Four-fifth's of the world's window-mounted ACs from China

[tomturbomatic]

NYT story 3-2-17. Basically the weak Renminbi is at the heart of this and the AC figure was more of an example than the topic of the article. Still, it's an interesting fact.

 

One interesting point is that there are companies that export specialized or high-quality products and compete with Western companies. One such Chinese company is Broad Air Conditioning, a maker of specialized central air conditioning systems that are more energy-efficient but also considerably more expensive than most central air conditioning systems. 

 

[vacerator]

I was told this in 1990.

"Everything is going to come from China." At the time I thought it impossible.
Even though we have a giant trade deficit, importing less expensive goods from abroad sold by domestic distributors is profitable for them. It gives them more capital to add to their share values, and do other things stateside rather than pay higher labor. It has also brought China out of their failed economic system of chairman Mao.
Automation can replace most of manufacturing manual labor jobs. Will it happen in China? No doubt, so the ones who currently do manual labor will be the ones maintaining and repairing robots like Americans do now. Their kids for sure.
Higher skill warrants higher pay.

 

[frigilux]

If automation can replace humans in many manufacturing scenarios, companies may once again choose to make their products in the United States rather than dealing with the political and logistical problems inherent in having to ship everything to-and-from China, South Korea, India, etc. Of course, the irony is that it wouldn't create large numbers of jobs in manufacturing for American humans. Great time to be a robot, though!

 

[duke]

Well said Frigilux, AND it may create many more jobs if the electronics for the products are produced here.

 

[washman]

Hi Frig!

 

[firedome]

unfortunately...

those electronics will be produced by robots also... you should see the new Global Foundries (ex-IBM) chip fab facilities in Fishkill NY. All those promised high wage manufacturing jobs will NOT be coming back anytime soon, if ever.

 

[iej]

There's up and down swings to everything.

The reality is that blue collar jobs are disappearing and someone is going to have to find alternatives because a large % of the population simply doesn't have the capacity to work in the knowledge economy.

Or, you adopt a far more lifestyle focused freemarket social democracy type model and everyone just works a little less but you need to capture and redistribute vast corporate incomes.

Corporations are only there because they're of value to society. We chose to let them operate the way they do. Things definitely needs to be rebalanced.

Unfortunately, I'm not sure that Donald Trump will do anything to help and his policies will likely make it worse but, he may have reawakened a debate in the USA that's long overdue. The system can't just keep going the way it is. Wealth is just being concentrated to try level that it's going to see a return to the 19th century where you've a huge poor underclass.

 

[retro-man]

Have you noticed that since the fast food industries were forced among others to raise the starting pay to $15.00 per hour have changed the way they do business? They have installed kiosks to order and pay for your food. They have pretty much eliminated those jobs. So those that were making $10.00 and thought they had received a large pay raise are no longer employed. It's all about profits and the bottom line. Try as they may, most manufacturing jobs are going to follow suit. It will be all computerized and very few people will see a bright future in these coming years for employment. I feel maybe there may be some hope when we start rebuilding our own country, such as roads, bridges, rails, electrical etc.

Jon

 

[washman]

the brave new world is upon us

 

[vacerator]

True Jon,

automation will continue growing. So the new generation entering the work force will need better computer skills, maybe even robotic skills, then the pay will be better. The savings over manual labor is a better margin. More capital to pay higher skilled workers with. Nothing can be free. Computers and robots break down also, and there are always software glitches that come up. Kids are introduced to computers today by age two. I never touched one before 1986, unless you consider a Telxon keyboard box with a laser pen connected to a phone line a computer. Before that I used a teletype key punch machine. Today the Telxon guns are wireless and communicate with the host server continuously. RFID technology can replace manual human calculating, though it is very costly still, and not the norm yet, except in hospitals.
While I haven't seen a fast food kiosk here as yet, the pay has not been increased by that much either. I don't frequent them often, only when time limits me.

 

[alr2903]

Cheap window A/C's and they are.  I try to get 2 summers out of the inexpensive window a/c in the bedroom.  They are what they are.  I then get a new one and donate the old one to the city wide heat relief drive we have here every summer.  The donated units go to senior citizens and families with few resources. Not a summer goes by here without heat related deaths reported.

 

[launderess]

Air conditioners have gone from being an expensive durable

Appliance, to something you can pick up at Walmart, Rite Aide and many other low cost/discount places. No, these units aren't a patch on the all metal and built to last air conditioners of the 1950's through 1970's or even 1980's. But then again they don't cost as much either.

As so many other things cheap imports from Mexico or Asia have brought prices down, which depending upon how you look at it is a good thing. I mean look at how fast LED, Plasma and whatever television prices plummeted. You can pick up a cheap bargain Asian set for nearly nothing.

In contrast how long did it take for BW then later color television prices to drop? Am not that old but can remember when any household with more than one full sized color TV was considered sitting pretty.

 

[tomturbomatic]

I think that for most of us who were raised when appliances, TVs and air conditioners were "capital investments" meant to last a lot of years, a two year life expectancy of an air conditioner is shocking. When I think of that big beautiful Friedrich in my house in Greenbelt and all the years of service it gave and the quality of the Coldspot heat pump unit downstairs, I am really sickened by today's merchandise.

 

[toploader55]

Agreed Tom.

The Old Fedders Weather Wheel, Carrier "Weathermakers". Chrysler Airtemp, so many brands that were built out of steel and made with pride.

Amazingly especially in a city, you'll still see a few of those old units in windows, transoms, or through walls. I would think they still work.

Man, did they blow Ice Cold Air.