Why the United States Will Never, Ever Build the iPhone

[maggiesfarmer]

70. we haven't even gotten to supply chains yet

yes, cheap labor is a huge driving factor, but there's lots of people debating that. ask anyone in manufacturing and they'll confirm what the article is getting at, the real money is made or lost in supply chain management. A ton of the current component semiconductor producers are in Asia giving Chinese companies a strategic advantage in time-to-delivery. further, China has been rumored to be stockpiling metals and minerals for manufacturing processes.

The second half of Cook's equation -- supply chains -- might be even more important. We like to talk about how the world is flat, but in reality, it still takes a month to ship goods from the U.S. to China. Because Asia is the hub of electronic components manufacturing, Chinese factories can get crucial parts faster and cheaper, whether they're coming from a semi-conductor factory down the street, or a Samsung plant in South Korea. Local Chinese factories also crank out the little metal bits like screws that you can't build an iPhone without, a small but important advantage. The United States is cut off from those networks.

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