Maximum PC

The problem is that many components aren't found in the US, and often times you may be forced to choose a foreign made part because it meets your requirements. So you can't completely claim "made in the U.S." If it' a circuit board? Sure, my company frequently contracts a local manufacturer.

The last time I actually saw computer components made in the US was when I worked in a DEC plant back in 1982. Even the DEC I bought used in 2001 for my first Windows machine was made in Canada. Since then, every part I've ever seen and used on my own machines has been Asian-made.

I don't mean to read like a jerk, but I do believe it's practically impossible, unless by "build" you really mean build from scratch. I guess that would be possible but pretty difficult without specific resources (knowledge, equipment, materials, etc.). Otherwise, I imagine with a small fortune you can probably find specialty companies that will custom build computer parts to your specifications.

The entire computer does not have to be made from the U.S.A. The price tag on custom parts would be far too large for the average Joe. Hardware that was assembled here with foreign parts are just as acceptable. My two questions were more or less examples. Everyday electronics in general is what I meant. I have already found some companies I will post later. This is to see what is possible today. Businesses went overseas largely for the cheaper labor. Every year the costs are creeping up on them. So many are beginning to question whether or not it is better to later put their labor force back in the states again. It is common sense purchasing a carved statue by one man is probably not going to create jobs; whereas appliances, automobiles, clothing, furniture and other similar products will. There was an episode of a guy who built an entire house with materials from this nation. I want to see more jobs. A good way to do that is buying American made items that in turn increase demand.

Let's put it this way, the federal minimum wage is at $7.25 right now. This is not including other things you may have to pay your employees like benefits. Places like Taiwan where manufacturing is king? That's about how much you'd pay a worker per day if they were lucky right now. So it's a very long shot before outsourcing manufacturing will be too costly to not be done here.

The only way for manufacturing in the US to be viable for customers is to have it mostly automated. I don't think it's possible to automate the QA part of say, manufacturing a motherboard. Or playing with a laptop.

if your interested, i was watching news about this subject.
and here is a link
Made in America: World News with Diane Sawyer - ABC News
[url]abcnews.go.com/WN/MadeInAmerica/[/url]

What I had said was not something I dreamed up. The advantages of offshoring are shrinking every year. It is a fact that such talks are going on. Whether companies actually act on it is not something really anyone can predict. There are businesses still making and or assembling electronics in the United States. I will post a small list myself once the information is verified. Join in the fun finding them.

• New York Times: Business Day Live | Building in America Video
• Industry Week: Making the Case for Reshoring -- Offshore Risks
• REUTERS: As China costs rise, technology lures U.S. factories home
• Inc.: Made in USA (Again): Why Manufacturing Is Coming Home
• The Economist: The end of cheap China
• BCG: More Than a Third of Large Manufacturers Are Considering Reshoring from China to the U.S.
• C.N.Y. Business Journal: Offshoring: Fact and Flatulence

I gotcha and whole-heartedly like the idea. I'll try to contribute if I'm able, too.

Unfortunately, I believe that list of companies might be relatively small as I concur with LatiosXT on an overall general level. Your statement that offshoring labor, over time, has diminishing returns is accurate no doubt. Referencing history as an example, Japan no longer makes most electronics because the standard of living there has increased and labor is no longer relatively cheap. But Japan's low-cost labor was replaced by those of other countries - Korea, Taiwan, China, etc. So that inshoring - that return of labor to the U.S. - becomes more difficult and complicated. Heck, India is the second most populous country in the world and growing, so they may supplant China's low-cost labor one day.

In the black and white world of dollars and cents, China's labor is a fraction of the cost of labor in the U.S. In a lot of cases, that differential alone makes some types of manufacturing in the U.S. impossible. I don't intend to discourage or be so negative, even though I sound it. I'm just talking facts - the past and the present. I could be wrong about the future though, as no one knows, right?

That said, I still think your notion is a good one and I have confidence that the U.S. will thrive.

Sorry for not adding anything. I have been very busy with work ever since I was promoted. There is a packed folder in my bookmarks I will go through then add here. I would hate to add a company that no longer manufactures or assembles here in the United anymore. This thread is not dead yet. lol Thanks for your understanding!

You guys can't bring back unskilled or low-skilled labor back to the US. It's gone expect for big items like cars where you save money on shipping which is why the Japanese and European car companies have factories in North America and Mexico. No company wants to spend the required minimum wage on putting together circuit boards. It even looks like Antec makes their cases in Taiwan [1].

The way to go is to have companies that make innovative products and actually involve the lower level employees so that they are not just peons. That involves training employees, which is something that is greatly lacking in American manufacturing. College is useless (trust me, my BS Biochem is useless). I learned more in 6 months at my job than 4 years in college. I support vocational studies (not all as some areas are money-makers for the edu institute) and we really need to get rid of the stigma associated with it.

I think we need more smaller companies like Danger Den (RIP) that did custom work where the employees probably did more critical thinking in delivering customer products.

Shut down useless business and finance schools who don't produce anything of value to society as a whole. Promote medical professions, primary care physicans (not money grubbing specialists), vocational fields (HVAC, automotive, etc), and other fields that benefit society and produce something of value.

/END Rant/

Shouldn't this be in off-topic sub-forum?

[1] http://www.dslreports.com/forum/r317109 ... wer-inside