[Mick]

Making semiconductor parts is a gnarly business. I remember being give a tour of the National fab in Mountain View. My friend who was showing me around said " See that purple pipe up there? If it breaks, you won't have time to run. And, for that matter, neither would much of Mountain View". While there probably was some hyperbole involved, there are lots of hazardous materials involved. Even PCB fabrication involves materials that must be carefully disposed of. (Although there still is at least 1 PCB manufacturer in the Santa Clara. Their prices are 5X what a Colorado company costs and 20X what a "premium" Chinese manufacturer will charge) Making resistors and capacitors also has such challenges, and even lower margins. You aren't building those plants in the Bay Area, and probably not in California. There are many paint processes that are not legal in California that are legal in other parts of the country. In China, nobody is asking. Environmentally friendly it may not be, but it is a big reason why the plants are there.

Manufacturing is a dirty business.  America doesn't seem to collectively want to be in many manufacturing businesses.  My family had a cannery and moved it to the northern end of the Yuba Valley (still there, although they've transitioned from canning to juicing).  Too tough to manufacture in SC County any more.  

The percentage of American manufacturing jobs as a percentage of the workforce have declined from 27% to 10% since 1970.

[Mick]

Making semiconductor parts is a gnarly business. I remember being give a tour of the National fab in Mountain View. My friend who was showing me around said " See that purple pipe up there? If it breaks, you won't have time to run. And, for that matter, neither would much of Mountain View". While there probably was some hyperbole involved, there are lots of hazardous materials involved. Even PCB fabrication involves materials that must be carefully disposed of. (Although there still is at least 1 PCB manufacturer in the Santa Clara. Their prices are 5X what a Colorado company costs and 20X what a "premium" Chinese manufacturer will charge) Making resistors and capacitors also has such challenges, and even lower margins. You aren't building those plants in the Bay Area, and probably not in California. There are many paint processes that are not legal in California that are legal in other parts of the country. In China, nobody is asking. Environmentally friendly it may not be, but it is a big reason why the plants are there.

Manufacturing is a dirty business.  America doesn't seem to collectively want to be in many manufacturing businesses.  My family had a cannery and moved it to the northern end of the Yuba Valley (still there, although they've transitioned from canning to juicing).  Too tough to manufacture in SC County any more.  

The percentage of American manufacturing jobs as a percentage of the workforce have declined from 27% to 10% since 1970.