I actually called on two trucks for George , The one in ct and mi. I have dealt with Brighton Ford in the past. One in ct said, "I'm looking at the truck right now, do you want a cell phone pic?" And Brighton Ford said their website is slow to update because the trucks don't sit on their lot long. I drive past varsity Ford in Ann arbor every day....they have trucks. Seymour Ford in Jackson does not. I asked why Seymour Ford had 4 last week and they were all used 2020's and 21's.

 

And it should change to win win, not zero sum economic models.

The southern border is a real issue. Its humanitarian, about sovereignty, and about the criminal element. Ask yourself why we develop industry in Asia when we have all of Latin america we can invest in.

They make cars in Latin america and there is nothing wrong with that. Nothing wrong with Fords coming from south of the border.

 

I guess we do not fall into the sector of the economy clamoring for the lowest prices. I am old enough to have seen the transition to crappy Chinese products, I own plenty but it is sadly almost impossible to avoid. We do not go to the grocery store as much anymore. We buy local meat in bulk, we buy from the farmers market weekly in the summer and stock up for winters. I try to buy higher quality products, American made whenever possible. I will always pay for a better quality product.

The labor thing has a component not mentioned, labor costs are MUCH more than employees wages. Taxes, insurance (comp, UI, health etc etc) and overhead expenses to manage all of the ridiculous laws, regulations and constraints we have placed on ourselves supposedly for the better. THIS is why we can not be competitive. We have turned employers into welfare providers and convinced people they are entitled to all of this, and it is "better".

If letting people in works, tell me what is wrong? How many million illegals have come in just this year? Where are they working? I thought this was going to fix it? We let them in and in most cases gave them free things on the taxpayer dime. We even paid to fly them around the country and distribute them. You shouldn't have any trouble getting workers if this is good policy... but you say it is still difficult....hmmmmm

Sadly, the problems we have ARE political, the vast majority of them.

 

Executive compensation for some strange reason, is often not added to the conversation.

 

Truth in this. The company I work for sends out a yearly statement to each employee stating what they earned and what they paid out in expenses for that employee in pension, 401K, health plans, bonuses, and taxes. For me it was nearly $25,000 in addition to my salary that they paid out. The company employs ~1500 workers, or tries to. No one wants to work in shipping or line work, and we pay above minimum wage for full and part time. For the past 5 years, salaried employees were enlisted to fill in for the lack of workers in Fulfillment during peak season, a LOT of slots need to be filled because no one wants to work.

We are one small company, multiply that by the thousands in each state, and you get an idea of the bigger picture. Many jobs need training, and green workers come in, get some training, and leave to go elsewhere, and it becomes an endless cycle. With major manufacturing, many, many small companies are behind the scenes making the individual components, and the fewer of those companies, the harder it is to keep the supply chains active. Remember back a few years when a small company that made the instrument panels had a fire, it set back production for weeks on new Fords, and that was just one component. Today there are dozens, if not hundreds of components in the same state of flux, where small companies either cant get raw materials, or they can't get labor, and these are companies in the US! Multiply this by all the major manufacturers, and well, thats why we wait to get a truck built, or an oven built.

All this talk about tariffs, and other political BS is just a very small part of it, the main underlying reason everything is so screwed up is COVID. Until March of 2020, the economy was doing great, Fuel costs were very manageable, groceries and clothing was plentiful and affordable, then the lockdowns hit. Thats when the WORLD fell apart, and now we are seeing the full effects of a global shutdown.

The almighty dollar is no more! Housing prices are up, true, because the value of the dollar has shrunk. Everything cost more because the dollar is worth less.

 

George, don't let your ideology blind you to logic. "Petty and silly" washing machine manufacturing? You need to do a little reading on international trade and the loss of manufacturing in the US. Manufacturing of "durable goods", as they're known, is directly related to your unavailable trucks. Turn off the news appearing editorial television and do some research. "Progressive" thinking allowed, no encouraged, the transfer of US manufacturing to Mexico then China. The people who made parts for your washing machine also made parts for your trucks. If you want to see who caused your wait time for your trucks and appliances, you need only walk too a mirror.

 

How about we steer the conversation back to Super Duty related content?

 

If I recall the CEO of Toyota takes far less annual salary from his company than any of the others. There is no doubt the bulk of big corporations are incredibly top heavy. I love watching "Ford vs Ferrari" for many reasons but the depiction of the the Ford corporation even back in the sixties shows how much top heavy cronyism exists. Doesn't get a damn thing DONE, costs a ton of money but we stand around in suits and have lots of important meetings etc etc.

 

As I said in a prior post, I am just as guilty. I like my big screens, and fancy electronics etc. I know this, and it still makes me SMH when we tariff our trade partners because suddenly we don’t like the way it’s going, even when no one was complaining until it was made an election issue.
When we build our economy and lifestyle around cheap Asian or Mexican labor products, you can’t put the toothpaste back in the tube.

 

No one complained until their sacred ox got gored, you mean.

 

So.....is anyone here still waiting for a truck to be built?

 

Yep, mostly patiently.

 

I think we would have less outsourcing without such big industries built around litigation and then all of the regulations which massively drive up costs

I think higher labor wages could be supported but not all the regulatory and legal costs

 

Higher labor wages or any wages might be an illusion. You are worth what you are worth. People keep trying to increase their income by asking more instead of trying to increase their income by changing vocations. I work at McDonald's and get paid $10. I want the company to pay me $15 because that is what I would require for my lifestyle (whatever that is). Maybe I should find a way to improve myself and get a different job and make more money. So they give me more money. Well, Burger King sees it and raises. Pretty soon everyone raises. Things go up in price to compensate for my raise. Congratulations. My $15 is now the new $10. I totally agree with what the unions have been saying about a rising tide lifts all boats. It does. It lifts you higher from the bottom. Problem is, wealth is measured relative to the other boats so your relative position doesn't change. What to do? Change to a boat that sits higher off the water.

 

Yes Aklim, you are absolutely correct. The new $15.00 wage is still the old 10 bucks.