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Some Apple iMacs "Assembled In America"

Posted by samzenpus on from the american-made dept.

whisper_jeff writes "A number of newly-purchased standard units are showing an "Assembled in America" notation. While the markings don't necessarily mean that Apple is in the midst of transferring its entire assembly operation from China to the U.S., it does indicate that at least a few of the new iMacs were substantially assembled domestically."

56 of 279 comments (clear)

  1. But... by b5bartender · · Score: 3, Interesting

    North America or Central America?

    1. Re:But... by Sez+Zero · · Score: 4, Informative

      TFA notes the language "Assembled in the USA" so that's pretty clear.

    2. Re:But... by aaronfaby · · Score: 4, Informative

      It actually says "Assembled in USA".

    3. Re:But... by b5bartender · · Score: 4, Funny

      Ah, excellent use of quotations in the summary.

    4. Re:But... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Funny

      I wonder if they mean.. we take it out of bulk packaging and put it into consumer packaging ;-) (sarcasm)

    5. Re:But... by ogl_codemonkey · · Score: 2

      Of course! It's to complement the use of the possessive apostrophe.

    6. Re:But... by vlm · · Score: 4, Informative

      The article goes into detail about how customs officials are not amused by things like that. "more than screwdriver assembly" is required.

      --
      "Science flies us to the moon. Religion flies us into buildings." - Victor Stenger
    7. Re:But... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Over the past 30 years, wages in the U.S. have remained flat while productivity has doubled. So the average worker is producing twice as much for the same pay. Where do you think all of that extra free production capacity goes? It maybe is related to the concentration of wealth at the top. Whatever your take on Unions, they're labor cost are still inadequate compared to production. But whatever, keep sucking up to the rich and maybe they'll actually let you kiss their ring one day.

    8. Re:But... by the_B0fh · · Score: 2

      Not sure what's your point? Is it a good thing or a bad thing that Apple is moving some parts of the manufacture of their computers to USA?

      Oh, look, the ocean is wet and the sky is tall.

      And why the hell is it modded informative?

    9. Re:But... by ranton · · Score: 4, Insightful

      they're labor cost are still inadequate compared to production

      Unless Union members are the ones responsible for the increased productivity (as opposed to the robotics engineers, business process analysts, etc.), how could you possibly think they are due any increased pay based on their increased production? Even if Union members are responsible for some of the increases in productivity, if they were being paid by the company while they were devising ways to improve productivity then they are still not entitled to increased pay (other than raises based on merit, but Unions are generally against that).

      If Unions were doing their own productivity research based on money obtained from Union dues, then I completely agree that Union members should share in the extra profit that comes from the increased productivity.

      --
      -- All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing. -- Edmund Burke
    10. Re:But... by magarity · · Score: 2

      So these ones will run, what? $8000 to offset Union Labor costs?

      You have to pay the longshoremen's union to take it off the container ships whether the parts are assembled in the USA or China. And it doesn't say which state has the assembly facility; there ARE non-union states, actually. Anyway, the biggest reason computer parts are manufactured overseas (China) is the absolutely horrible pollution.

      But by shipping the parts to the USA to be assembled by some robots, people can get a warm fuzzy feeling for having bought a domestic made product.

    11. Re:But... by Dr_Barnowl · · Score: 4, Informative

      Works of fiction dealing with this include ..

      * Neal Stephenson's "The Diamond Age" - not so bad, actually, the lower classes at least get free subsistence goods

      Cory Doctorow

      * Printcrime - short story, imprisonment for using your printer to print copyrighted goods
      * Makers

      Charles Stross

      * Singularity Sky - deals with a society that deliberately withholds molecular manufacturing technology from it's people, and what happens when it drops from the sky one day (literally)

      Mashall Brain

      * Manna - short story, two possible outcomes of robot labour (internment camps for the poor, and the Star Trek type utopia)

    12. Re:But... by Chrisje · · Score: 2

      This is why we should have a political system in place that would include minimum wages and inflation correction on those minimum wages. The fact of the matter is that the government of a country has a duty to define what it thinks is a decent minimum standard of living for its citizens, and the accompanying infrastructure needed to uphold that.

      In my view people should see their pay, at the very least if it's minimum wage, increase at the same rate as inflation across the board. This is the only way you can keep substantial portions of your citizenry from slipping into the crushing poverty you see. The US is a very uncivilised country from that perspective. There are a lot of very poor people. These poor people are, by and large, under educated. Furthermore, since the only affordable food is junk, these people are open to risk of obesity, diabetes and other health related issues. This is all the more an issue when you consider that universal health care is actually still a topic that seems to be controversial in the US. Nobody on this planet understands why it's a controversial topic, so you're very much alone in that.

      Now many people in the US and in Europe seem to believe in the trickle down model of wealth distribution. Any idiot can see this is really not the case. The reason everyone knows Buffett, Gates and Carnegie is because they were / are exceptions. Most people we classify as Rich (R) are only out after becoming Wealthy or More Rich (TM). Having said that, I do believe that if the bottom of society is well off enough to consume, this will spark increased demand, which is good for the layers above it.

      To cut a long story short, a worker's pay shouldn't increase only because he / she is more productive, a workers pay should increase because it's the civilised thing to do. Furthermore, the economy develops best from the bottom, not the top.

      The latter point I made is actually seen in economic growth indices for countries when you correlate that with the average income gap between poor and rich. Statistically speaking economic growth increases as that income gap decreases.

    13. Re:But... by ranton · · Score: 2

      Or they the land was taken by force by an ancestor and inhereted. This argument stand as long as capital is the fruit of one's work. This might be the case, but no so aften I think...

      It doesn't take work to take land by force? Warfare has done a pretty good job of ensuring that land is in the hands of more productive societies, since wars are generally won by the society that can fund a better army.

      But like I said in my post, if they keep their argument purely based on morality then it is at least intriguing. I still disagree, but if you are a pacifist and believe that property taken and kept by force is not deserved, I do believe that is a valid point to be made.

      And what does inheritence have to do about anything? So now you are saying I can spend money on myself, but not to make life better for my descendents? Is the fruit of my labor worth less because I inherited a high level of intelligence from my mother?

      Is upward mobility through generations not to be allowed? Shame on all those immigrants that toiled in thankless jobs to provide a better life for their children.

      --
      -- All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing. -- Edmund Burke
    14. Re:But... by ranton · · Score: 2

      Providing work is every bit as important as providing money. Without work there is no result, period.

      I never said that labor is not valuable, but any blanket statemen saying that labor is more imporant, just as important, or less important than money is just silly. A year of my labor is far more valuable than a 1990 Ford truck. But it is far less valuable than a 4000 square foot home (in my neighborhood at least), or a 400 acre farm.

      While it is true that without work there is no result, the exact same thing can be said for capital. My programming ability is useless without a computer. My ability to cook is useless without food. If I don't have the ability to claim land to even forage for food, or don't own or rent land with access to water, then I will die very quickly.

      Still you seem to think that the people who provided money deserve increasing compensations while the people providing work do not.

      I clearly said that I think laborers deserve their wages. I just believe those wages should be determined based on their actual value to their employer. Society can decide to provide them extra income based on their value as a human being separately.

      --
      -- All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing. -- Edmund Burke
  2. Assembled in USA, not America - Big difference! by mr_zorg · · Score: 5, Informative

    The summary and title are misleading. If you read the article, the pictures clearly shows "Assembled in USA". My first thought when I saw "Assembled in America" was that Foxconn has facilities in Brazil now - so perhaps it was really "Assembled in South America". But, no, it really is in the USA. Very cool, Apple.

    1. Re:Assembled in USA, not America - Big difference! by jandrese · · Score: 4, Funny

      I've occasionally thought that some town in China could make make a killing by renaming itself USA.

      --

      I read the internet for the articles.
    2. Re:Assembled in USA, not America - Big difference! by msauve · · Score: 4, Insightful

      The article is misleading, too. It states "the 21.5-inch iMacs are some of the first known examples of an Apple computer being assembled in the U.S., according to Fortune."

      However, Apple ][, ][+, Macintoshes up to at least the SE and Mac II, were all made in the USA.

      --
      "National Security is the chief cause of national insecurity." - Celine's First Law
    3. Re:Assembled in USA, not America - Big difference! by larry+bagina · · Score: 2

      iMacs were manufactured at Apple's Elk Grove, California facility from 1992-2003.

      --
      Do you even lift?

      These aren't the 'roids you're looking for.

    4. Re:Assembled in USA, not America - Big difference! by msauve · · Score: 2

      That's amazing, since the iMac wasn't even introduced until 1998!

      --
      "National Security is the chief cause of national insecurity." - Celine's First Law
    5. Re:Assembled in USA, not America - Big difference! by mrmeval · · Score: 5, Informative

      http://www.snopes.com/business/genius/usa.asp

      The Usa Shrine was built there in the 8th century so the time traveler who managed to name or rename it for such a nefarious plot had to have arrived somewhat earlier.

      It's a very pretty place.

      http://www.city.usa.oita.jp/

      --
      I'd go on a Vegan diet but the delivery time from Vega is too long. --brownkitty
    6. Re:Assembled in USA, not America - Big difference! by Demolition · · Score: 4, Informative

      Just to expand on this a bit more...

      From 1976-1981, Apple manufactured all Apple computers in the U.S. They had plants in Fremont, CA, Elk Grove, CA, and Carrollton, TX.

      In 1981, they opened plants in Cork, Ireland, and Singapore to serve the European and Asian markets, respectively.

      In 1984, a second plant was built in Fremont exclusively for Mac production. The Cork factory also switched over to making Macs.

      In 1985, John Sculley took over from Steve Jobs and one of his first actions as CEO was to shut down the three original plants, leaving only the three in Fremont, Cork, and Singapore.

      In 1991, Apple opened another new U.S. plant in Fountain, CO.

      In 1992, the second Fremont plant was downsized and most of its operations were moved to Sacramento. That same year, a new plant was built in India, and the Elk Grove plant was doubled in size to accommodate a motherboard/logicboard factory. I recall that the last batch of Macs rolled out of Fremont in 1998 or 1999 before the plant itself was shuttered.

      1992 is the watershed year. From then until 1994, Apple began downsizing its U.S. manufacturing and, in turn, expanding its operations in Ireland.

      Today, all of the Apple-owned plants are gone, except for Elk Grove and Cork. Apple now relies on external vendors in several locations: Texas, Czech Republic, Singapore, South Korea, China, and Brazil.

      I'm guessing that the new U.S.-assembled Macs are made in Elk Grove and by the contractor in Texas.

    7. Re:Assembled in USA, not America - Big difference! by ColdWetDog · · Score: 2

      They were much too far ahead of their time, so they were stored for a while until the world caught up to Apple.

      --
      Faster! Faster! Faster would be better!
    8. Re:Assembled in USA, not America - Big difference! by stephanruby · · Score: 2

      Besides built-to-order machines, the 21.5-inch iMacs are some of the first known examples of an Apple computer being assembled in the U.S., according to Fortune.

      Also, Fortune is wrong.

      The "Apple I" is actually the first known example of an Apple computer being assembled in the US.

      I remember, Apple hired US housewives to assemble their first computers.

  3. Misdirection by asmkm22 · · Score: 4, Insightful

    I couldn't care less about where it was assembled. The parts are still made in China, which is where the quality is real labor comes from. I'll be impressed if they open up actual factories here in the US, and stop using Ireland to funnel cheaper tax rates.

    1. Re:Misdirection by thestudio_bob · · Score: 4, Insightful

      I couldn't care less about where it was assembled. The parts are still made in China, which is where the quality is real labor comes from. I'll be impressed if they open up actual factories here in the US, and stop using Ireland to funnel cheaper tax rates.

      I'm sure this is directed to all large multi-national companies and not just Apple, right? Or is the old adage, "Haters going to hate." in full effect here?

      --
      The real Sig captains the Northwestern. This one captains /.
    2. Re:Misdirection by painandgreed · · Score: 2

      I couldn't care less about where it was assembled. The parts are still made in China, which is where the quality is real labor comes from. I'll be impressed if they open up actual factories here in the US, and stop using Ireland to funnel cheaper tax rates.

      I bet you the parts were actually made in Korea, Japan, and Taiwan. If the iMac is anything like the iPad, China has little high tech industry to contribute to it, just cheap human labor. Those three countries make most of the parts and get more money than China out of the purchase price. China gets all the crap because its the last stop before sale and has its name on the product.

    3. Re:Misdirection by SimonTheSoundMan · · Score: 2

      Apple do assemble in Ireland too. My iMac G5 with iSight says "Assembled in Ireland", as do many BTO products.

    4. Re:Misdirection by isdnip · · Score: 2

      The rest of the world has income taxes too, mostly much higher than in the US, especially on higher incomes.

      VAT is additional. Of course most countries have public funding of health care, higher education, and other services that are mostly private in the US.

  4. Assembled in USA... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Funny

    1. Design product in California
    2. Outsource assembly to China
    3. Import product
    4. Assemble the BOX in America, stamp "assembled in the USA" on it
    5. Put the chinese product in the US-MADE BOX !
    6. ...
    7. PROFIT !

  5. What are you typing on? by SuperKendall · · Score: 5, Insightful

    I couldn't care less about where it was assembled. The parts are still made in China

    If you cared about both things then you had better not be typing on a computer less than twenty years old.

    Otherwise why are you harping on Apple for slowly shifting some assembly AND manufacture (remember they make chips in Texas) to the U.S. and giving every other company a free pass?

    It's obvious it's going to take some time to move much of the whole process back to the U.S., if it can be done at all. At least Apple is trying.

    --
    "There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley
    1. Re:What are you typing on? by scot4875 · · Score: 3, Insightful

      The reason that Apple gets singled out is because they go to such lengths to make sure you see the "Designed by Apple in California" every time you open one of their products, to trigger the "rah rah USA company!" emotional response. If they didn't go to such lengths to intentionally manipulate people, and also if they didn't position themselves as a premium brand when, in fact, their shit is made out of the same components and made in the same facilities as everybody else's shit, they might have a justifiable argument against being singled out.

      This is potentially a step in the right direction, at least. Nowhere near enough to take them out of the "do not recommend, do not buy" category though.

      --Jeremy

      --
      Jesus was a liberal
    2. Re:What are you typing on? by Rockoon · · Score: 2, Funny

      If you cared about both things then you had better not be typing on a computer less than twenty years old.

      Gee, I don't know.. every computer I have owned for my entire adult life has been assembled in America, with American labor, and extremely reasonable work hours...

      ....on my kitchen table.

      I *still* don't give a fuck where your computer was assembled.

      --
      "His name was James Damore."
    3. Re:What are you typing on? by the_B0fh · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Because they actually design their stuff in California, unlike every other brand?

      Seriously, that chip on your shoulder? Doesn't it get heavy?

    4. Re:What are you typing on? by maztuhblastah · · Score: 2

      Why bother labeling it at all? Apple's not the only one to design machines in the US. But they are, AFAIK, the only ones to label them accordingly.

      --
      The real litigious bastards...
  6. Nothing new for CTO by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Informative

    This has been the case for Configure-to-order (CTO) Macs for a long time.

    Basically, bulk shipping across the Pacific is cheap; point-to-point shipping across the Pacific is expensive.

    Stock-model PCs can be shipped on the proverbial slow boat en masse to a US distribution center, essentially in a convoy, and then unloaded and shipped UPS/Fedex to your door when you order them. You only have to wait for delivery from the dist center, since appropriately configured models are arriving every day.

    When you CTO a Mac, a unit has to be specifically configured to your spec before it can be shipped to you. If this were done in China, it would have to be air-freighted directly to your address from China, which is horrendously expensive. (Shipping the unit by boat would take forever.)

    I have seen this done even when the "configuration" is to include the full-format wired keyboard instead of the wireless compact keyboard. Apple's fulfillment process basically breaks down to not-custom-at-all (= China) or any-customization-no-mater-how-minor (= US) For US customers, at least. I think they also had a similar operation in Cork Ireland at one time.)

    So instead, when you CTO, the manufacturer bulk-ships enclosures, motherboards, LCD panels, and such to a US fulfillment center, then snaps the right pieces together to complete your order. It is quite literally assembly of the system. (About as much work as building your own PC from components from Newegg, I would say.)

    I would guess that most PC vendors do much the same thing, but since typical PC towers are much more easily configurable than an Apple iMac, they probably have to do even less work stateside.

    1. Re:Nothing new for CTO by rjstanford · · Score: 4, Funny

      Every house, particularly those with children, should have a globe. Mine are next to each other on the book shelf, about ten feet away at the moment.

      Its great that they're reading the globe, but should you really keep your children on the book shelf like that?

      --
      You're special forces then? That's great! I just love your olympics!
  7. RTFA by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Informative

    I'm going to assume that they mean "assembled in the USA" in the same way that Levis means "made in the USA," which is to say they are fabricated in China, then a tiny sticker or a single screw or some such is applied in the US so that they can legally say the product was made in the US.

    RTFA, which quotes the FTC regs on what is allowed to be labeled "USA."

    And no, nobody else does that either. Go look; your clothes say "made in Bangladesh" or wherever. The whole "put in one screw" thing is an urban legend from the '60s or something.

  8. US robots now cheaper than Chinese workers! by presidenteloco · · Score: 5, Funny

    I knew this time would come.

    --

    Where are we going and why are we in a handbasket?
  9. Re:We apply the Apple logo in the US by tlhIngan · · Score: 5, Informative

    I'm going to assume that they mean "assembled in the USA" in the same way that Levis means "made in the USA," which is to say they are fabricated in China, then a tiny sticker or a single screw or some such is applied in the US so that they can legally say the product was made in the US.

    There are very strict rules (the FTC enforces them) about the terms "Made in the USA" and "Assembled in the USA".

    The former means that all or virtually all of a product is made in the US. Obviously, the iMac doesn't quality for this (the FTC proposed defining it as 75% of manufacturing costs were spent in the USA AND the product was "last transformed" in the USA).

    "Assembled in the USA" means that it's made up of foreign parts, but the last substantial transformation (or assembly) of the product is done in the US. Interestingly, "screwdriver" assembly of foreign parts does not count. This could easily mean that the iMac was more than importing the parts into the US and put-together there - perhaps the case assembly was produced from US manufacturing processes (including say, the friction-stir-welding), then the rest of the parts (which are China and foreign made out of supply-chain necessity)

    Do not confuse the two terms "Made in USA" and "Assembed in USA" as they are significantly different in meanting. The FTC enforces the terminology and has found companies liable for violating "Made in USA" rules. Heck, I think some companies dubiously put "Made in USA from domestic and foreign parts"....

  10. out side of the usa health insurance is not part o by Joe_Dragon · · Score: 2

    out side of the usa health insurance is not part of the job so that hurts US jobs.

    But having manufacturing in the usa makes it easier for the design team to work with the manufacturing team when issues come up and it can also make so some who has done the manufacturing can help the design team with ideas based on doing the job from there side.

  11. Welcome to USA, China by wiedzmin · · Score: 2, Funny

    That is a million dollar idea - rename one of the manufacturing towns in China to "USA"... god, the amount of cheap stuff you could sell to patriotic 'Mercins with that sticker.

    --
    Bow before me, for I am root.
  12. Re:Don't hold your breath for Made in USA by shmlco · · Score: 2

    "The reason is components. The components are made in asia and shipping costs, export/import duties combined with labour expenses in US or Eu for that matter rises costs so much that it's not feasible to haul parts and build devices elsewhere."

    Can't believe I'm responding to this but... wrong. Otherwise why Foxconn plants in Mexico and Brazil? Why does Corning make glass here and ship it to China?

    --
    Any sect, cult, or religion will legislate its creed into law if it acquires the political power to do so.
  13. Japan, not China... 1960's by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Informative

    There is a town in Japan named "Usa" and back in the 1960's, transistor radios were made there and had a "MADE IN USA" label on them. They did not rename the town to USA, "Usa" was always been its name.
    The fact that items made there were imported into the USA bearing the label is true. My parents ran a radio & television shop in the mid-late 1960's and I saw these little Japanese transistor radios with the "MADE IN USA" labels first-hand, and even owned one myself as a child.

    1. Re:Japan, not China... 1960's by rhook · · Score: 4, Informative

      The fact that items made there were imported into the USA bearing the label is true.

      FALSE.

      http://www.snopes.com/business/genius/usa.asp

    2. Re:Japan, not China... 1960's by Dare+nMc · · Score: 3, Informative

      You should probably read the Snopes reference link from your wikipedia article, which makes it very clear that USA, Japan never exported anything as "Made in USA." That transistor radio may have been imported through Saipan thus getting the made in USA label, but it didn't get that label from USA, Japan. That was never done.

    3. Re:Japan, not China... 1960's by The+Pirou · · Score: 2

      Jack Donaghy: Your magic jeans are from BDL? Oh Lemon, it's not hand-made in USA, it's pronounced Hand-made in Usa. The Hand people are a Vietnamese slave tribe and Usa is their island prison. They made your jeans. You know how they get the stitching so small?
      [puts hands to mouth and whispers]
      Jack Donaghy: orphans.

  14. First? by senatorpjt · · Score: 2

    "Besides built-to-order machines, the 21.5-inch iMacs are some of the first known examples of an Apple computer being assembled in the U.S., according to Fortune."

    I would think that in the past, they were all assembled in the US, at least the Apple II was made in the US. I'm not sure when they started making everything in China, but all of the manufacturing moved there pretty recently. The Apple II was made at the time that stuff was still manufactured here.

  15. CMs for protoproduction. by AndyKron · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Sometimes companies start a new product in the states at a contract manufacturer so they can stay close, and work out the production lines. After that the information goes overseas. I used to work for a CM where we'd get this type of job all the time.

  16. Re:Good! by Rockoon · · Score: 2

    ..by volume? Sounds like you want to punish miniaturization.

    The only reasonable way to measure it is dollars, and the U.S. is manufacturing more than ever. We just dont use nearly as much manual labor now.

    --
    "His name was James Damore."
  17. Re:I suspect.... by the_B0fh · · Score: 3, Interesting

    My god. You really think that? What is wrong with you people?! A company does something that is in the right direction, and it's because they feel guilty?

    And if they don't, it's because they are assholes.

    Talk about a catch-22.

    What about your other electronic equipment? Where are they designed and manufactured and assembled? Why do they get a fucking free pass?

  18. Re:We apply the Apple logo in the US by mister_playboy · · Score: 3, Informative

    Just FYI, AC's user ID is 666.

    --
    Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the Law ::: Love is the law, love under will
  19. Maybe Apple has set up manufacturing in Saipan? by Swave+An+deBwoner · · Score: 2

    Apparently, stuff imported from The Northern Mariana Islands qualifies for a "Made in USA" label even though there are reports that the stuff actually comes from China. There's even a catchy name for this game: The Saipan Scam

  20. Lead article the The Atlantic this month by davecb · · Score: 4, Informative
    You know, the magazine where Vannevar Bush published As We May Think, the seminal article about the web? In 1945?

    This month the lead is Comeback: Why the future of industry is in America

    We saw this some years ago when NASDAQ started insourcing, after realizing they'd overshot when doing outsourcing. Now it's visible in companies like Emerson and Apple.

    --dave

    --
    davecb@spamcop.net
  21. Re:RTW is defective: no employer unions are affect by magarity · · Score: 2

    WTF... Did you just call unions "worker-friendly"? Unions are only friendly to unionized workers. They exist to keep non members from working. Union strikes are effective only because people who would be happy to work are kept out by laws preventing them from being hired. Laws requiring union membership are the equivalent of Jim Crow laws.

  22. Re:We apply the Apple logo in the US by sixsixtysix · · Score: 2

    i didn't write that...oh you said uid

    --
    ...