Labor costs don’t doom manufacturing in U.S.

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It’s a false choice that American manufacturing HAS to be more expensive [Carrier closing shows vagaries of modern manufacturing, Feb. 22].

Yes, labor costs are higher. Yes, few customers might be willing to pay more for an American-made product. But it doesn’t have to be that way.

If you can become more efficient in other ways, you can make up for the higher labor cost, especially if you have products that are expensive to ship from other countries. Look at how GE moved appliance manufacturing back to Kentucky. They don’t get to charge a premium at the store because it’s American made, but they (and others) have figured out how to make that work. It’s a shame that Carrier hasn’t figured this out.

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Mark Graban
Colleyville, Texas

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