Cost of Comfort Just Went Up Big

BlackGun

BlackGun

Pimpin Ain’t Easy
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As I expected I received an email today saying on the 23rd of this month basically all parts and comfort units will increase by at least 10% more. In January it will increase 25% due to the tariffs imposed by President Trump. Includes appliances such as refrigerators also. Materials to make refrigerant are also increasing. Heating and cooling a home is going to get very expensive.

If you have need for a unit you may want to make that happen now. Just informing you guys that may be weighing the decision.
 
Just about everything in an air condition unit is made in China. The electronics, motors, contractors, capacitors, and switches are junk. Most of the metal parts are also Chinese or from Mexico. This is bad news for the consumer.
 
Supply and demand along with free markets will bring the production back to the US.
You can either buy the over priced crap from China or the reasonably priced stuff from the states.

It may hurt at first, but the Clinton era NAFTA has been killing us for a lot longer
 
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Mike Overlay said:
Supply and demand along with free markets will bring the production back to the US.
Youbcan either buy the over priced crapnfrom China or the reasonably priced stuff from the states.

It may hurt at first, but the Clinton era NAFTA has been killing us for a lot longer
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yep. Getting off opiates involves a lot of pain and suffering, but it may save your life. Same with our cheap shit from China addiction. I for one am glad to see Trump grow a pair and renegotiate these terrible trade policies the globalists have saddled us with, along with the mountain of debt
 
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Today I replaced an Eye-talian 8" skillet made in Eye-talia 10-15 years ago. I bought the identical brand skillet today with the same Eye-talian brand, but it is now made in China. I might go an a "buy USA" binge if I can actually figure out where to buy the stuff.
 
This stuff will skyrocket in cost but the manufacturers will not bring it back here. Not these old school, low technology comfort system guys. They will just pass the cost on to the consumer. The plants I visited were some of the most labor intensive processes I’ve ever seen. Robotics could not put this stuff together. Labor cost and insurances would drive it well above the tariffs.

Quality control is non existent in China and Mexico. The manufacturing US companies do not care. They can throw more away than pay labor here benefits.
 
fieldgrade said:
Today I replaced an Eye-talian 8" skillet made in Eye-talia 10-15 years ago. I bought the identical brand skillet today with the same Eye-talian brand, but it is now made in China. I might go an a "buy USA" binge if I can actually figure out where to buy the stuff.
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Buy USA doesn’t exist. I priced gas piping in domestic and US made. 2” domestic black iron pipe was 3 times the cost of Asian pipe. 1/2” was double the cost.
 
Here's an idea: with better wages, Americans could buy better stuff.

For 50 years, real wages have been stagnant for the average American. We were lulled into accepting the lack of wage growth because the price for "stuff" from overseas was going down.
 
Indeed, this idea that we make everything in a third world dung pile country while everyone here is asking if they want fries with that doesn’t work long term.

In the long run, correcting these imbalances will make things better but it’s going to be tough in the short run. The pain needs to be put on the corporate whores that sold out like that in order to get them to pull back. In the short run, they’ll try to pass it to the consumer and will only change once it hits their bottom line. The attitude of corporate America is just as much at fault. Being best in business and growing through innovation gave way to damn the torpedoes along with everyone’s future for a fast buck today.
 
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Coltdefender1911 said:
Remember when a feller could work 40 hours and support his wife and kids. The wife stayed st home, raised the kids and tended the house? Maybe cmwe can get back to this way of life?
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This is a big deal, I worked 60+ hours a week so my wife could stay at home and raise my sons. Looking back it's obvious it was worth it! The first thing would be to cut off the gubmnt spending, which includes their insane bureaucracy. Once you add up the income, property, road, gas, etc, etc, etc taxes, we're over a 50% tax rate. Get it down to 10%.
 
Here's the thing: They won't pass it off on THIS consumer. Buy used stuff, plenty of quality American (Japanese, German) made products on the market, all over. Learn how to fix stuff that breaks.
Quit pumping Jeff Bezo's Amazon retirement fund full every week. Make your own.
Or God forbid, do without something for a while until you can afford something made locally.
 
BlackGun said:
As I expected I received an email today saying on the 23rd of this month basically all parts and comfort units will increase by at least 10% more. In January it will increase 25% due to the tariffs imposed by President Trump. Includes appliances such as refrigerators also. Materials to make refrigerant are also increasing. Heating and cooling a home is going to get very expensive.

If you have need for a unit you may want to make that happen now. Just informing you guys that may be weighing the decision.
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This isn’t totally accurate...

The tariffs are placed on the purchase price of the parts. So if a metal sheet is costing the manufacturer $6, the 25% tariff will be $1.50 making their new cost $7.50. They may sell this item for $12, but now need to increase price to account for the tariff. Most companies aren’t going to raise price 25%, they’re going to raise it $1.5 to cover their margin degradation. So it would be a 12.5% price increase. The company can think about being greedy and trying to stay margin % whole but they will quickly become non-competitive in the market. In reality, companies are having to be smarter about sourcing and trying to find ways to mitigate the cost increases.

I’m doing this at work currently for a large global mfg.
 
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fieldgrade said:
Today I replaced an Eye-talian 8" skillet made in Eye-talia 10-15 years ago. I bought the identical brand skillet today with the same Eye-talian brand, but it is now made in China. I might go an a "buy USA" binge if I can actually figure out where to buy the stuff.
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Cast Iron is your friend.

Smithey Forge in Charleston, SC

Finex in Oregon, although it could be argued that is foreign also.

There are probably other. Wisk in Cary carries the Finex. But your wife will likely hate it since it weighs about 15 lbs.
 
fieldgrade said:
Today I replaced an Eye-talian 8" skillet made in Eye-talia 10-15 years ago. I bought the identical brand skillet today with the same Eye-talian brand, but it is now made in China. I might go an a "buy USA" binge if I can actually figure out where to buy the stuff.
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Lodge cast iron skillets are made right next door in Tennessee. Great product too.
 
CZfool68 said:
This stuff works, you just have to pay more. :(
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It’s possibke to have high wages and high profits in an environment where products are of high quality. Unfortunately, US business has it back asswards and wants high profits with low wages and low quality, which is not sustainable.
 
Jerzsubbie said:
This isn’t totally accurate...

The tariffs are placed on the purchase price of the parts. So if a metal sheet is costing the manufacturer $6, the 25% tariff will be $1.50 making their new cost $7.50. They may sell this item for $12, but now need to increase price to account for the tariff. Most companies aren’t going to raise price 25%, they’re going to raise it $1.5 to cover their margin degradation. So it would be a 12.5% price increase. The company can think about being greedy and trying to stay margin % whole but they will quickly become non-competitive in the market. In reality, companies are having to be smarter about sourcing and trying to find ways to mitigate the cost increases.

I’m doing this at work currently for a large global mfg.
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Unfortunately everything in the unit is from China or South Asia except some compressors. Mexico on compressors. A large company has been buying up the US HVAC market over the years, mostly on the distribution side. The company is creating a monopoly on distribution ownership. They have been averaging a 6% increase every year since they have acquired the distribution rights. They will be passing this on to the consumer with added profit margin after tariffs. This is not like when I worked for a fiber optic manufacturing company.

This manufacturing will never come back to the US regardless of tariffs. Hugely labor intensive with no relief from robotics. Nobody is going to shave their labor expensive to 1/12th of the US and come back. If necessary they will only move that manufacturing to a country in South Asia. Watch it happen. Its already being discussed by corporate CEOs. Welcome to Vietnamese and India products.
 
BlackGun said:
Unfortunately everything in the unit is from China or South Asia except some compressors. Mexico on compressors. A large company has been buying up the US HVAC market over the years, mostly on the distribution side. The company is creating a monopoly on distribution ownership. They have been averaging a 6% increase every year since they have acquired the distribution rights. They will be passing this on to the consumer with added profit margin after tariffs. This is not like when I worked for a fiber optic manufacturing company.

This manufacturing will never come back to the US regardless of tariffs. Hugely labor intensive with no relief from robotics. Nobody is going to shave their labor expensive to 1/12th of the US and come back. If necessary they will only move that manufacturing to a country in South Asia. Watch it happen. Its already being discussed by corporate CEOs. Welcome to Vietnamese and India products.
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You’re ignoring the profit margin. Even on a low margin product, the 25% tariff will result in about 18% price increase. And as I explained they simply won’t be able to “be greedy” because consumers are price sensitive when we’re talking double digit increases so everyone is trying to mitigate those increases.
I hear your skepticism, but I can tell you first hand, that’s not how it’s happening.
 
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