Good! Can’t happen soon enough.![]()
Apple may expand MacBook production to Thailand in the future as the company continues to diversify its supply chain, according to analyst Ming-Chi Kuo.
![14-16-inch-2021-mbps-back-to-back-feature.jpg]()
In a series of tweets today, Kuo said the main production location outside of China for Apple's future MacBooks may be Thailand. Kuo noted that Apple's entire range of MacBook Air and MacBook Pro models are currently assembled in Chinese factories.
Kuo said Apple plans to increase shipments of products to the U.S. from non-Chinese factories within the next 3-5 years, but it's unclear if this would include MacBooks assembled in Thailand within that timeframe. Apple's longtime MacBook supplier Quanta Computer has been expanding its operations in Thailand over the last few years.
Apple has expanded its supply chain beyond China over the past several years, with some production now occurring at factories in India and Vietnam. Kuo said this diversification helps Apple to avoid risks like U.S. tariffs on Chinese imports.
Article Link: MacBooks May Become 'Assembled in Thailand' as Apple Diversifies Supply Chain
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MacBooks May Become 'Assembled in Thailand' as Apple Diversifies Supply Chain
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If this were to come true. This would be great news, diversification is key and it is the old adage don't keep all your eggs in one basket.
Don't know about that.
But I did do the analysis for another company, not Apple, but concerning Chinese manufacturing, while I worked at one of the largest 4 consulting firms in the world and it was never about hourly wages. Drink the Koolaid if you want, but the facts are the facts.
You might consider a different perspective. What politician or company CEO wants to say to the public we are laying Americans off because the cost of regulations is too high. Not going to happen. So they make up a acceptable story. And American idiots lap it up.
Fender's guitar marketing model is interesting in this context. They market 'made in USA' ranges of their guitars, starting at around twice the price of the made in Mexico / China / Taiwan / Indonesia / Vietnam instrument ranges. The net effect is you can buy a Stratocaster from about $400 up to an eye-popping $4000+ depending on how much disposable income you have.
Obviously guitars are not computers but it's generally agreed the made in USA instruments are higher quality and people will pay that premium if they are serious about quality, me for example. I'm a "serious amateur" musician.
A computer manufacturer in 2022 might be afraid to test this strategy though, i.e. "don't promise something you can't deliver". Consistently higher quality is the differentiator. Since the software is going to be the same anyway, what have you got as a selling point for premium pricing? Hardware? Patriotism? 🤣
Obviously guitars are not computers but it's generally agreed the made in USA instruments are higher quality and people will pay that premium if they are serious about quality, me for example. I'm a "serious amateur" musician.
A computer manufacturer in 2022 might be afraid to test this strategy though, i.e. "don't promise something you can't deliver". Consistently higher quality is the differentiator. Since the software is going to be the same anyway, what have you got as a selling point for premium pricing? Hardware? Patriotism? 🤣
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Happy to see production of Apple products happening in other countries.
Is that why all of Europe and surroundings, which are a whole lot closer to China/Taiwan/etc (where most things are being manufactured and assembled) than the US, get prices above and beyond the US’s counterpart. Either in absolute local currency or equivalent USD converted, and maybe even compared to relative purchasing power of the average individual.
I know nothing at all at about this, but is that a trustable rule of thumb?
Why it rings: here in Canada dollar to dollar everything tends to be more expensive: from a car (even if locally assembled) to a phone/computer/etc to a McDonald’s Big Mac. It is definitely more taxed and regulated than the US. Europe looks to me even more so than both combined.
I would not call it a "trustable rule of thumb" because each industry and location is different. It is a serious truth for a lot of industries.
I know of several companies where manufacturing was moved to China/Taiwan/Malaysia, not because it was cheaper, but because everyone else was doing it and the Exec in charge needed it on their resume or in the board presentation. The real costs were hidden until the Exec moved on to another company. Of course, then no one wanted to admit the truth.
That's an interesting observation. I'm an "amateur amateur" musician who loves guitars. In the 1990s, I wanted a Fender Stratocaster. I couldn't justify the cost of an American-made model, so I bought a Mexican one (which seemed a little more, um, prestigious than a Squier). It's a perfectly decent guitar, although I'm guessing the American ones from that era had higher-quality pickups and better fit and finish. I don't know that I could tell the difference in sound, though. On the other hand, I bought a Martin and a Taylor acoustic guitar back then because I could tell the difference in sound quality between those and cheaper guitars.
That approach wouldn't translate to Apple products, though -- what would differentiate an "outstanding" American-made MBP from a "really good" Asian-made MBP? And would I be willing to pay more for an American-made one? It would depend on the price difference.
Don't worry. There is a small chance that Xi will step down and everything will go back to "normal".
Cost differences between US and east Asia are rapidly narrowing again after widening 30, 40 years ago by a bunch. Boston Consulting Group produced a report in 2014 that already showed that on average, the US was only four percent more expensive for manufacturing than China and that is continuing; in many sectors we're now cheaper than China. Why did we add a million manufacturing jobs under Obama after losing six million under Bush? This is part of why. Meanwhile Chinese productivity growth is stalling badly as they get more authoritarian. It's a large part of why their economy is slowing down. And it turns out having infrastructure and a better educated workforce and not having to ship across the Pacific counts for efficiency.
The catch specifically in computing and electronics is that China was basically given free rein to develop an opportunity in fabricating things like circuit boards, machining cases and final assembly that means one area in particular, the Pearl River region in Guangdong, has a critical mass of lots of different suppliers close together. Just as we bailed out the auto industry to keep the comparable capability we have with cars in the Great Lakes region, the capability they have there in electronics is very difficult to reproduce overnight. But reproduce it we must, for national security and a stable supply chain. No more having the economy at the mercy of Chinese lockdowns, no more international power games. Under Biden we've made the move we needed to make with chip manufacturing, currently way too dependent on two neighbors of China, South Korea and Taiwan, but there's a strong case for building up capability in other parts of the process as well.
The reason why a lot of technology is made in china and other countries is because of child labor. It cost less to pay a kid to do the job then it does for the same kind of jobs in the USA.
Alabama knows it
Federal court orders Hyundai, Kia auto parts manufacturer to stop employing minors illegally, end ‘oppressive’ child labor law violations
Court orders Hyundai and Kia parts maker to stop child labor law violations.
Yup, all that was needed was for Foxconn to set up business outside China.
Like in Saudi Arabia?