....stocking up for Corona virus

[harringtondav]

I think that may be on the way to happening organically (bringing manufacturing back to the NA continent). That may forge a new relationship with Mexico, which could be a good thing. Consumers, standards of living and pay scale will all have to adjust ... might be squaky for a while, but I think it could even out in time (and not to anything particularly bad).

I really hope 'on shoring' is an outcome of this thing. Especially for meds, med equipment and other critical products.

I was an Ops manager for Deere. And even though direct labor and benefits were a small % of our product costs, we beat the hell out of it. All overheads were calc'd as a % of direct labor. ...yea, I know. A 9th grade math student could see the problem with this.

Our supply management beat down supplier's margins to the bone, and pushed for more. Suppliers responded by going off shore. China mostly.

Labor intensive products like Nike shoes, clothing, etc. will probably stay in China for a long time. Engineered, low labor input products could look more lucrative back in N.A. Castings and metals also.

Consumers may whine, but their whine threshold will have increased once this hardship is behind them.

 

[GA_Boater]

I think that may be on the way to happening organically (bringing manufacturing back to the NA continent). That may forge a new relationship with Mexico, which could be a good thing. Consumers, standards of living and pay scale will all have to adjust ... might be squaky for a while, but I think it could even out in time (and not to anything particularly bad).

Maybe a North American Union similar to the EU. Canada, Mexico and the U.S. already rely on each other. Workers could be free go where the jobs are. Companies going where the workers are, which isn't much different than today. The NA petroleum industry could benefit and minimize OPEC. Gonna be a hard sell though, even if it's feasible.

It can't be as extreme as the EU though. For example, the UK had to stop selling pints of beer and go metric. Wonder if the pubs will go back to pints?

 

[harringtondav]

It can't be as extreme as the EU though. For example, the UK had to stop selling pints of beer and go metric. Wonder if the pubs will go back to pints?

....I could live with it. 1/2 Liter is a tad bit more than a pint. ..maybe one swallow.

 

[GA_Boater]

....I could live with it. 1/2 Liter is a tad bit more than a pint. ..maybe one swallow.

Yeah, English pint is 20 oz vs U.S. pint at 16 oz. I'm glad shillings, halfpence, farthings and the rest of the old English money is gone. I went to London during the conversion to decimal and a lot of shops still used the old system and my head spun. Then someone took the steering wheel, usually after a pint or two of live ale and I hailed a black cab.

 

[achris]

Sounds like NEW YORK CITY is getting squeezed.-------Not enuff material to supply hospitals , keep doctors and staff safe.--------Find it on YOU TUBE----an interesting documentary on how America lost it's manufacturing capacity.-----Look for ----Death by China ------Nothing to do with the start of this virus.-----Came out in 2016 I believe.------Has everything to do with how things changed over 30 years.------You can not change it back overnight !!

I've been saying the same thing about Australian manufacturing for the last 20 years!

We're looking at exactly the same backlash as you guys. And our labour costs are (stupidly) even higher. Something else I have been saying for years... Labour costs are high, because the cost of products is high, and every time a worker demands higher wages, the cost of stuff goes up, so the worker demands higher wages..... And they just don't get it! :facepalm:

Chris.......

 

[GA_Boater]

Finally something useful on the Internet - https://howmuchtoiletpaper.com/

 

[alldodge]

If you start talking about labor cost being high the next thing is the subject is going political, and we don't want to go there

Guy wants a higher (living) wage, and the manufacture moves it to Bangladeshi so it can pay 30 cents a day to kids. There is much more to it then just the asking by someone wanting to raise his/her family and not having to live by pay check to the next

 

[sphelps]

Finally something useful on the Internet - https://howmuchtoiletpaper.com/

‘ok so I have enough for 168 days ... Prolly more .. based on 63 rolls 3 people going 2x per day ..

 

[harringtondav]

If you start talking about labor cost being high the next thing is the subject is going political, and we don't want to go there

Guy wants a higher (living) wage, and the manufacture moves it to Bangladeshi so it can pay 30 cents a day to kids. There is much more to it then just the asking by someone wanting to raise his/her family and not having to live by pay check to the next

AD, I stayed away the labor side of things just to avoid this forum's prohibition on political issues as you mentioned. I know the UAW's POV from the trenches. Bringing manufacturing back home will take more compromise than ever experienced prior. Companies have to get real on the risks of off shoring and be willing to compromise more. Unions will have to reciprocate and do the same. Hopefully this whole COVID nasty experience will re-set a lot of attitudes and priorities.

 

[achris]

 

[sphelps]

Ok , ? ..
‘With every school, business , and whatever going work from home through the web .. Is our grid, or whatever you call it ,capable of keeping up with the higher demand ? Will atm’s and such still work ? Just slower ?

 

[alldodge]

Another forum guy posted a email from Verizon stating they are slowing down everyone except, first responders, hospitals and students. I'm on 4mb dsl and have not noticed any change, but also not verizon.

The atm's appear to be working, but also say credit cards are cleaner and can be cleaned

 

[GA_Boater]

Netflix, the biggest bandwidth hog, has slowed streaming by 25% in Europe. Don't know if they plan on that in the U.S. as more and more are staying home.

 

[alldodge]

Dish is offering free showtime and TMC for a few days. I'm recording all kinds of movies. Main issue with Dish is the sound level, is real low. The pic is HD but with movies I have the sound up to around 85% just to hear it. When changing channels to news or other shows, I'm back down to 45%.

If I switch over to Roku I'm down to 20%

 

[harringtondav]

Our choke point is our cheapo 3 x 3 fiber we installed early Feb. Streaming TV takes a bit longer to queue up, but no buffering after that. Our local utility provides the signal. Strange to me is computer image loads and streams are taking longer.

I suspect some of the current telecommuters and their companies will embrace the arrangement after the crisis ends. Service providers will step up. ...where there is a dollar, there is a way.

 

[fishrdan]

‘ok so I have enough for 168 days ... Prolly more .. based on 63 rolls 3 people going 2x per day ..

My family only has enough TP for 84 days. But I'm not worried as we have 18 rolls of paper towels, and if we get really desperate, I probably have 600-700 sheets of sand paper.

 

[Old Ironmaker]

It's the end of civilization when we are too lazy to type "toilet paper" Now everyone knows what TP is. If all the shelves become empty (MT) of food we are still good. I know a farmer that will trade meat for fish. We live on the lakeshore of Erie and have a volleyball net and a 22. I don't think C.O.'s are out in full force, we have 2 for a county the size of a small US state with over 200 miles of shore line. We are veggie rationing here at home. Plenty of meat and fish as well as TP. Plus plenty of old Sears catalogues.

 

[harringtondav]

It's the end of civilization when we are too lazy to type "toilet paper" Now everyone knows what TP is. If all the shelves become empty (MT) of food we are still good. I know a farmer that will trade meat for fish. We live on the lakeshore of Erie and have a volleyball net and a 22. I don't think C.O.'s are out in full force, we have 2 for a county the size of a small US state with over 200 miles of shore line. We are veggie rationing here at home. Plenty of meat and fish as well as TP. Plus plenty of old Sears catalogues.

Around our house we put BW on the shopping list instead of TP. Seriously, who papers their toilet? 'Wipe' is the key word here.

 

[sphelps]

I don’t think I have seen BW on any packaging ... Unless there are instructions printed somewhere...

 

[racerone]

They said " all you need is gloves and a mask " to go grocery shopping now.------So we did and what a surprise as everybody else was wearing clothes too.-------On a side note anybody who has ever worked at a nuclear power station would understand how this virus spreads.---Stations have various zones and rules for these zones.-------Radioactive materials are dealt with by wearing protective clothing / gloves / masks / even suits with clean breathing air.-----You left this protective gear at the boundary and monitored before leaving the area.-------Monitered a few times before going home etc.-------Trouble is with radiation you can measure the presence with various instruments.---This virus has travelled all over the world due to cheap travel and the promotions by the travel industry.-------This covid-19 is an unseen enemy and many folks are unaware of until it is far too late.