The economics of American manufacturing, part 2

In an interesting contrast to yesterday’s piece about why Standard Motor Products keeps much of its manufacturing in America, the New York Times has a lengthy article on why Apple products are not made in the USA:

One former executive described how the company relied upon a Chinese factory to revamp iPhone manufacturing just weeks before the device was due on shelves. Apple had redesigned the iPhone’s screen at the last minute, forcing an assembly line overhaul. New screens began arriving at the plant near midnight.

A foreman immediately roused 8,000 workers inside the company’s dormitories, according to the executive. Each employee was given a biscuit and a cup of tea, guided to a workstation and within half an hour started a 12-hour shift fitting glass screens into beveled frames. Within 96 hours, the plant was producing over 10,000 iPhones a day.

Both Apple’s products and some of Standard’s products require skilled labour and fancy machines to produce. But to me it seems the difference is that Standard’s products are motor parts that have a relatively predictable demand and are not R&D intensive, so a high degree of manufacturing flexibility is not required. In contrast, the need to scale up production rapidly to meet demand for Apple products, and accommodate last-minute design changes, means Apple needs flexibility most of all.