Lowy Institute report shows trust in the US has tumbled to lowest level since thinktank began polling
  • some_guy@lemmy.sdf.orgEnglish
    71·
    1 day ago

    A lot of Americans still think of China as the place to make cheap goods, but their manufacturing sector has benefited from decades of stolen expertise.

    I listened to a podcast (Dithering; it’s subscription based) talking about a book about Apple’s manufacturing operations in China. The distinction was that other companies guarded because their techniques would be stolen, whereas Apple focused on “we’re gonna teach you to do this,” which then proliferated to other companies. We wouldn’t have semi-affordable (depending on your situation) iPhones otherwise. They be impossible to build at scale. Really eye opening.

    The ep was the second one last week, if you wanna listen.

    • hark@lemmy.world
      9·
      1 day ago

      We wouldn’t have semi-affordable (depending on your situation) iPhones otherwise. They be impossible to build at scale. Really eye opening.

      Yes we would, they’d just have to lower their ridiculously high profit margins: https://www.cnbc.com/2025/01/30/apples-gross-margin-hits-record-as-services-business-keeps-growing.html

      For many years in the iPhone era, Apple’s gross margin would predictably come in at between 38% and 39%, reflecting the company’s tight grip over its supply chain and its pricing power in the market.

      • some_guy@lemmy.sdf.orgEnglish
        1·
        21 hours ago

        Apple’s huge profit margins are only possible because of the scale of their operations in China. They’re moving to India and Vietnam. It remains to be seen how that will work out. China has been building expertise in manufacturing for decades. My statement stands.