J.P. Ward

The numbers just don't work to build factories in the US. Currently the labor department estimates 400,000 unfilled factory jobs in the US. They are looking for the same people as all the trades. Looks like we may be going in the wrong direction with entry level job workers these days. Farm workers, factory workers, construction labor, hospitality and food processors are leaving by the bus loads. A shiney new factory with no workers doesn't help much.

Modern factories to be accurate, fast and competitive will be automated. 65% of those jobs will require a degree. These are not low pay entry level jobs and wages. As such the cost of the product needs to cover those wages.

With a new pickup built in Mexico costing upwards 100 grand what would a truck 100% sourced and built in America cost?

Factory jobs, just like trade jobs, and farm jobs have a stigma of low wages, long hours, dirty, possibly unsafe conditions, etc. A major PR issue like our trade. How many people do you know applying for a factory job? Money motivates American workers these days, for the most part.

Farm land and factories are still being gobbled up by foreign investor group.

Uncertainty around tariffs, their %.

Raw material, partial assemblies will still come from across the globe, as the average US built car is 45% imported components.

Not a lot of discussion on how to over-come these obstacles?

There will be a lot of lip service and promises by manufacturers to build US factories, once they run the numbers on the costs involved to build a widget, even if the tax payers cover the cost of the factory build, in the US, not enough consumers are buyers. The stall is on.

China with its 1.4 billion people, a huge, low cost labor pool, started planing in the 1970s to become the worlds tool box and manufacturing powerhouse. They started with massive infrastructure investments.

Around here we barely have enough power to keep residential AC running on a hot day. Interstate grid lock every day. What happened to the 2018 focus on infrastructure improvements?

It starts with a realistic vision, then a pathway to get there. Our leaders, whichever party, just pinball from one problem to the next on a daily basis. Flavor of the day, what makes the headlines.

It would be nice to think someone, enough of us, are working in the background to get er done??