could offshore production to China !

Kubota does, just found that out this week.

drivetrain in Japan

attachments in GEORGIA, USA

 it's a 'hybrid' some Metric some REAL fasteners....

The three methods:

CBU: Completely Built up:  A product is entirely manufactured at the origin, and shipped complete and ready

SKD:  Semi Knocked Down:  A product is manufactured in component assemblies, which are then imported for assembly into completed products within the target market.

CKD: Complete Knocked Down:  A product is imported as individual parts, and fully assembled within the target market.

The first is obvious.  The second means assemblies come in, the third means individual parts come in.

There's manufacturing costs and benefits to each program- the greatest benefit in MANUFACTURING terms, for any sort of knockdown, is SPACE.  Assembling an entire tractor of parts manufactured totally on ONE site, takes lots of space, not just for the assembly process, but for the manufacturing of all those individual parts.  By physically spreading out the sourcing, one doesn't need land/space for one huge facility, just the transportation and storage of the logistical flow.  The Who and Where becomes irrelevant... if a manufacturer can source fasteners from a location elsewhere, that means they don't have to make space at THEIR facility to manufacture fasteners.

There's very little of anything that is just made 'in one place' anymore... from a purist's argument, you could go into an Amish woodworking shop, see everything they're cutting, milling, and shaping into a rocking chair, and if there's sandpaper or screws purchased from a hardware store that may have come from Asia, it's not 'totally made' here, right?

Deere announced it's layoff cycle here, and while those words come as a shock to some, and unknown to others, it's no suprise to me... in 1976, we had several CASE plants, IH Farmall, at least five major Deere facilities, better part of a dozen foundries, at least the same amount of forging companies, well over a hundred independant machine shops, patternmaking shops, materials testing labs, welding shops, tool and die companies, small manufacturers of threaded products, rivets, and fasteners... 

The economic circumstances that immediately followed, shuttered most of those facilities.  We still have two Deere facilities here, but all the rest are gone.  Cities got together with developers and arranged TIF money to take all the manufacturing infrastructure away, and turn it into strip mall parking lots, casinos, and hotel events centers on the taxpayers' wallets.

True, the economic fortitude of the classic American Family Farm has been systematically crushed by a trifecta of government control, environmental mandates, insurance, financial, and tax assessment structure, corporate contract leverage, and insideous energy costs.  One cannot expect the survival of small family farms under these circumstances, and it is my impression that this is by design.  A 'successful' farmer nowdays doesn't 'own' a large machine in the sense that they 'bought and owned' one 30 years ago... it is simply another circumstance of 'lease cost', where it is utilized until it reaches maturity on the MACRS schedule, then it's disposed of.  One could easily argue that 'tier' emmissions regulations justifies this, but I'd be more inclined to suggest that 'tier' emmissions regulations were created to 'force' vast economic change on agriculture and business such that small business, family agriculture, etc., would be smothered out, and the market ceded to governmental entities and their 'subjects'.

When the cost to manufacture in Mexico, and SHIP to the US, is lower than the cost to manufacture in the US, and SHIP to the US, then it will happen in Mexico.

The strategic circumstance of knockdown, is that large assemblies are made in Mexico, then shipped by train to the US for assembly, can be just-as-easily assembled in Mexico fully, and shipped by train to the US. 

When I drive by the Moline plant, I see combine harvesters lined up outside, ready to go on trains.  Now, those combine harvesters don't go 'everywhere'... they're not used in the Rocky Mountains, or in Appalachia, because row-crop land has to be somewhat flatter... but it doesn't matter to the railway wether it's shipments are assemblies on flatcars, or combines on flatcars.

Yes, the contract negotiations had a significant impact on long-term economics- they always do.  The plants in Illinois have a distinct disadvantage in economic solvency.  Being closed-shop, every manufacturer knows exactly what to expect at the regular negotiating table.  Couple that with Illinois' recent minimum wage perogative, the effective dollar value of EVERYTHING (labor included) on that side of the river has fallen considerably... and it's not just Deere that's feeling it.  My Illinois-side suppliers' shops have had their shop-floor workforce basically vanish over the last three years... Adults have taken up all the fast-food jobs.

I don't know where all the Deere employees will go.  My friends that all work there, both blue and white collar, don't know, but that's not the real tradgedy here... the real tradgedy is that the nest eggs they've grown over the last 20 years, have been reduced in value by half or more, and there's no market for their greatest skill-value now.

Deere in MO leases 75-80% of machines to farms, Breaks down, get a replacement coming or PAY thru the Nose in fees to Users to await repairs.  Losses are mounting as NOBODY wants New now, they will Lease where do not own and have maintenance agreements.

DougG wrote: Agco in Ohio= seems to be an uprising in Ohio of 8 dealerships losing Agco ?

I don't think they lost them, but rather gave up their AGCO dealerships in order to concentrate on the construction business side. 

re: They must be in financial difficulty.

They are , as in everyone else in the farm machine business.

The systematic planned loss of 'small family' farms either to build houses or being bought out by 'conglamorates' ( aka megafarms ) has meant that fewer and fewer machines are needed. Add in the governments forced, expensive 'emissions' laws and  farmers can't afford to farm.

Just found out the 50 ac farm cross the street was sold for 5mill,is being rezone/developed into 13 houses. Historically, on record, some of the best bean growing land in southern Ontario for 6-7-8 decades. While it's still being 'remotely' farmed,  2 other farms either have houses or soon will. 'Oh ,it's just 55 acres...no big big deal' is what 'they' say. Idiots have NO idea WHERE their food comes from....

sigh......

Cat tech I am friends with, noted warranties on HE has gotten so bad they have PALLETS of DOC system parts coming in WEEKLY.  Similar to truck dealers as those systems STILL are failing at dramatically HIGH rates.  EPA is an Enemy, they are NOT saving the world.

yeesh....

26.4 mill is about $500K a week, or $100K per workday.

NOBODY is worth that much,well maybe a real good hooker...?

Already know can make Biofuels, can manufacture nearly every form of energy needs fuels from agriculture, just tends to be ignored as expect the US to feed the globe, for Free.

Another factor in where stuff is made ,is 'JIT', Just In Time.Sub assemblies are made in other plants, then shipped(trucked really ) to a central assembly building. Have heard that over 1/2 of the car parts are actually in trailers, on the roads at any given time. So truckers are now mobile warehouses ! Big problem is when there's a delay (say due to bad weather or picketers ) . The holdup of just ONE trailer of parts can shutdown entire car production.

The big problems are cost and  space. 'Reserve' inventory takes up expensive space, lowers the 'bottom line'. Also real money is tied up in that reserve inventory.

I got a killer deal on Twinwall one summer. Asked supplier what was 'on the shelf  collecting dust'. Next day, a delivery guy came with 3 skids FULL of Twinwall, that I paid about 5% of HIS cost. Everyone was happy !

Have to be smart to decide what is 'critical' and what is an 'acceptable' stock level. Cut a lot of code 4 decades ago for local hobbyshop, as there were seasonal blips and 99.44% came from USA. You'd think todays computers would be  smarter and  get the 'numbers' right.

re: but they do plan to avoid critical area shut downs.

well that didn't work so well for any of the car assembly plants in Ontario when the MI/Ontario border was illegally shutdown for  few days, a few years back.....

Several companies have done as Tbone noted, ordered a Years worth but deliveries held back to nearly JIT schedules.  Out Country suppliers do not have to ship immediately as they do not have inventory taxation, uncertain if US Manufacturers have to pay tax on new component materials (Not a finished product) if have not sold even as have produced.  US Guv could wise up and eliminate garbage tax programs as that one that did nothing but screw up business.

Know of several framers NOT working, even though huge housing shortage.

Seems most new home buyers can't afford MILLION dollar house for some silly reason..so..developers aren't BUILDING !

I don't care how low the mortgage rate is, even 0.99% is too high to buy a high priced house.