[gblaue]

Being a design engineer for a Tier 1 supplier for almost all automotive companies, it's almost impossible to source/produce parts here in the US. Our economic structure just doesn't support it. Car manufacturers want suppliers to operate on 2-3% profit margins. I have had accounting people at car companies yell at me over a 1/2 cent label that they didn't want to pay for. We invest millions in the design, testing, validation, and production of parts that we may produce 1/2 million of over a 5 year vehicle life. The ROI isn't that good if you're a publicly held company. Fortunately, my company is privately held. Some of that money has to be put aside for warranty. We test the hell out of our products, and have a typical failure rate <2ppm. But, you really can't do the manufacturing in the US. Moving out of China is a must for our security, so everyone is running to Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam, and other Asian countries. You can get the quality that is necessary. You have to specify it, pay for it, and monitor it. When they slip, make them pay for it. We have had manufacturing plants here in the states in the past. Unfortunately, it wasn't that easy. I've participated in both games. Neither case, do you get what you pay for.