This is a difficult column for me to write. Readers of this column, which I have been writing for more than 15 years, know of my unwavering support for American manufacturing. I have written several times about the need for a strong manufacturing core competency in the United States to maintain and expand the middle class. However, it has come to my attention that numerous domestic stampers are being told to outsource their tooling offshore. Not asked, but told. What to do? After all, a healthy U.S. tool-and-die industry cannot exist without an equally healthy domestic stamping industry. What do you do when your customer demands costdowns of 10+ percent on the stamped parts and insists that the dies be priced at Asian tooling prices? Just how does an American tool-and-die shop make dies at Asian prices and pay its employees American wages. How do you compete with Asian tool-and-die shops whose shop rates go down to 15 dollars per hour?
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