Issue of the week: Is Apple coming home?
Apple's CEO said the company would spend $100 million next year to produce a Mac model in the U.S.
Tim Cook’s announcement that Apple would start manufacturing Macs in the U.S. was like all Apple announcements, said Mike Cassidy in the San Jose Mercury News: “highly choreographed, big on buzz, light on details, and devoid of any follow-up answers.” In interviews with Bloomberg Businessweek and NBC, the CEO said Apple would spend $100 million next year to produce a Mac model in the U.S. “He didn’t say which model,” or “how many people would be employed, or even why Apple was making the move.” And forget about a Mac being manufactured here from start to finish, as the U.S. no longer makes all the components that go into one. Still, “there is no reason not to cheer the news.” It could be a small first step on the journey “from Shenzhen to the U.S.”
“Small is the operative word here,” said Tom Gara in The Wall Street Journal. Apple’s new investment in the U.S. is a sliver of the $9.5 billion it spent on manufacturing in 2012. It’s hardly enough to even dent Asia’s status as the center of the tech world’s supply chain. Still, “Apple is well known for skating to where the puck is going, not where it is.” The company sees that manufacturing costs are rising in China and falling in the U.S., and it may be betting that the gap could close further. There’s more in this equation than manufacturing costs, said Quentin Hardy in The New York Times. Today the cost of labor that goes into a laptop “is only slightly higher than the cost of shipping by air,” and transportation prices are still climbing. Sure, it would have been a bigger deal if Apple had said it was shifting production of its hotter iPads and iPhones here. But business clients in particular want their products delivered quickly. That’s why it could make real economic sense for Apple to assemble “larger, lower-value goods” like Macs closer to where it sells them: right here in the U.S.
I’m not convinced, said Jordan Weissmann in TheAtlantic.com.“It’s too early to tell whether this is a meaningful experiment, or a PR move by a corporation that’s been skewered for its labor practices.” Apple has taken a lot of heat for the “dire factory conditions” that Foxconn, its main manufacturing partner, maintains in China. There’s no doubt that we’re seeing some major shifts in “the geography of global manufacturing,” and that the U.S. will profit from those developments. But we’ll only know in another few years whether Apple’s new investment is a real milestone or just “an attempt at currying a bit of public goodwill.”
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
-
What should you consider when choosing a financial adviser?
The Explainer The right person can be a big help with financial planning, investing, taxes and more
By Becca Stanek, The Week US Published
-
Is a wider regional war finally at hand in the Middle East?
Talking Points Iran and Israel ramp up the rhetoric
By Joel Mathis, The Week US Published
-
Mexico's first woman president sworn in
Speed Read Claudia Sheinbaum promised to expand health care and battle violence against women, though she takes office amid a budget deficit and growing cartel violence
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Issue of the week: Yahoo’s ban on working from home
feature There’s a “painful irony” in Yahoo’s decision to make all its employees come to the office to work.
By The Week Staff Last updated
-
Issue of the week: Another big airline merger
feature The merger of American Airlines and US Airways will be the fourth between major U.S. airlines in five years.
By The Week Staff Last updated
-
Issue of the week: Feds’ fraud suit against S&P
feature The Justice Department charged S&P with defrauding investors by issuing mortgage security ratings it knew to be misleading.
By The Week Staff Last updated
-
Issue of the week: Why investors are worried about Apple
feature Some investors worry that the company lacks the “passion and innovation that made it so extraordinary for so long.”
By The Week Staff Last updated
-
Issue of the week: Does Google play fair?
feature The Federal Trade Commission cleared Google of accusations that it skews search results to its favor.
By The Week Staff Last updated
-
Issue of the week: The Fed targets unemployment
feature By making public its desire to lower unemployment, the Fed hopes to inspire investors “to behave in ways that help bring that about.”
By The Week Staff Last updated
-
Issue of the week: Gunning for a hedge fund mogul
feature The feds are finally closing in on legendary hedge fund boss Steven Cohen.
By The Week Staff Last updated
-
Issue of the week: What’s next for Citigroup?
feature CEO Vikram Pandit’s abrupt resignation just as the bank is finally showing signs of recovery shocked Wall Street.
By The Week Staff Last updated