UK manufacturing- what happened ?

[Mike Kelly]

This is a interesting site . Where are all of the UK manufacturing companies today ?

http://www.gracesguide.co.uk/Main_Page

[Private_collector]

In China, I fear, with all our steel.

[Phil Waterman]

Hi Mike

Thanks for sharing this site it will take some exploring, I'm afraid Tony is correct. It would be interesting or discouraging to see similar sites for the US, Canada, etc. Make a heck of Doctoral Thesis for some economic student to take a site like this and actually track where all these products are now made.

Cheers Phil

[sapper740]

Originally Posted by Phil Waterman

Hi Mike

Thanks for sharing this site it will take some exploring, I'm afraid Tony is correct. It would be interesting or discouraging to see similar sites for the US, Canada, etc. Make a heck of Doctoral Thesis for some economic student to take a site like this and actually track where all these products are now made.

Cheers Phil

Unfortunately, the icon of American ingenuity and industry, Jeep is considering building all it's Jeeps in China!

http://washingtonexaminer.com/jeep-a...rticle/2511703

I eagerly anticipate Obama's mental gymnastics as he blames this on Romney...or Bush.

CHIMO! Derek

[Ed Storey]

Sadly this is the economic trend, Western wages are high and no-one wants to pay $100.00 for a shirt or a pair of sneakers so China is the place to get things made. The west sells them natural resuroces at cheap prices, they manufacture things cheaply and we buy them. I doubt any politician can change that trend.

[sapper740]

Originally Posted by Ed Storey

Sadly this is the economic trend, Western wages are high and no-one wants to pay $100.00 for a shirt or a pair of sneakers so China is the place to get things made. The west sells them natural resuroces at cheap prices, they manufacture things cheaply and we buy them. I doubt any politician can change that trend.

True. Except Obama hypocritically berated Mitt Romney for supposedly shipping jobs overseas during one of the debates in a cheap and calculated ploy to gain votes. Of course, he neglected to mention how many of the auto manufacturers he "single-handedly" rescued from bankruptcy have facilities outside of the U.S., or how his buddy Geoffrey Immelt of G.E. recently closed a factory which re-opened in China, or how Fisker took hundreds of millions of U.S. taxpayers dollars for a "Green" grant then promptly shipped the factory to Scandinavia. Wouldn't want to confuse the Oba-zombies with a few inconvenient facts now would we? Stepping off my soap-box now.

CHIMO! Derek.

[Ed Storey]

We all know politicians will say anything and mudsling at anyone in order to get elected, kind of the soap-opera of being in a democracy. I think that no matter where you sit politically, the key is to get out and vote.

[Hanno Spoelstra]

Originally Posted by Ed Storey

I think that no matter where you sit politically, the key is to get out and vote.

I'll second that, and politely ( not: politically ) ask our forum members to refrain from talking politics on this forum, also because this is more of an economic subject rather than political.

Thank you!
Hanno
MLU Adminstrator

[chris vickery]

Here is how I see it from the Canadian perspective;
We have, over time, allowed many foreign companies to invest within Canada.
At the same time, we have shipped jobs out of the country because of lower pricing. In the meantime, all the foreign investment here has grown, to a point where we cannot deny importation of foreign goods into Canada, nor can we impose levies or taxes on them.
This is because in many companies, the foreign investors control the majority of the shares, hence controlling our Canadian market.
We continue to sell off our natural resources at an alarming pace for cheap prices to other countries, in turn, buying foreign made products back.
It is to a point now where many of our resource based companies are owned and controlled by foreign investors.
We are stuck beteen a rock and a hard place, as our government has allowed this trend to happen and continue.
Eventually I see Canada as the "have not" nation while 2nd and third world nations become the driving economic force. Sooner or later when all the money is gone from Canada, these foreign nations will no longer have a market for their cheaper built junk.
I, for one, try to purchase Canadian made products whenever i can, even if they cost more. If more Canadians would just say no to buying foreign maybe we could at least turn some of this mess around.
In the meantime, our politicians need to stop selling us out and keep control of our money here at home.

[chalky]

In the uk as well as China taking over much production ,many British companies are taken over by Continental Europe companies and then the UK manufacturing operation is shut down . Massey Ferguson and ERF are two of many that spring to mind . I cannot remember a case of a European manufacture closings its continental factories and transferring production to Britain .

[chris vickery]

My question is this: Wht will happen to natons that were built on industry when all the industry vanishes. Supportive businesses will also suffer. One only needs to see any mill town that has closed up shop. Everything from the coffee shop to the clothing store suffers. Many people only look at the direct business which closes and never look at the collateral damage inflicted.
I could hazard a guess that for every factory of 500 people it is probably 10x that amount which feels the closure.
When you figure that the factory buys supplies somewhere for their goods, probably has a lunch room or cafeteria, has toilets which needs cleaning product TP etc, office supplies, courier services, trucking in and out, plus the fact that the locals spend their money on things like groceries, clothing, entertainment etc.
6 years ago, the company I worked at closed up our division and sent 500 packing. A few months later, Imperial Tobacco did the same. Euclid had a big layoff and Engel shut down.
This was in the City of Guelph, approx pop. 100,000. This meant that around 1000 to 1500 jobs, high paying lost. People working at these places were among top wage earners in the area.
If you figure an average of 4 person families, that is 4 to 6,000 people directly impacted or 4% to 6% of the population. Add in the collateral damage and tell me that does not hurt a city of this size.
Then to top it off, they try and make it up by inviting Big Box stores into town like Walmart. A slap in the face. They say we can get on there. Not this guy. To go to a third of the salary and work for a company that thrives on selling foreign made crap, I think not.
We have certainly allowed ourselves to get into one big mess in this world.

[ajmac]

My Dad ran his own foundry for 25 years before retiring last year. No one is interested in taking over as the margins are so small! However I work for a gas turbine company and we are having a great time over the last five years, record orders and service business from around the world....we have cut 1000 jobs in the last 10 years and increased profits as well as turnover and anual engine sales.
Remember that the UK is exporting more cars as of 2012 than it has ever done in it's history, another fact that isn't widely talked about.