Some new iMacs assembled in the US
Linked by Thom Holwerda on Tue 4th Dec 2012 00:01 UTC
Apple "Apple may be taking some of the burden of assembling the new iMac off Chinese supply partners by performing parts of assembly in the U.S., as a number of newly-purchased standard units are showing an 'Assembled in USA' notation usually reserved for made-to-order machines." Cool. You'd think we'd have more information on this than the article contains, but alas.
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lets straighting the wording out
by arb1 on Tue 4th Dec 2012 00:53 UTC
arb1
Member since:
2011-08-19

"Assembled in USA" aka Still made in china, just modified in the US to what you ordered.

Reply Score: 1

anevilyak Member since:
2005-09-14

"Assembled in USA" aka Still made in china, just modified in the US to what you ordered.


That's actually forbidden by the FTC's rules. You can only say "Assembled in USA" if a substantial amount of the actual work on the product was done in the country. Simply importing a bunch of parts and slapping them together isn't sufficient to qualify, and will in fact get you fined.

Reply Score: 3

jared_wilkes Member since:
2011-04-25

It's almost as if you actually read the article or something.

Reply Score: 3

Soulbender Member since:
2005-08-18

You can only say "Assembled in USA" if a substantial amount of the actual work on the product was done in the country.


So you can only say it was assembled if in fact you did much more than assemble it? Makes sense...

Reply Score: 2

Neolander Member since:
2010-03-08

Again, the FTC text quoted by the article talks about assembly work only, so as Lorin says...

No different than you or I going out and buying the parts made in China and plugging everything in at home.

Reply Score: 3

Neolander Member since:
2010-03-08

That's actually forbidden by the FTC's rules. You can only say "Assembled in USA" if a substantial amount of the actual work on the product was done in the country. Simply importing a bunch of parts and slapping them together isn't sufficient to qualify, and will in fact get you fined.

At the risk of nitpicking, the article quotes some FTC text that mentions a "substantial amount of assembly work".

So it's still mostly about putting the parts together, which is AFAIK not exactly the largest amount of work that goes into building a computer.

Reply Score: 3

smashIt Member since:
2005-07-06

That's actually forbidden by the FTC's rules. You can only say "Assembled in USA" if a substantial amount of the actual work on the product was done in the country.


i think you mixed up "assambled in" with "made in"

Reply Score: 6

UltraZelda64 Member since:
2006-12-05

"Assembled in USA" aka Still made in china, just modified in the US to what you ordered.

Most likely 100% true but still a step above what we usually have here in the U.S. to buy. The usual garbage is, "100% made in China, assembled in China." In other words: All work outsourced to China. f*** our own United States workers, eh?

Edited 2012-12-04 09:22 UTC

Reply Score: 0

Comment by Laurence
by Laurence on Tue 4th Dec 2012 01:03 UTC
Laurence
Member since:
2007-03-26

You'd think we'd have more information on this than the article contains....

Not when Apple are one of the most secretive companies out there.

Reply Score: 5

will probably become a trend
by reduz on Tue 4th Dec 2012 02:17 UTC
reduz
Member since:
2006-02-25

to avoid ITC rulings on import bans in patent wars?

Reply Score: 1

No biggie
by kwan_e on Tue 4th Dec 2012 04:00 UTC
kwan_e
Member since:
2007-02-18

As long as quality remains the same...

Reply Score: 3

That's good...
by UltraZelda64 on Tue 4th Dec 2012 05:34 UTC
UltraZelda64
Member since:
2006-12-05

...but I still won't buy an Apple product after all the shit they've been pulling.

Reply Score: 1

RE: That's good...
by Soulbender on Tue 4th Dec 2012 05:59 UTC in reply to "That's good..."
Soulbender Member since:
2005-08-18

How is it good? I mean, for anyone who isn't American.

Reply Score: 5

RE[2]: That's good...
by UltraZelda64 on Tue 4th Dec 2012 08:34 UTC in reply to "RE: That's good..."
UltraZelda64 Member since:
2006-12-05

How is it good? I mean, for anyone who isn't American.

If you're Chinese, then yeah, maybe it's bad for you. But if you're from the U.S., then obviously it's good that at least *some* of our jobs are coming back that were sent offshore to cheap foreign sweatshops. I just happen to not be Chinese, and quite honestly am getting f***ing sick of everything saying "Made in China" or "Made in Taiwan." Too bad the (North American) company in question is bad enough that I refuse to reward them, even for a breath of fresh air like this.

Your profile lists you as being from the Philippines, which I am not familiar with, but obviously being in that area you most likely have a bias opposite of the people in North America. As for how you feel about it... well, I'm not you, I'm not from where you are, so I really don't care honestly. You keep rooting for what benefits you, and I'll do the same for myself. Is that not how the world works? I'm not saying that it's ideal, but that's just the way it is.

Edited 2012-12-04 08:45 UTC

Reply Score: 2

RE[3]: That's good...
by Soulbender on Tue 4th Dec 2012 09:15 UTC in reply to "RE[2]: That's good..."
Soulbender Member since:
2005-08-18

But if you're from the U.S., then obviously it's good that at least *some* of our jobs are coming back that were sent offshore to cheap foreign sweatshops.


I can't argue with that but for the majority of the world "Made in the U.S" doesn't mean much.

I am getting f***ing sick of everything saying "Made in China" or "Made in Taiwan."


Heh, it's been like that since I was wee lad so I think your'e in for some disappointment.

I'm not from where you are, so I really don't care honestly.


Hey, exactly what I felt reading this news item ;)

Reply Score: 4

RE[4]: That's good...
by UltraZelda64 on Tue 4th Dec 2012 09:35 UTC in reply to "RE[3]: That's good..."
UltraZelda64 Member since:
2006-12-05

I can't argue with that but for the majority of the world "Made in the U.S" doesn't mean much.

Hey, I can't say much, because really... even here it doesn't mean much. Hardly anything worthwhile has the "Made in the U.S" logo on it. But at least it's actually "made" here, when most of the time it's just all made in other countries.

Heh, it's been like that since I was wee lad so I think your'e in for some disappointment.

Yeah, I agree--because in reality, it's been this way to some extent ever since I was a kid too. It's only getting worse. And honestly, I don't have anything good to say about my country when it comes to it actually innovating and producing goods. It could easily do it... but no, let's hand it off to other countries, for less money. That seems to be the American way.

Hey, exactly what I felt reading this news item ;)

Then I guess we have something in common. ;)

Edited 2012-12-04 09:42 UTC

Reply Score: 2

Meaningless
by Lorin on Tue 4th Dec 2012 05:36 UTC
Lorin
Member since:
2010-04-06

No different than you or I going out and buying the parts made in China and plugging everything in at home.

Reply Score: 6

Comment by marcp
by marcp on Tue 4th Dec 2012 09:41 UTC
marcp
Member since:
2007-11-23

"Assembled in USA" is the new way to say: "we got the parts from China, they came in huge containers, and we're only assembling it here".
So, basically, it's not "made in USA". Only assembled. It makes no difference, maybe beside local employment rate going a little up.
Bogus news.

Reply Score: 2

RE: Comment by marcp
by umccullough on Thu 6th Dec 2012 17:24 UTC in reply to "Comment by marcp"
umccullough Member since:
2006-01-26

"Assembled in USA" is the new way to say: "we got the parts from China, they came in huge containers, and we're only assembling it here".
So, basically, it's not "made in USA". Only assembled. It makes no difference, maybe beside local employment rate going a little up.
Bogus news.


Actually, if we stop and assume most of the devices are actually sold in the U.S. (which seems to be true for Apple), it could actually save on shipping costs to ship the parts (more densely packed that way) and assemble them in the U.S. rather than shipping the fully assembled/packaged devices which wastes more space. They can probably make better use of the containers they ship from China this way.

I'm guessing Apple isn't doing this for any other reason than to save money somehow - and secondarily as a marketing reason since many U.S. citizens get all warm and fuzzy thinking that the company is somehow supporting American workers.

Reply Score: 3

Starving kids in China
by andrewclunn on Tue 4th Dec 2012 15:06 UTC
andrewclunn
Member since:
2012-11-05

Save 25 cents and give a job to a Chinese worker. Pay 25 cents more and give a job to an American worker. I'll save the money and help the poor Chinese worker, who'll likely be much worse off than the American one if they're unemployed.

Reply Score: 1

RE: Starving kids in China
by Fennec_Fox on Tue 4th Dec 2012 20:59 UTC in reply to "Starving kids in China"
Fennec_Fox Member since:
2006-10-30

Out of a job yet? With this attitude, you'll finish up as a toilet scrubber at Wal-Mart sooner than you think... See how you will care about "starving children in China" then...

Reply Score: 0

Prison labor
by ozonehole on Tue 4th Dec 2012 23:50 UTC
ozonehole
Member since:
2006-01-07

Thom said:

Cool. You'd think we'd have more information on this than the article contains, but alas.

Yeah, Apple doesn't like to talk much about the prison labor used by their contractors in China. They also don't like to talk much about the prison labor they now use in the USA. Not they don't care about their employees - the bars on the windows make the use of "suicide nets" (to deter jumpers) unnecessary.

Privatized prisons: one of America's leading growth industries:

http://www.prisonpolicy.org/prisonindex/prisonlabor.html

http://www.cnbc.com/id/44762286

Edited 2012-12-04 23:55 UTC

Reply Score: 2

RE: Prison labor
by Johann Chua on Wed 5th Dec 2012 07:19 UTC in reply to "Prison labor"
Johann Chua Member since:
2005-07-22

Do you have anything to support your allegations? Your links don't mention Apple or any specific company at all.

Reply Score: 2

RE[2]: Prison labor
by ozonehole on Wed 5th Dec 2012 16:08 UTC in reply to "RE: Prison labor"
ozonehole Member since:
2006-01-07

I have no proof that Apple in particular is doing this in the USA, though their recent announcement (with no details) about bringing manufacturing back to America leaves me suspicious. Other tech companies are most definitely doing this. The way for Apple and other well-known brands to keep their image clean is to use subcontractors to do the dirty work. Foxconn in China was a front for Apple for years.

Hi-tech prison labor in America:

http://brokenchains.us/TPLU/commentary/prison-labor.html

http://www.alternet.org/story/151732/21st-century_slaves%3A_how...

Reply Score: 2

RE[2]: Prison labor
by smashIt on Wed 5th Dec 2012 16:38 UTC in reply to "RE: Prison labor"
smashIt Member since:
2005-07-06

Do you have anything to support your allegations? Your links don't mention Apple or any specific company at all.


with companies like apple it's either free slaves or free taxmoney that brought them back

about a month ago i read that lenovo moved parts of their server-staff back to the us of a
we can be sure that that didn't happen because of the yankees being so nice ;)

Edited 2012-12-05 16:45 UTC

Reply Score: 2

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