Apple Says New Mac Pro Will Be Manufactured in Texas After Receiving Tariff Exemptions

[Brien]

Yay!

 

[gleepskip]

Yay!

Can someone delete the prior 5 pages of replies and just leave Brien's?

 

[Jimmy James]

Is cheese a big thing in a Texas?

 

[LizKat]

Is it still going to cost more than a new car?

Do you want it made in the USA or not?

 

[jlocker]

The Mac Pro is so expensive!!!!!!!!!

 

[code-m]

It’s symbolic to China that the USA can influence one the wealthiest companies in the world to not manufacture an item in China.

While Apple sells 1000+ iPhones and iPads that is manufactured in China for every 10 new MacPros manufactured in USA. As demonstrated Apple is willing to absorb the tariffs and still produce in China.

 

[paul4339]

You do know???

Please cite a credible source, with a link, on that earning less than $2 per 12 hour day.

The minimum wage for Apple iPhone assembly at Foxconn in Zhengzhou, China starts at $3.15 per hour.

starting min wage in Zhengzhou

This compares to the U.S. federal min wage of $7.25.... Which is also the legal min wage in Texas (min wage by state)

So if we compare min wage CN vs min wage US, it's less than 50%... however,

1) the taxes you earn your $7.25 in US is completely different than the $3.15 in China. Taxes are generally a lot higher in the US.

2) the cost of living in say, Texas, is different than than that of Zhengzhou. US$3.15 gets you a lot more in Zhengzhou than $7.25 gets you in, say, Dallas TX. (housing and services is 400% more in Dallas). China is generally a cheaper place to live (at least that area) so the value of a dollar or yuan gets you further. (in otherwords, we shouldn't assume that all Chinese factory workers are so hard done by compared to US factory workers).

Dallas vs Zhengzhou


The problem isn't just cost of labor. It's agility. You can't educate and mobilize workers in the US fast enough to keep up with China. China created a special free trade zone for manufacturing to service the world.

They made it regulatory easy to setup and re-outfit a factory. They also have quick transportation for, say, hundreds of thousands technical workers to the free zone peninsula really fast to meet global demands for all types of manufacturing... that's how all these manufacturers get electronic devices and stuff to you by xmas each year on time. And then re-outfit the factory for the next gen of devices in months!

In general terms, China is good at mass manufacturing. US is good at Design/engineering. That's why things are designed in the US and made in China.

 

[Felix01]

Is it still going to cost more than a new car?

The entry-level 8-core model is expected to retail for $5,999 - $11,000, depending upon options. A lot less than any "new" car I'd be interested in. You?

 

[Solomani]

Is it still going to cost more than a new car?

Yes. But less than child support.

 

[IIGS User]

Does this mean Ann Margaret’s NOT coming?

 

[reden]

Is it still going to cost more than a new car?

Probably, going to cost quite a bit. Not made for people like you that can’t afford it.

 

[ajfahey]

Why? If it could be made in China for cheaper and the US is at full employment?

It's Econ 101.

More demand for an existing labor supply raises the price (wages) of said labor. Assuming you took Econ 101 recently, maybe they’re teaching it in Econ 102 right now. Either that or they’re no longer teaching conventional basic Econ which would help explain why so many recent college graduates now believe socialism works.

 

[ajfahey]

Except the iPhone X was an actual improvement. I don't want to pay a $350 tax to the US government on my iPhone just because it was assembled in China, thanks.

Tariffs are based on imported cost manufacture and do not proportionately increase the retail price. The imported cost of manufacture is less than 40% of the retail price, hence, a 25% tariffs would only result necessarily in a 10% increase in the retail price. Assuming sales quantity is unaffected by a 10% increase, gross margins to Apple would be uneffected.

 

[ajfahey]

I don’t think this bodes well for the success of the new Mac Pro. I don’t see anything in the article that says this is the best choice for the Mac or its customers, only that it satisfies a political objective. The problems with making the 2013 model in the US are well documented, now more than twice as much of this machine is being made in the US and we’re not getting quotes about lower costs or improved reliability, but instead about a handful of jobs that are most likely just being taken from another manufacturer.

I have a bad feeling that Apple needed to sacrifice a product line on the political altar as they offer thanks to the Administration for not smiting them and pray for the fertility of their crop of iPhones-- and the MP is what they chose. The White House will get a tweet out of this, Apple might get the President’s ear for a meeting or two on additional tariff exemptions, and we get a compromised workstation.

An interesting analysis. Question though. Why would you care whether anyone that can afford a luxury product like a Mac Pro is paying more in taxes to own said luxury item. Aren’t they definitionally rich and shouldn’t they definitionally be expected to pay more tax in order to pay their fair share?

 

[ajfahey]

I

Oh I just interpreting this article. If the tariffs had been in place then this part would have been produced outside the US, without the tariff it is being produced in the US. So by that logic the tariff is encouraging manufacture outside of the US.

Working in a competitive manufacturing industry we manufacture 100% in the US. We have to import materials as the US is not a big enough source of these parts. We get hit very heavily by these tariffs and it is effecting our margins. All of our major competitors manufacture outside of the US (Mexico) using the same imported raw material we do. When they import the finished item from Mexico they don't pay the same level of tariff that we do. At the end of the day we're being hit because we manufacture in the US.

I’m curious on your take as to how we managed to produce anything in the US before the late 60s using materials from within the US that has to be imported given that we didn’t import much, if not all, of it then?

 

[ajfahey]

And the Chinese government greatly subsidized developing that infrastructure. The US government is building an expensive and unnecessary wall.

The Chinese already have a rather beautiful 1000 year old wall, so big that it can be seen from earth orbit. That said, almost all of our existing wall was built well before the current administration took office with funding that was happily provided by both parties. In fact, it used to be that Democrats were very motivated to find build walls on the southern borders in the early 2010s when they still worried more about protecting US citizens than illegal aliens. You see, they realized then that controlling low skilled immigration meant more jobs and higher low skilled wages for all Americans, including people of color.

 

[jpn]

should skip china for any production of this or future items that have as little sales as this.
should go immediately to india.

 

[lkrupp]

View attachment 862681
The Mac Pro is so expensive!!!!!!!!!

Yep. Those who went ape over the price of the new Mac Pro just don’t get it. The new Mac Pro is for real pros, not fake pros or the headless Mac with slots crowd who don't want to spend over $599.00. The new Mac Pro is not for me. I know that. I understand that. I accept that. I’m good with that.

 

[mikethemartian]

View attachment 862681
The Mac Pro is so expensive!!!!!!!!!

I thought the original Mac was overpriced. Didn’t Steve Jobs want the price to be lower but Sculley overruled him?

 

[mikethemartian]

An interesting analysis. Question though. Why would you care whether anyone that can afford a luxury product like a Mac Pro is paying more in taxes to own said luxury item. Aren’t they definitionally rich and shouldn’t they definitionally be expected to pay more tax in order to pay their fair share?

Luxury item? I thought it was for getting work done.

 

[Ethosik]

Honestly, I had forgotten about this Mac Pro. Way out of my budget (like by 100x), but it will be fun to watch where this goes...

If you can only afford a $60 computer, you are not the target audience anyway.

 

[techwhiz]

Still not the product that pros on a budget want.
Up until now the lowest end MacPro could still be had for around $3K.
Even the coffee can could be had at the low end for that.
Yeah, I'll get flamed. Put the flame throwers away. I get to have an opinion.

 

[Williesleg]

Thanks Don!
[automerge]1569283937[/automerge]

There isn't a long-term plan to move manufacturing to the US. The US is much better at designing these products and writing the software that runs on them, which is far more valuable. It is a mystery why we are so obsessed with wanting low-skilled, low-paid manufacturing jobs back with horrible working conditions.

Actually it is. Clean manufacturing like Tesla and others, not the old dirty sweatshops of China and India.
Treat people with dignity and respect, and have robots do the work where it makes sense. And people design, build and program robots. There's no downside.

 

[lec0rsaire]

These sorts of high-end products should be made in the company's original country whether that be the U.S., Japan or Europe. For this sort of price anything less would really be unacceptable. So at least those who will be ordering one or a couple of these should be happy with this news.

 

[Flight Plan]

...A lot of people forget how much stuff cost in the 80's, but we bought them any way...

Yep, like leg warmers and "mall hair!"

For not scaring away companies already manufacturing in the US?

Yes! The last President scared EVERYBODY away, and then told us he was just there to "manage the decline" and that we should get used to the idea that no jobs would be the "new normal". We deserve better than that, and we deserve a better President than the last four we had.

new jobs for Americans is significant for the individuals working, and it does infact reflect on the unemployment rate.

And there's one other thing too. The more people we have working, the more empowered people we have in the country. We deserve that level of dignity too.