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Some New iMacs Are Assembled in the USA
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Although I know it will raise the ire of some who read this, I believe this could explain some supply constraints for the new iMac.
As has been discussed previously in a couple of financial publications, the main reason why manufacturing components like this doesn't really work in the US is not necessarily the cost of American labor, as many believe. American labor would not add that much to the cost of an iPhone or Mac. The big factor is the inability of US manufacturing companies to be nimble enough to retool and ramp up fast enough to meet the needs.
As has been discussed previously in a couple of financial publications, the main reason why manufacturing components like this doesn't really work in the US is not necessarily the cost of American labor, as many believe. American labor would not add that much to the cost of an iPhone or Mac. The big factor is the inability of US manufacturing companies to be nimble enough to retool and ramp up fast enough to meet the needs.
Very good point.
The total cost of an iPhone or an iMac is mostly the components, only a very small portion of the total cost is for the assembly by hand.
The components are made by different factories, all near each other in China, and all capable of ramping up then ramping down production (very nimble).
There are no such factories in the USA.
If there were such factories in the USA, it would not cost a lot to assemble an iMac in the USA. Assembly costs are a very small portion of the total cost. 
Glued in the USA
So the only thing that happens in the USA is that those build to order imacs get their custom picked ram/ssd placed in and the screen gets glued on.
So the only thing that happens in the USA is that those build to order imacs get their custom picked ram/ssd placed in and the screen gets glued on.
It may be that assembling a small number in the USA near launch provides faster feedback and response on what models sell best so the China assembled units of the biggest volume sellers can be increased in volume. Jumpstart fill the pipe and get market data at the same time.
Of course it makes sense BTO units might be assembled near the point of shipment.
Apple is all about first mover these days.
Of course it makes sense BTO units might be assembled near the point of shipment.
Apple is all about first mover these days.
Yeah! This is like buying a TV stand at walmart and you assembled it when you get home. Nothing new about this, if I started seeing MADE IN THE USA that would me awesome. But it's a good start though, at least it's more reasonable now to pay $600 for 32gig RAM.
It would certainly explain the high cost of Apple's BTO RAM options (everyone has always said "Don't buy it from Apple, do it yourself") if the upgrade cost included the cost of the RAM itself and the American labor required to install it.
The real question is: now what? Will people willingly pay more for American-installed parts, or will the almighty dollar still reign and will people go for the cheaper option? That's what is really at stake here. Of course we say we want to bring the work back to domestic workers, but when it comes down to pulling out the credit cards, if we end up overwhelmingly choosing the cheapest option, well...
What about the "Designed by Apple in California"? There's a lot of smart, highly paid employees involved in bringing these products to market who work right here in the good 'ol USA. I'm assuming the same can be said for other companies Apple works with like Samsung and Qualcomm. Why is the focus just on the people assembling the final product?
Pretty neat! Haven't seen one in person yet, but the new iMacs look impressive. Add to that the fact that some people are getting awesome BTO models, with assembly in the USA as a bonus.
Lol at the ungrateful wretches turning this into another culture war thread. Just no pleasing some people...
Lol at the ungrateful wretches turning this into another culture war thread. Just no pleasing some people...
I still take comfort that my venerable museum piece (literally given MoMA) PowerMac G4 Cube was manufactured in the Republic of Ireland around the time of the Celtic Tiger economy.
Honda is Japanese and Hyundai is South Korean. Come on man... Nevermind the fact that my Civic was assembled in Ohio.
I, for one, would not.
The less money I pay for thing X, the more I have for buying thing Y, or perhaps Y and Z.
Of course not - if in doubt, check the Apple ///.
QC standards are and must be the same all over the world - this only means that Apple is continuing its pursuit of risk mitigation and supply-chain gravity models as far as production is concerned(i.e., spreading plants between China, US, Brazil and Ireland).
Not to mention the apparently positive political effect it may have in its home market, for sure...just see the comments above.
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It will soon be moved, worry not
The "pro-American Made in the USA" publicity would only be good for Apple IF a significant percentage of their products were actually assembled in the USA. However, it seems that since this is only limited to BTO iMacs, that is a very small percentage of their goods, and thus the Biased Media will absolutely crucify Apple on this by making headline Tech News stating: "Apple only assembles less than 2% of their total products in their home country. The other 98% is built in Communist China! Shame on Apple, how unpatriotic! Apple is heading to failure just like DELL and HP and all the outsourcing Devils!"
In summary: Apple should not even mention this or should not even respond to these rumors (of products assembled in the USA) at all. It can only backfire on them at this point.
P.S. -- did I mention that I just ordered a BTO iMac 2012?
The point is, this is not a BTO Mac, it is a generic, off the shelf Mac. If it was BTO, this would not be a story. (If it was a BLT Mac, that would be a story, then again, it is almost lunch.)
There is only so much robots can do. They are not that good at assembling small parts. They are also, not good when your factory changes what it does on a day to day bases.
In Untied States, you must do quite a bit of work to have the "Assembled in" label.
RE: BTO,
See my comment above, it was not BTO, the question is, how many of these off the shelf Macs are made in USA?
Assembled in USA does not necessarily mean the product was manufactured in the USA, it just means the last of the components were added by someone in the USA prior to it being given to the customer.
It could even mean that everything about the iMac was manufactured in another country, even the memory and hard drive, and that the iMac was shipped to the US without those components installed.
Someone in the US could have just taken the system, added memory and a hard drive from a bin of components that were also manufactured in another country, to complete the system.
But this doesn't mean that this is what they're doing, especially since the new iMacs have memory and storage fused to the board. It would be interesting to hear more about the new iMacs, they should labeling that comes with it listing any foreign origins of its parts.
It could even mean that everything about the iMac was manufactured in another country, even the memory and hard drive, and that the iMac was shipped to the US without those components installed.
Someone in the US could have just taken the system, added memory and a hard drive from a bin of components that were also manufactured in another country, to complete the system.
But this doesn't mean that this is what they're doing, especially since the new iMacs have memory and storage fused to the board. It would be interesting to hear more about the new iMacs, they should labeling that comes with it listing any foreign origins of its parts.
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I think not. Would you say "Assembled in the China", or "Assembled in the Mexico"?
Except if you support your own country with goods produced there, then more people have jobs. Those people and companies pay taxes and buy more local goods and services. Thus more companies are created to support that demand, housing prices increase and taxes decrease allowing more people to buy thier own homes and have more cash to buy other items; more jobs and businesses are created and everyone can enjoy a better life in your own country....or save a few dollars now...your choice, America is great like that.