``But more to the point, I don't understand why you think it's possible for you (or me, or anyone) to judge the percentage of domestic-made goods better than statisticians..'' SA
Probably because like the 12 percent China, paints a picture I don't see. But I have to resolve that by considering what I actually see and wrongly identify as China. The issue for me is the whole Pacific Rim countries plus South Asia.
``What do you do count `Made in China' labels. (SA)
No. I work with Chinese and Asian parts and products directly. One annoying Asia habit is using the metric system. This means I need a duplicate metric set. I could rephrase it to say, one annoying US habit is clinging to SAE. On the positive side Asia and China have reached near German engineering standards in machining. Nikon for years has been a better camera. China has caught up in some industries, mostly in Taiwan.
The other issue which was also my mistake, was not to realize that China has targetted markets particularly those that use steel. That's why they appear ubiquitous to me.
I worked as a mechanic with steel, aluminum, electronics, and plastic products. I was probably over exposed. I like my boy toys and fixing them. I break some of components down far enough to spot the roller bearings which are all Chinese or Asian imports. These have to be replaced with asian equivalents because they use metric measures. The same with nuts and bolts and just about any fastner.
US steel really started dying in the early 70s. Oakland was a big distribution point for steel because of its rail hub and port. Japanese steel was cheaper and better and was shipped here and then by rail elsewhere. What I saw in steel distributors were big rolls of light gauage sheet medal of the type used by auto manufacturers.
Currently the best batteries are made in South Korea. Used batteries are shipped to S. Korea. Battery lead is recycled there and mixed with new and then made into new batteries and shipped here.
Next add up the textiles from SEA and India, the consumer electronics from various points around the eastern rim like Indonesia, South Korea.
So I suspect these additions might paint a different picture. It would make an interesting report in itself to see the impact on US jobs and the economic picture.
``And as for the Port of Long Beach, you know that it doesn't just load in imports, it also loads out exports.'' (SA)
Did the SF Fed just use Long Beach? It's the largest on the West Coast for sure. But Asia routs its imports across the big ports from Seattle to San Diego dependending on US rail and trucking lines to minimize freight cost to the terminal destination.
Also I remember reading a near constant drone over balance of trade between Asian markets and the US.
Anyway those are my excuses for sometimes wondering about statistics.
Thanks for replying.
CG