San Diego Housing Bubble News and Analysis

Processed foods. That's just sad.

Some leading products are still made in the US, for example Taylor Guitars are world renowned and manufactured right here in El Cajon ;-) Martin Guitars are another company, they are manufactured in Bethlehem, PA.

Not to mention Gibson and Fender.

Steinway and Sons, some of the world's finest Pianos are made in New York.

How about golf balls and clubs? Is titlist made in us?

Don't forget PRS. Here's a cheaper Private Stock model.

Harley Davidson motorcycles are (for now).

I beleive East County is the world's leading producer of Crystal meth.

LOL.

Sorry folks but I was laughing uncontrollably when I typed it.

and if assemblyman Ammiano has his way, our skilled high-tech farmers will get a chance to bury first California, then the world in cheap genetically engineered pot.

Porn seems to be doing well in the U.S. of A.

Some great beer is made here. Unfortunately, beer is no longer recession proof.

I think McDonald's makes their burgers here as well. Honda and Toyota makes some cars here, too. It aint all bad.

Raytheon, Northrop Grunnman and Lockheed are doing very well and have a very positive outlook for the future.

SMITH & WESSON. Their headquarters are in MA, I think. I'm surprised no one mentioned it yet. All the talk about getting guns.

The world's best porn is made right here in the USA.

That was my first thought. We must be the number one producer of smut.

I think porn capital is tossup between Bangkok and Budapest.

I think it's kind of silly to look at what's still here without considering what's not. ANybody tried to buy a non-commercial, American made toaster in the last ten years? How about an American made television? Maybe an American made pair of jeans?

I'd gladly pay fifty bucks for an American made toaster.

I'll see you mine. It dates back to 1963. Still works like a champ.

Except when SHF, whats more important? Processed food or flat-panel televisions?

Don't sell America short! You might end up like Peter Schiff and his clients.

I've said for years that there is a great opportunity for an online retailer that exclusively sells high-quality, durable household goods that are made in America. For a premium that I'm personally willing to pay.

Anyone know of something like that? I'm in the market or a toaster that will last a lifetime myself!

And for the record, Martin U.S. manufactured guitars simply *rule*.

I'll see you mine. It dates back to 1963. Still works like a champ.

Dear lard, FLU you are ancient!

A toaster from 1960'ies does exactly the same thing as the ones made today. And things built back then tended to last a lot longer. The toaster is actually much older than me. It was a gift past down to me. Along with all my made in usa toys.

Speaking of toasters.

http://store.theonion.com/gotcha-box-usb...

I'm suprised nobody mentioned the best and most successful products in the last decade. They were all made here in the USA :). In fact they were so popular, just about everyone in the world owns some :

*** MBS
*** CDO

On a more serious note.....here is what I found:

TRADE SPOTLIGHT: RELEASE OF ANNUAL 2008 FIGURES

The largest export markets for U.S. goods in 2008 (with percent increase over 2007) were Canada ($261.4 billion, up 5.0%), Mexico ($151.5 billion, up 11.4%), China ($71.5 billion, up 9.5%), Japan ($66.6 billion, up 6.2%), and Germany ($54.7 billion, up 10.2%).

Capital goods represent the largest goods export category (end-use) for the U.S. with $469.5 billion worth of exports in 2008. The U.S. trade surplus in capital goods rose $12.8 billion to reach $15.7 billion in 2008, up from a surplus of $2.9 billion in 2007.

The top growth categories for capital goods products in 2008 were : medicinal equipment (up $3.3 billion), materials handling equipment (up $2.7 billion), industrial engines (up $2.7 billion), telecommunications equipment (up $2.6 billion), and civilian aircraft engines (up $2.5 billion).

Industrial supplies the largest growth category in dollar value represented $387.3 billion of U.S. exports in 2008, up $70.9 billion (or 22.4 percent) from 2007.

The top growth categories for industrial supplies in 2008 were: fuel oil (up $19.3 billion), other petroleum products (up $8.5 billion), nonmonetary gold (up $5.4 billion), chemicals-fertilizers (up $4.5 billion), and steelmaking materials (up $4.3 billion).

Foods, feeds, and beverages represented $108.4 billion of U.S. exports in 2008, and was the second largest export growth category (end-use) for the U.S., with exports rising $24.2 billion (or 28.7 percent) over 2007. The U.S. trade surplus in foods, feeds, and beverages rose $16.8 billion to reach $19.4 billion in 2008, up from a surplus of $2.6 billion in 2007.

The top growth categories for foods, feeds, and beverages in 2008 were soybeans (up $5.6 billion), meat and poultry (up $3.7 billion), corn (up $3.4 billion), and wheat (up $3.0 billion).

U.S. services exports totaled $551.6 billion in 2008, up $54.4 billion (or 10.9 percent) from 2007. This rise in exports helped the U.S. to have a record trade surplus in services at $144.1 billion, up $24.9 billion (or 20.9 percent) from 2007.

The top services export categories were other private services, which includes items such as business, professional and technical services, insurance services, and financial services ($241.0 billion), travel ($111.5 billion), royalties and license fees ($91.1 billion), other transportation ($60.2 billion), passenger fares ($31.4 billion), and government services ($16.3 billion).

http://trade.gov/press/press_releases/20...

How about American Made E-liquid. Hopefully this will bring some industry back to the US, bearing the FDA doesn't ban it.

Johnny Blaze

Spam alert.

North Park Hardware on University near 30th makes an effort to stock USA-made products. A year or so ago I got a hammer there that weighs 3 or 4 oz more than all the other Chinese-y hammers but is so well-balanced that it feels *lighter* than them.

I also in 2007 or so bought a very nice handcart ("dolly") from Home Despot that was made in Milwaukee. Sure it was more expensive than the Chinese ones next to it but the bombproof construction shone out even from the store rack. Much sturdier.

For the smaller consumer-type goods, clothing, towels, dishes etc good luck. Most of this seems to have been offshored.

Do you think an American product like this needs someone to tell the story? Meaning, for me at least I don't swing a hammer every day. So I'd probably get whatever crap is down at the wal-mart or target and not think twice. However if someone put the American Hammer in my hands and explained the balance and quality I'd probably go ahead and buy it. However there isn't always someone to tell the story.

I bought a Hotpoint microwave (yes made in China) about 6 months ago and guess what, it didn't even make it to it's 6 month birthday. Piece of crap! I think if more people were aware of how crappy these imports are they would not be buying them. Sure I could fix it, but as soon as I find that receipt it will be on it's way back to China. I'm not saying everything in China is crap, just the stuff they send us, oh and their domestic batteries too. They don't really believe in returning things over there so all the chinese test everything in the stores before they buy them, maybe we should start doing this too.

I also in 2007 or so bought a very nice handcart ("dolly") from Home Despot that was made in Milwaukee. Sure it was more expensive than the Chinese ones next to it but the bombproof construction shone out even from the store rack. Much sturdier.

For the smaller consumer-type goods, clothing, towels, dishes etc good luck. Most of this seems to have been offshored.

I am finding that it is best to 'inspect' the goods these days. I have seen crap from US manufactures as well as good quality. Likewise, I have seen crap from Chinese as well as surprising good quality. I think it is tied to who is running the company and if they are an MBA type... going for the cheapest costs.