Just a thought

[aeronca65t]

I'm pretty sure there isn't a Federal inventory tax. There are some states who do levy a tax on existing inventories though.

That tax is how the term "just-in-time-machining" came to be.

There is no federal tax on inventory.

"Just-In-Time-Manufacturing" came about to reduce costs by reducing time of ownership (of commodities) plus reducing storage costs. It works well if there is an excellent high-speed infastructure and vendors are close by (such as in Japan). It also require a very trusted relationship between supplier/vendors and manufacturers. It has had limited success in some industries in North America.
Most states do not have an inventory tax (I think about a dozen do). But in some cases, "excess" inventory can be depreciated......so it can be tricky to know the exact costs of this tax.

I'd love to see more American-made stuff. I am quite willing to pay extra for home grown products and I'd guess many of us here would.
With low real estate costs (or rental costs) plus plenty of available workers, there are great opportunites right now. It could be a great time to start a business. But I don't think Brit-car parts would be my chosen product. The market is too small and is populated by cheap-skates (like me).
Maybe home energy saving stuff (high-tech windows, door seals, insulation, etc.), environmental stuff (scrubbers, water process equipment, etc) or products used for infastructure.
We have a little company down the street that makes bridge pads (the big rubber pads that many bridges rest on). They're very busy right now. I have a friend who owns a company that makes portable x-ray equipment.....sells mosty to airports for baggage scanning. Very busy too. And both these companies do well despite being in probably the highest-tax county in the US (Morris County, NJ). Like I said, there are opportunites out there.

We have a 3D printer at work. It only prints in brittle plaster-type material, but this can be used for investment casting on low volume jobs (or just a physical representation of an object).
We are attempting to get funds for a newer 3D printer that will print in rigid polymers (plastic). We just bought a 3D laser scanner (the Leno item mentioned above)and I hope to be able to have it up and running soon. The scanner can "read" a physical item and send the geometry to the 3D printer. We've already scanned and printed a toy car (but it a tricky item to learn to use).

CNC machines have traditionally been used for low-volume, high-value-added items (like the medical stuff that Skip mentioned). But newer CNC machines are very fast, super flexible and prices have come way down. It's possible to have "flexible manufacturing" of different items from the same machine (keeping it busy constantly....reducing down time).

Some of the newer manufacturing equipment requires such little human intervention that the cost of labour becomes a less-significant factor. American workers have worried about being "replaced by a machine" for years. Like us, China is adopting more efficient manufacturing equipment, reducing needs for human labour. Since China's strength is based partly on low-cost, human labour, it'll be interesting to see how this plays out in 20 or 30 years. Especially as tran-Pacific shipping cost rise.

 

[Gliderman8]

My 2 cents.
I do agree with all of you that say startup costs and low volume are the real killer here to sourcing parts, and especially for our hobby of Brit. cars. Does the roller skate key paradigm fit here? Yes, you might infact sell some, but the market is just not there for any sort of volume.
If there is a glut of available manufacturing time, and the people willing to work in the US, then why aren't the suppliers that we all buy from start sourcing parts "made in the USA"?
My feeling is it gets down to ROI and profits (there, I used the "P" word). You have to believe that if the Brit car suppliers could have items made here and were able to sell it and make their markups they would be doing it. Unfortunately, the pendulum is still facing east.

 

[tomshobby]

On schedule C (form 1040), Part III Cost of goods sold, Line 41 is where a company reports its inventory. Line 41 is subtracted from cost of goods sold. An increased inventory decreases the amount of the cost of goods deduction. Line 42, the cost of goods sold is then transferred to page 1, line 4 where it is subtracted from the gross receipts or sales. Higher year end inventory = higher taxes.

 

[coldplugs]

I spent most of the seventies working on inventory control systems for manufacturers and learned more than I ever wanted to know about costing inventory based on LIFO, FIFO, and other rules. Sometimes you want a big number, sometimes a small one depending on who you're trying to please - the taxman, the investors, or the customer. I don't see that tax issues have much to do with Steve's suggestion, anyway. Plus - it's too much like <span style="font-style: italic">work</span> to discuss 'em.

I agree that tooling costs and the like would make small scale production of many LBC parts hard to justify. So would marketing, licensing, and other costs. But, I wouldn't be too quick to write off the possibility.

Look at what enthusiasts of old American cars have done. Owners of Model T and Model A Fords, "Tri-five" Chevys, and others can practically build new cars from their parts catalogs. I can get Model A parts faster than parts for my Toyota. True, some are made elsewhere but many - my guess is over 75% are made here in the US. In some cases, a vendor sells both side by side and honestly describes the quality differences. (Different prices, of course). Individual vendors actively seek US made parts but take foreign-made when quality is better or when US made simply isn't available. It's easier to justify making parts for cars made by the hundreds of thousands, of course, but how many Model A window regulators get sold in a month, do you suppose?

Also, many of the single marque clubs in England manage to get those unobtainable parts made by small local shops. The strategy is usually to discuss the work with the shop first to determine a reasonable quantity for price/profit/etc and then go to the membership to get orders (& prepayment in some cases). One Berkeley owner recently wanted a luggage rack. He found an original and arranged to have a small number of copies fabricated. All were spoken for before the shop started the job.

I don't think making repro parts will save the US manufacturing industry, but if we need the parts, there's no reason they can't be made here.

Back to work.....

 

[anthony7777]

doc, that is the problem, ive recently been investigating the manufacturing of a certain gear set to find the cost of prototypes alone outway any potential positive return for what would most likely be a limited specific market, its very frustrating.

 

[Steve]

I spent most of the seventies working on inventory control systems for manufacturers and learned more than I ever wanted to know about costing inventory based on LIFO, FIFO, and other rules. Sometimes you want a big number, sometimes a small one depending on who you're trying to please - the taxman, the investors, or the customer. I don't see that tax issues have much to do with Steve's suggestion, anyway. Plus - it's too much like <span style="font-style: italic">work</span> to discuss 'em.

I agree that tooling costs and the like would make small scale production of many LBC parts hard to justify. So would marketing, licensing, and other costs. But, I wouldn't be too quick to write off the possibility.

Look at what enthusiasts of old American cars have done. Owners of Model T and Model A Fords, "Tri-five" Chevys, and others can practically build new cars from their parts catalogs. I can get Model A parts faster than parts for my Toyota. True, some are made elsewhere but many - my guess is over 75% are made here in the US. In some cases, a vendor sells both side by side and honestly describes the quality differences. (Different prices, of course). Individual vendors actively seek US made parts but take foreign-made when quality is better or when US made simply isn't available. It's easier to justify making parts for cars made by the hundreds of thousands, of course, but how many Model A window regulators get sold in a month, do you suppose?

Also, many of the single marque clubs in England manage to get those unobtainable parts made by small local shops. The strategy is usually to discuss the work with the shop first to determine a reasonable quantity for price/profit/etc and then go to the membership to get orders (& prepayment in some cases). One Berkeley owner recently wanted a luggage rack. He found an original and arranged to have a small number of copies fabricated. All were spoken for before the shop started the job.

I don't think making repro parts will save the US manufacturing industry, but if we need the parts, there's no reason they can't be made here.

Back to work.....

John has some very wise words....as usual! I think that the concensus is that it's not impossible to do.

 

[tomshobby]

doc, that is the problem, ive recently been investigating the manufacturing of a certain gear set to find the cost of prototypes alone outway any potential positive return for what would most likely be a limited specific market, its very frustrating.

Totally understand, Last year I spent much time designing a nice upgrade for a TR6. Had the same experience. I even offered to produce the needed machine programs.

 

[3798j]

On schedule C (form 1040), Part III Cost of goods sold, Line 41 is where a company reports its inventory. Line 41 is subtracted from cost of goods sold. An increased inventory decreases the amount of the cost of goods deduction. Line 42, the cost of goods sold is then transferred to page 1, line 4 where it is subtracted from the gross receipts or sales. Higher year end inventory = higher taxes.

Sales minus Cost of Goods Sold equal Gross Profit.
Opening inventory plus purchases minus ending inventory equal Cost of Goods Sold.

Assume sales are 185,000.

If the opening inventory is 35,000 and purchases are 70,000 and ending inventory is 20,000 (35,000+70,000-20,000=85,000) then 85,000 is the Cost of Goods Sold.
185,000-85,000=100,000. $100,000 is the gross profit.

If the opening inventory is 35,000 and purchases are 70,000 and ending inventory is 40,000 (35,000+70,000-40,000=65,000)
then 65,000 is the Cost of Goods Sold
185,000-65,000=120,000 $120,000 is the gross profit.

Schedule C is basically a profit/loss statement to the IRS from a sole proprietor. More profit = Higher Tax

 

[MikeP]

Another thing in the modern world is the cost of potential liability for a part failure.

The differences I see in the Ford model T and A examples are, the relative lack of changes over their lifetime widens the pool for individual items, and the sheer number cars made and survivors. And I have to wonder how much of the capacity dates back to the 60's and earlier when it seemed like every other car at shows was a model T or A.

I'd love to see high quality parts. But if it meant getting just one version of a door handle, or steering wheel or etc, how many of us would accept that as well.

 

[pjsmetana]

Heres the problem I see with this... most of us want OEM. OEM is where the cost of the Die's and Stamps and so on cost. To make the original part is extremely costly. People like me though, don't care about OEM. In fact, I don't even WANT OEM because if it says Lucas on it then it needs to be replaced. If we could have US or UK made parts, that work and looks better than the OEM, but are by no means OEM, then thats where you would not need all the patents, stamps, dies, and so on. You could make cheap and reliable pieces that are much better quality than Lucas ever dreamed of. Example; Wiring Harness... make one that has larger wiring and comes with a modern fuse block and so on. Its not OEM, its better. We all know that Porterfield makes the best brake pads out there for our LBCs, and they aren't OEM by any means. The same goes for LED lights... they react faster, they are brighter, take less energy, last nearly forever, and are by no means OEM.

How many of us have ordered a Speedo Cable or Wheel Bearings, just to have it not work very well or at all? Or in most cases, require modifying? Too many, thats for sure.

I want brand new, not brand new 1960s. Just my thoughts.