Interesting Article About MBS Chassis Production

[ilmor]

FYI

Mercedes-Benz Went to Absurd Lengths to Avoid the 'Chicken Tax'

[lbrjet]

I had never heard of the chicken tax until just a few days ago. This tax is a 25% tariff on German made trucks.


2010 F250 5.4L 3.73
2011 Flagstaff 831FKBSS
Equal-i-zer 4pt 12K

[Still Kickin]

Yep, so build em here. Looks like a good thing for SC.

[F.R.O.G.]

If you go to the Port of Charleston, SC, you'll also see row after row of BMWs built in South Carolina and awaiting shipment to Europe. (Those coming to the Holiday Festival of Lights Rally will see them next week.) Some of the locals claim that BMW no longer means Bavarian Motor Works, but rather Bubba Makes Wheels.

[FFred]

If you knew the work + vacation rules in Germany , you would understand US Union labor is Cheap Labor.

[bubbles]

Yeah, maybe to Germans.

[FFred]

There are also huge tax advantages to shipping kits /parts to assemble.

The mfg gets to price the parts very close to the sales price to a dealer.

So the "profit" (on the selling) the unit is imported parts price, the cost of US labor and a few bucks,

This leaves the real profit in the country where its made, and almost nothing for the US tax man.

[Total Loss]

Toyota used to do this with their trucks.
They shipped them here minus bed assemblies.
The beds were installed here.
I believe they were painted here also since the beds never matched the cabs correctly.
Late 70's early 80's.

[chroniekon]

Why do they completely build them there, only to tear them apart and send them here? Why not just send the parts straight here and skip the assembly step on their end?