looked EXACTLY like the originals and have been on the Jeep for a year now with no problems. I am sure they came from China. But the $550 ones at NAPA came from China as well. One poster said we are cheapskates and I sure am. So how is it that China could produce a pair of these wheel bearings that include the bearing, hub, wheel sensor ring and female spline for $76 free shipping and still make a profit? I guess I will know if one of my wheels fly off.

Agreed, Hobo.

Dean

It's all marketing.

Some years ago, I rebuilt a 3.0 V6 engine in a Buick Century for a customer. I got a rebuild kit from our local NAPA store.

A few months later, I had reason to rebuild the same engine in another Century that our daughter was driving. I'd gotten a flyer from a parts house, not Rock, but something similar, that showed a rebuild kit for the engine at about half the price of NAPA's. I figured for a car in the family I'd order those parts. Guess what? Same Felpro gaskets, same Perfect Circle piston rings, same Clevite bearings, etc. Exact same parts, just a different source.

Most "Made in USA" parts have the majority of the machining done overseas, such as China, and is finished in the USA. So an American part has very little American to it.
There is a U-joint factory near me that has most of the manufacturing done is China, but a little machining done here to allow the "Made in USA" sticker on it.
I have a boxed fuel pump sitting right in front of me. It says: Made in Mexico, tested in Canada.
But there is is the little maple leaf sticker on the box that proudly says: Made in Canada.

(quoted from post at 19:26:25 11/03/17)
On Rush show today

China's population 1.4 billion
USA 325 million.

In china you don't work you don't eat they have to create 25 million jobs a year to keep up with population growth. China is letting other country's come in and build city's in out reaching un-populated land. Taiwan is building city's/manufacturing centers that will hold 500 million folks in china.

I don't see it changing unless the US changes its tax structure then its still going to be hard to beat china.

If we had a conventional war with them they would win you can not kill them off. We could only hope to starve them to death.

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What does our tax structure have to do with the cost of Chinese parts ? I agree it could use some change, but I doubt that it will add jobs here, or change the relative cost between China and the US. It really comes down to the cost of labor - right now, Mexico is cheaper than China.

The only thing I know about the young people coming in to work in our foundry now are a lot different than the men I went to work with 40+ years ago. If you can get em off their phones long enough to do anything at all, about the best you can expect is mediocrity or maybe a little bit better than that, but not to much. Then their attention span runs out, back to the phone until something or someone tells em maybe I should do a little bit more. All that's a little exaggerated, but for some not at all, some it doesn't apply to at all. It don't matter stoned, on drugs, still buzzing from last nights booze, or whatever distraction, I'm pretty sure I wouldn't want anything they made on whatever I need on the truck to make it stop,go or just do right. As far as country of origin, if I see it's made anywhere else but good ole USA, I know that's possibly another American sitting on the unemployment line when there are far to many out there that don't want to be

Ultimately it is up to the manufacturer, NOT the workers, to ensure the quality of its products. It's up the the manufacturer to hire, train and retain the best workers. It's up to the manufacturer to procure machinery that can produce high-quality products and keep it maintained. Workers in the US and overseas are both capable of producing excellent parts, given the opportunity. There's no reason Chinese parts should be inferior to American-made parts, other than that manufacturers, wholesalers, retailers and customers are willing to accept poor-quality parts.

I don't pay any attention to where something is made. Everything made in the 21st century is equally as bad regardless of where it's made.

Companies supply what is in demand and what sells whether its tools,cars,TV shows or whatever.If you want good quality tools the Snapon truck is full of them if you want not
so good to Harbor Freight.No question which one sells the most tools.

agree with you Traditional Farmer, thats why MAC and SNAP-ON stop by once a month, normaly by something..... never been in a HF store just dont like junk

Things got so bad at the feed store. That the owner made everyone leave their phones. In his office. New owner gave them their phones back and they have lost customers. I have seen people pull up to the loading dock. No one there because they are on the phone. The people get back in their trucks and go across town to the other feed store.

You can bet when I was on the Snap-On truck yesterday I checked every item for a made in USA label or I would tell the driver to keep it. I avoid Chinese products if possible.

I try to buy a product made in any country other then China.
But I would have less problems if items that are made in China were priced as such.
Went to Lowes a while back to purchase a 10" miter saw blade.
They had several but the Irwin was made in USA and Dewalt was made in China.
Irwin was cheaper then Dewalt !

I have no problem with China as a parts source. The only problem I have is the US purchasing agents that write the specs for the parts that China produces, usually for the cheapest price possible.

Case in point on the spec. being the factor here: Bearings for my JD round baler rollers. Seiko (the Japanese watch maker), is into the bearing business. They do the specs and China does the work. Guarantee you that you put one of those suckers in your hand and it never held a more quality product.

Something else about the oriental mind. Think back when they hit the American automotive market. Think about what Detroit offered us for transportation. Think about what was standard equipment from Detroit (had a 1965 Ford F100 that didn't even have a HEATER) and what MAY have been available as an added accessory. Think about how the oriental mind came with everything as standard equipment. My wife worked with them in semiconductor assembly. Engineers would come over from Japan. No rock was left unturned. Minute details are of the essence. Apparently it's a way of life for them.

Case in point. WM usually has a carton of cheap flash lights sitting around the auto/sporting goods sections. 2 bucks for an LED driven by a couple of AA batteries. Super light, super price. Sure beats the bulb with 2 D cells we used to have to buy. But here's the kicker. The plastic case, like plastic cases on US made flashlights, has a flat side on it so that when you lay it down, it won't roll around...........never saw a US flashlight with such. The detailing just goes on and on.

Sorry for you nay sayers, but "diversity" IS good for us!