Automakers feel worsening effects of Japan crisis

Automakers feel worsening effects of Japan crisis

finance.yahoo.com

DETROIT (AP) -- A week after the disaster in Japan erupted, its impact on automakers around the world is worsening.

Most of Japan's auto industry is shut down. Factories from Louisiana to Thailand are low on Japanese-made parts. Idled plants are costing companies hundreds of millions of dollars. And U.S. car dealers may not get the cars they order this spring.

(visit the link for the full news article)


Related News Links:
en.wikipedia.org

Yea globalization. Because of the interconnected business model and the just in time parts delivery system they use to maximize profit we now have a deepening of the recession in the US due to Japan getting hit with a disaster.

Having our own industrial base here in the US might just come back into fashion. The just in time globalist business model fails.

finance.yahoo.com
(visit the link for the full news article)

Screw the corrupt car industry . We should be looking to greatly reduce global production of cars at any rate but we can leave that debate for another day.

Meanwhile lets focus our thoughts ,time and energy on the health , safety and well being of the good people of Japan in this - their darkest hour.

reply to post by wayouttheredude


To be honest with you I'm glad this global economy experiment failed. It took away community self reliance and caused outsourcing thusly killing off entire communities in some instances. In a very strange way something good will come out of all the global chaos, and that something is communities will have to rely on themselves again more like in the decades before the eighties. Being self reliant is not a bad thing and it surely does not mean consumers won't be able to purchase products outside of their region. It just mean they retain their economic autonomy, whatever is happening in Kyoto, Japan or Barbers, Ontario don't adversely effect the economy of Sugardale, Texas or vice versa.

If Toyota have a manufacturing plant in the US it should be using products manufactured here and it would be business as usual regardless to what is happening in Japan but that's not the case. So-call American auto makers have outsourced to the point they can't make a car without depending on some other country to provide the parts, ludicrous.

reply to post by MisterMiyagi


While you may say screw the car corps, you fail to see the disaster this can create for Japan in general.

While you may say let's just concentrate on the health of the Japanese, you fail to see the need for those who have the ability to work and a place to work to get a paycheck to feed their families.

For you it might just be car companies, but to me I see faces needing fed and jobs that could be lost. Japan is industrialized, it needs those car and other manufacturing places to remain in today's world. You can say we need to get rid of cars but making computers and TVs is just as polluting. Since you are posting from a computer I will assume you do not mind those, in that sense you support the pollution of the planet just as any of us posting does, the cars are not as big a problem as the government and celebrities have made them out to be.


Japan needs all the manufacturing plants running it can at this moment; it is the only way they will be able to pull through this disaster. It is the only way their country will get money going into their system.

Raist

Well frankly... it's more than time to bring a lot of these jobs back into our country. We have cities who are capable of taking care of business here at home, like Detroit.

Yes, what has happened over in Japan is a serious disaster and our hearts and help has gone out to them, and continues to do so. With that said, our country is in dire need of jobs and boosting our economy. We don't need to be closing down plants like this, when we are fully capable of putting people to work here and taking care of business.

reply to post by UtahRosebud


The Japanese cars I have are more reliable and easier to work on than the American versions. One is also capable of producing more power and still have better MPG than anything in it's class and in some higher classes than the American cars.

That being said there are numerous Japanese car companies that have manufacturing plants here in the U.S. So before everyone starts saying how it is no loss to them, they need to look at the number of American jobs that will be lost if those companies collapse. Toyota, Subaru, Honda, and Mitsubishi all have plants in the U.S. Close those companies and you put a great number of Americans out of work.

If the so called American motor companies could give me something comparable to the Japanese cars I own then I might one day consider owning one. I do have one "American" truck but most of it was not built here either, and both of my cars can get around better year round than the truck.

Raist

reply to post by Raist


This is the point of the article linked into the thread. It is the loss of jobs in the US that was being reported here. The fact is this globalist interdependency is flawed in the logical sense. A shock in one area in one industry on the other side of the planet can devastate us here. Much like the tsunami was far more devastating in Japan then on the US West coast the economic tsunami from the globalist interconnected outsourced system is effecting us here in the US. We need to return our manufacturing base home. We need to reward companies to open their manufacturing here. The US can not just keep printing money to buy foreign goods while exporting our jobs overseas. It is just foolish policy and the test of time is proving this fact.

reply to post by wayouttheredude


While it would be great to have more jobs back home, I do not see the value of owning "American" cars any more. Even though some of the Japanese models are made in the U.S. not all are. At least one of my cars was imported from a Japanese factory. Nothing on the table in the American industry can compare to most of the Japanese cars available.



The problem is that we are stuck in the thought (well many are) that American cars are better and we need more American car factories. Not so, just bring more Japanese car factories to the U.S., heck I work for a German company here in the U.S. That German company produces a lot of product used daily in the U.S.

Even if we stopped importing and making everything ourselves we would not be any better off currently than we are now. Despite what many want to believe some people make things better than others. The world has been globalized with industry. There is no turning back from that without completely destroying your economy completely.

Sure there are times when the economy sucks and it is hurting, but to try and de-globalize would be catastrophic.

Raist

I got a feeling that it won't be just the auto industry that will be affected. I know that there is one company here in my area that is coming to a screaching halt simply because the need the go ahead from the company that ordered the job, and well, they were in japan.
and well... a few businesses get effected directly from it, and in turn, it causes others to also be affected, and well....
just not what the world needs in the present time really!
I'm just hoping that these companies that are wanting for parts from japan find an alternative solution to their problems here in the states...

the idea that it is cheaper, more logical to have your product made in numerous countries and shipped halfway around the world just doesn't make sense to me! and, well, it does increase the risk that a natural disaster like this can just knock you out of production, since there are more localities that you are relying on remaining stable.

reply to post by Raist


I purchase products from all over the place as well and cost and quality are the factors. My car is German because it is built well and I like the look of it. I am not saying buy American but that America needs to have its own industrial base because this disaster just brings home the problem with mega-business and globalization. The scale of the disaster is magnified due to the economic impact of globalism.

Sad isnt it. so here we see more resutls of globalization in effect. one thing happens in one country, and everyone else is screwed financially or jobwise. that is why their should be boarders..each country has its own currency. take care of eachother and themselves. globalization is nto a bad thing..but since humans can be barbaric, and wallstreet to the FED manipulting money, its not a real globalization..its so the important ones make the $$$ regardless. take the money n run out the backdoor when it all collapses form their greedy mistakes. that is globalization. if i have to pay crazy rising taxes here, then under globalization, so should every country linked to main banks here as well...that seems fair. FED will have stolen enough money then ti line thier pockets and bank accounts. let em muscle in on asia, europe, central n south america and take form ppor people as well...see how hast a revolt takes place

Originally posted by Raist
reply to post by UtahRosebud

 

The Japanese cars I have are more reliable and easier to work on than the American versions. One is also capable of producing more power and still have better MPG than anything in it's class and in some higher classes than the American cars.

That being said there are numerous Japanese car companies that have manufacturing plants here in the U.S. So before everyone starts saying how it is no loss to them, they need to look at the number of American jobs that will be lost if those companies collapse. Toyota, Subaru, Honda, and Mitsubishi all have plants in the U.S. Close those companies and you put a great number of Americans out of work.

If the so called American motor companies could give me something comparable to the Japanese cars I own then I might one day consider owning one. I do have one "American" truck but most of it was not built here either, and both of my cars can get around better year round than the truck.

Raist

Its sounds like all you care about is jobs, jobs, jobs and of course, production...have you stopped to consider that our way of life is unsustainable? Maybe we need to start growing food of our own?

reply to post by SmokeandShadow


Yes, getting back to growing our food would be great, but we do need jobs to buy that food. Also by food I mean non GMO crap, but that probably won't happen.

reply to post by SmokeandShadow


I am sure the mega-rich elite banksters and their ilk would love fur us to all just return to farming. They would then run the plantation then. That would be their green revolution coming true.

On the other hand we do need to start thinking about food security against the horrible errors of big ag farming tech. I for one am starting to build scalable aquaponic systems. It is a real growth industry.

Originally posted by UtahRosebud
Well frankly... it's more than time to bring a lot of these jobs back into our country. We have cities who are capable of taking care of business here at home, like Detroit.

Yes, what has happened over in Japan is a serious disaster and our hearts and help has gone out to them, and continues to do so. With that said, our country is in dire need of jobs and boosting our economy. We don't need to be closing down plants like this, when we are fully capable of putting people to work here and taking care of business.

.....You have to understand why jobs are being outsourced in the first place. Japan's engineers and manufacturers can design parts cheaper, easier to make, and faster than any American manufacturer. Same goes for the Chinese. Us slughead Americans can't do a good job in the science department to fix that. Maybe you should have your sons and daughters who watch Jersey Shore and aspire to become artists STOP what they are doing and start aspiring to become scientists and engineers. There is a reason why America stopped leading in education. And we are falling behind every single damn country in that field. That is why business is being outsourced.

reply to post by SmokeandShadow


Did you ever think growing food can produce jobs as well?

But of course if you do everything yourself you can create everything you want? So that computer you are using you made that right? You extruded the plastics and created each individual component and then put it all together? Same with your home you live in be it an apartment or house or whatever, you built that too right?


Sorry but unless you do it all yourself then yes it is about jobs. I work and produce things that are used all over the U.S. I then use the money I make to do things and get things I wish to have. I work on my cars myself because I enjoy doing so and I have the tools and God given sense to know how to do it. For those things I cannot do I pay others to do.

I have the sense to understand the need for others to do things. Yes, I care about jobs and people living life sorry. Not everyone is successful at growing food, not everyone is successful with working with their hands, and it is that success and lack thereof that creates jobs.


Raist

Originally posted by Chai_An
reply to post by wayouttheredude

 

To be honest with you I'm glad this global economy experiment failed. It took away community self reliance and caused outsourcing thusly killing off entire communities in some instances. In a very strange way something good will come out of all the global chaos, and that something is communities will have to rely on themselves again more like in the decades before the eighties. Being self reliant is not a bad thing and it surely does not mean consumers won't be able to purchase products outside of their region. It just mean they retain their economic autonomy, whatever is happening in Kyoto, Japan or Barbers, Ontario don't adversely effect the economy of Sugardale, Texas or vice versa.

If Toyota have a manufacturing plant in the US it should be using products manufactured here and it would be business as usual regardless to what is happening in Japan but that's not the case. So-call American auto makers have outsourced to the point they can't make a car without depending on some other country to provide the parts, ludicrous.

edit on 19-3-2011 by Chai_An because: after thought

Toyota does have plants here in the US. So does Honda and Subaru.
The reason that they have plants here, and say Ford is that they can operate in the US at a lower cost because unlike the American Manufactures, they do not have unions to pay for.
That is why it is cheaper for Ford, GMC, Chevy and so on move to Mexico.

reply to post by wayouttheredude


America has its own car industry. Sadly we have let the greed of a few nearly destroy what was once a great industry. I do not have faith in the American auto industry they failed years before they nearly went bankrupt.

A German car depending on the make is a decent way to go as well, though a few of those names have let quality slip as well and rely simply on their name much like the American names did. In a few years they will be in the same situation. The most outstanding German auto maker now is Audi, they might be a subsidiary of VW but I feel they have stepped up and went beyond the rest in style and reliability. The only other German car I have any affinity for is BMW though their lacking in the quality they used to have. Having said that I cannot afford either of them for the most part but if I had the chance I would look into a model by Audi, since they have the closest to the type of car I like most. Until then I will stick with Subaru in most cases (used of course as new is also more costly than I can afford).

Raist

reply to post by wayouttheredude


Of course the idea is grand. However, as I said in another post not everyone can succeed at something, others will get that success though.

I think you are right in your thinking on this point as well. Of course the lords of this land want us peasants to go back to tending our fields and livestock. We are easier to control if we have to work on that type of schedule. Some do not understand that that is more of a full time job than the full time jobs we have now. Running a farm even a small one is 7 days a week and over 12 hours a day to do it properly.

I know plenty of farmers and do not want their job. I like the idea of being able to have a day to relax or go away for a week (if I get a chance to afford it). I like being able to at least take my family on a two day outing each year to the zoo and museums.

When you jump into the whole growing all of your own food for a full year that is a huge job to undertake. Then if you rely only on yourself you might end up in really bad shape. With no other means you then end up not feeding your family.

The only thing tearing up our current system is greed and people over spending on needless things.

Raist