Are they doing that this year with the Christmas car? I was very disappointed when I finally picked up a 2012 Christmas Boxcar in April to find out that this run had been done in China.
Some of the 2012 cars were made in the US; the prices went through the roof on eBay for them when the contractor for Lionel went bankrupt and couldn’t finish the run.
I don’t think this year’s car is going to be made here [:(]
J White
In the September issue of “Classic Toy Trains” there’s an article where Mike Wolf of MTH addresses the issue of new American made toy trains. According to ol’ Mike considering the production costs of US versus “Made in China” American made just ain’t gonna happen. Too bad. An era has truly passed.
DJ - I don’t see production coming back within CONUS until model railroaders come to term with paying $75.00+ for a boxcar. US manufacturers have to compete with companies who do not have our minimum wage, do not have our labor laws, do not have OSHA, do not have to pay retirement benefits, do not have to pay worker’s comp insurance, etc, etc, etc it boils down to cost vs profit.
At ever York show you hear people comment about ‘not enough trains being made in The USA’, they will then go to the next table and tell someone ‘I’m not paying a premium for something made in The USA’, well you can’t have your cake and eat it too. Companies are in the business to make money, not lose it.