News posted by Rapido's Jason Shron...and it's not good

[daniel_leavitt2000]

My first question has been the same for a while. Why keep going back to China?

I have a lot of experience traveling in Thailand, and the contry is very advanced, prices are cheap and for the most part, the political landscape is stable. Their factory workers have built everything from the hard drive in your computer to Camrys and Accords. They have the skilled workers there, and I know for a fact they do not have the tooling eport embargo that China has. I really do not understand why model companies keep drinking the same Chine koolaid when you have so many alternatives like Mexico, Thailand, India and yes, even the USA.

Stupid is as stupid does.

BTW, I am pretty sure that the company in question is the same one that Atlas has been trying to shift their products to. That company supplies Walthers and uses the same style jewel case as Atlas's newer models. So that new jewel case for the NE caboose may be in short supply soon 

If anything has been proven with this, its that Chinese manufacturers opperate as a sydicate. They conspire to corner, then price the market while holding outside intellectual and physical property for ransom.

I am kind of glad I bought all my trains when I did because the pipe seems to be running dry.

Joe, If you guys at MTL keep up the good work and start producing correctly proportioned high quality models, you will get most of my hobby dollars.

[lashedup]

Atlas mentioned on their site that this won't affect them.

I think that the most difficult aspect to overcome with U.S. based production is the intricate assembly costs as labor is cheap in China. The newer models have gotten very detailed in the last several years and if you look at the companies that produce models here in America or in Japan they don't have quite the same level of hand applied parts. I think it goes without saying that if it wasn't so cheap to produce in China, they sure wouldn't go through the trouble to do business there. It will be interesting to watch how things play out over the next twelve months.

In the case of this particular company imploding, we don't know why yet which would be a better barometer to determine whether it is time to panic. Maybe the owner skipped town with a ton of money? Maybe he owes the government a ton of money? Point more being that mismanagement may have had a bigger hand in the company's demise than a downturn in the economy or model railroad business.

- Jamie

[delamaize]

+1

+2

[wes_sutton]

Reality check.......

.....In the case of this particular company imploding, we don't know why yet which would be a better barometer to determine whether it is time to panic. Maybe the owner skipped town with a ton of money? Maybe he owes the government a ton of money? Point more being that mismanagement may have had a bigger hand in the company's demise than a downturn in the economy or model railroad business.

- Jamie

This was posed on the Canmodeltrains Yahoo board...gulp ! (A board as well....)

From: j_shron
To: CanModelTrains@yahoogroups.com
Sent: Friday, January 13, 2012 9:18 AM
Subject: [CanModelTrains] Important News in China

..........The reality is that model railroad price increases (averaging 10%-25%) have not kept pace with cost increases in China, and it is often difficult for the Chinese suppliers to stay in business while meeting the demanded price point from their major North American clients.

[ArtinCA]

Some more interesting reading..

http://tinyurl.com/7ufzq4x

It's only a matter of time before production comes back. Or to somewhere else.

[wm3798]

As far as our own little corner of the global economy goes, I would suspect that the high labor costs don't come from the unskilled guy pushing the button on the injection molding machine.  It's in the more skilled and more labor intensive painting and assembly.

Maybe if we were still hobbyists and not so much accumulators of finished product this news wouldn't be so onerous.

Just sayin'.

Lee

[John]

Atlas mentioned on their site that this won't affect them.

I think that the most difficult aspect to overcome with U.S. based production is the intricate assembly costs as labor is cheap in China.

Maybe it's time we started modeling again, and putting the details on our own cars ..

[wm3798]

Well, I use a lot more big words, but that's what I just said...

[mplsjct]

Lee, good point.

A similar comment was made on the Atlas HO forum, we expect detail specific models, and get all bent out of shape when the ready to run models are missing this or that.

[TiVoPrince]

Maybe  
the calendar running out is no such a bad thing...

[up1950s]

As far as not affecting so and so . I think any time as source dries up there is a lead time delay down the road as all that used to use the now gone will have to find a not yet gone to fore-fill their wants . We are not dealing with something easy to whip out . If you want your unborn grandchild to have trains you need to pre-order now .

[Puddington]

Ok.................

Hands up all those that can't run their railway because they haven't got a locomotive; can't find rolling stock and just can't find a caboose......

SILENCE.................

We have ony to look at the various forums to see that we have become all to good at bit@hing about a very specific model that we want not being produced...by the guy we want.... how we want... when we want.....

I'm going to assume that we might want to re-think that position..............

Yep; I want my M626.....I want my S2,3,4 12, etc................. I demand my Royal Hudson............

I ain't goin get em any time soon............

But hey; wait a minute............. I'm a modeler............damn, I'm an a$$hat...... I can "create" many of the things I want..............

Ok........I'm "ok"..................

Carry on.................

[lock4244]

I'm not a modeler. I am a consumer. I have more money than talent right now. That is a situation I'd like to address, but lack the time... not entirely because of work, but I railfan every weekend and the traditional modeling season, winter, is when I most prefer to shoot. I often wonder that when I get around to buying a house, I just might spend the summer in the basement... emerging just long enough to BBQ up some burgers.

[sirenwerks]

Maybe it's time we started modeling again, and putting the details on our own cars ..

Be still my beating heart! Could this be the revolution I have dreamed of?

[Bendtracker1]

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