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PC Case Maker CaseLabs Closes Permanently (pcgamer.com)
U.S.-based PC case manufacturer, CaseLabs, announced on social media that it is "closing permanently" and will not be able to fill all current orders. "We have been forced into bankruptcy and liquidation," CaseLabs said in a statement. "The tariffs have played a major role raising prices by almost 80 percent (partly due to associated shortages), which cut deeply into our margins. The default of a large account added greatly to the problem... We reached out for a possible deal that would allow us to continue on and persevere through these difficult times, but in the end, it didn't happen." PC Gamer reports: CaseLabs is likely referring to the growing number of tariffs being enforced on Chinese imports by the United States government. China and the US are currently engaged in a trade war, causing many U.S. companies to lose money, lay off employees, or close entirely. CaseLabs went on to say that it won't be able to fill the backlog of case orders, but other parts will most likely ship to customers. "We are so incredibly sorry this is happening. Our user community has been very devoted to us and it's awful to think that we have let any of you down."
... that Trump has made for America!
Look at all these "made in USA" companies going bankrupt the minute taxes are imposed on imports from China!
Or, if China has such massive control over manufacturing that tarrifs on sheet metal kill companies, maybe it makes sense to boost the supply on our side?
Yeah, amazing how many people don't get this.
Local steel is $100, import is $80.
Add tariffs...
Local steel is $100, import is $120.
You now buy the 'cheaper' local steel, meaning your production costs go up, leading to fewer sales; thus you close down and so do the steel makers. Good job, idiots.
We figured this crap out in the 70's, just shows there are plenty of slow learners out there.
It's likely suppliers are ripping everyone off. They'll bump up prices to just south of what the tariffs are pricing foreign imports at, simply because the government has picked them as the winners. You don't actually think that suppliers are nice guys who actually want to help out their fellow American businesses, do you?
The world's burning. Moped Jesus spotted on I50. Details at 11.
They made overpriced cases (seriously, $600 for a case?) and ran their business badly. They failed.
You left out the last step: Then they blamed it on Trump.
The 70s... you mean the decade when American heavy industry was gutted and the working class standard of living began its steep decline?
U.S.-based PC case manufacturer
The tariffs have played a major role raising prices by almost 80 percent (partly due to associated shortages)
Can someone explain? The tariffs are designed to help American manufacturing, they make American products cheaper than foreign products.
That seems to be the case if you don't think about it. As several comments pointed out tariffs are not making American products cheaper, they are making imports more expensive. By implementing tariffs you are chocking the supply, which allows the local suppliers to raise their prices. So instead of lowering the cost of American products, you are actually increasing it. This is econ 101 stuff.
You can argue that this would incentivize US steel producers to open new plants and boost output. This is not happening (only one manufacturer activated a single furnace they already had) for several reason. Building a steel plant is a major investment that can only be justified if there is a long term strong demand. The plant also cannot stand on its own - you need supply of ore, coke (the fuel not the drink), qualified workforce, transport infrastructure, etc. As things stand now, none of these is in place and the potential clients are going out of business. So no, nobody is going to build a new steel plant anytime soon. Even if production ramps up, volume is not the only problem. There are a number of varieties of steel that are used in US. The user base for some of them does not justify production for the local market. These varieties become viable only of you have access to the world market, which you don't thanks to the tariffs
The tariffs ignore the basic fact that in the 21st century the world economy is highly integrated. US may not produce much steel, but has a large number of thriving businesses that consume steel and other metals to make more lucrative products. Think cars and airplanes. If you are one of those manufacturers, your product now costs more to build and thanks to the retaliatory tariffs cost even more to export. To sell products that use steel outside of US you now need to move production abroad (that's what Harley Davidson is doing). Your alternative is to sell only to US customers. Either way you will employ fewer people in US. If you notice I am not even touching the effect retaliatory tariffs have on unrelated businesses such as farming. Taken together, in a futile attempt to protect a minor set of companies, the tariffs are destroying a large chunk of the economy.
You're forgetting one thing in your example - if foreign steel goes up to $120, that means there is now a massive run for domestic steel. That means domestic steel prices skyrocket due to demand - this is basic supply/demand curve stuff from economics class. So, the price will rise to that of the foreign steel, or even higher. So, if you make finished steel goods, no matter what, you pay a much higher price, and domestic companies get screwed.
Approximately 3 people in this company. So not 100 - but 3. But hey, it's great grist to blame the tariff as causing a $178,000 annual revenue company failing (please ignore the fact that the "default of a large account added greatly to the problem").
Browsing at +1 - no ACs, I ignore their posts. So refreshing!
No one cares if "assembled in America" jobs are lost.
Except the people who have those jobs.
Fuck 'em.
This is indeed the core of #MAGA.
SJW n. One who posts facts.
American companies that sell overpriced shit deserve to die. Trump's idea of Make American Great Again has nothing to do with what you're saying.
Since you love globalization so much, get ready for the Chinese-made home appliances that have American brand names. Those things are not made in the U.S.A., have high prices, and have typical Chinese quality: shit. GE's appliances, before they got out of the market, were shit probably due to Neutron Jack's idiotic legacy at the company. One look at GE tells you all you need to know about how sustainable the way things were (offshoring everything to China and India, neverending layoffs, massive financial engineering to guarantee massive bonuses for executives who hollowed out the company.) GE is a joke and shareholders (which include many non-GE workers' pensions) and GE employees (not GE executives) have paid the price for it.
The proper way of doing things for American companies is to charge a higher price to reflect the higher costs of living in the U.S. and a living wage to the workers while delivering a good or better product. The Leatherman tools that are made in the U.S.A. are a good example of this (their Chinese-made line is shit) and Sears' Craftsman brand of tools used to be a good example of this, too.
Yep. Not very friendly at all. Imagine how much bigger it could be if the State was business-friendly? Many companies stay in spite of the business climate, because other intangibles are beneficial (like climate, for example).
Browsing at +1 - no ACs, I ignore their posts. So refreshing!