With shipping prices going through the roof and ramped up import fees, at what point will it be cost effective for larger scale uk bike companies to actually manufacture in the uk?

With shipping prices going through the roof and ramped up import fees, at what point will it be cost effective for larger scale uk bike companies to actually manufacture in the uk?

One day maybe but at present we've virtually no large scale manufacturing industry. We're a country of people who answer the telephone

PaulB2 wrote: ↑Sat Jan 23, 2021 2:22 pm With shipping prices going through the roof and ramped up import fees, at what point will it be cost effective for larger scale uk bike companies to actually manufacture in the uk?

And things will settle down in 6-12 months once the paperwork and processes become better understood and people work out how to get things efficiently through the borders, but it is the getting there that's painful.

In the meantime there must be money to be made (in the UK for the UK), but it may well be short lived......

PaulB2 wrote: ↑Sat Jan 23, 2021 2:22 pm With shipping prices going through the roof and ramped up import fees, at what point will it be cost effective for larger scale uk bike companies to actually manufacture in the uk?

The kicker, as Stu points out, is that you have to overcome the cost of training and providing the factory for building. Then you have to import all the materials and components anyway, unless you're building a superbike. All against a backdrop where people are used to buying a full suspension bike from Tesco for £99.

Bearbonesnorm wrote: ↑Sat Jan 23, 2021 2:33 pm .... We're a country of people who answer the telephone

And bankers Stu, dont forget the bankers

I work in the industry, things are not going to get easier for some time, we are seeing stock availability issues from every supplier and the due dates for many parts are being pushed further away, both importers and exporters are gearing up, we are changing the way we have to work our exports, EU companies are in the same boat, it will take time before it settles down. The costs of parts and bikes are going up, I read Canyon has already increased prices by 14%, even when costs go down the prices never follow suit, we just get used to paying more. Carrier companies are taking the piss royally, we have seen the cost of sending a bike to a UK address go from £40 to £100, they are also responsible for the VAT for imports to the UK and need to have a suitable insurance to cover it, not to mention the huge Tarif carriers place on recovering those charges from us the buyers.
Going to take a LONG time for the dust to settle.

I suppose this is what Thatcher wanted:

PaulB2 wrote: ↑Sat Jan 23, 2021 4:13 pm I suppose this is what Thatcher wanted:

I'm not sure she would have approved of 30% of services being devoted to helping the general public.

Anybody know if Garbaruk are selling to the UK now? Could quickly sink my project bike if they have stopped...

I find it weird that education and health are classified as "Services" in that infographic. I wonder where utilities and telecoms sit as well.

Hey ho

johnnystorm wrote: ↑Sat Jan 23, 2021 4:50 pm I'm not sure she would have approved of 30% of services being devoted to helping the general public.

Fair point

PaulB2 wrote: ↑Sat Jan 23, 2021 4:13 pm I suppose this is what Thatcher wanted:

I wonder what the charts look like for other countries?

I've not seen a similar graph, but if you compare us to Germany, Italy & France then we have the smallest manufacturing output and we only produce about 60% of the food we need (!). The services sector will be biggest in all 4 countries but in the UK it's particularly skewed.

UK food production has rarely been above 70% of demand/consumption for over a century. Changing tastes and our demand for out of season foods all year round have been part of the reason for that reduction.

Seeing as it’s reckoned that we waste 30% of all food purchased it shouldn’t be too hard to reduce our food imports.

Some foodstuffs like lamb we both import and export in near equal measure but that’s because we don’t produce it at the right time (Easter) and it would cost too much to store for the five or six months.

ZeroDarkBivi wrote: ↑Sat Jan 23, 2021 6:36 pm Anybody know if Garbaruk are selling to the UK now? Could quickly sink my project bike if they have stopped...

I bought from r2-bike.com just before new year. Might still be worth a try?

The shipping on an €98 item from Jones Bikes is

USPS (Priority Mail International) $60.71
UPS (UPS Worldwide Expedited®) $82.26
Fed Ex (International Economy) $84.96

No I've no idea what it was before 2021, but this is crazy for a bit of carbon

The shipping on an €98 item from Jones Bikes is

USPS (Priority Mail International) $60.71
UPS (UPS Worldwide Expedited®) $82.26
Fed Ex (International Economy) $84.96

No I've no idea what it was before 2021, but this is crazy for a bit of carbon

The shipping costs from the US went mad way before Covid or Brexit. I believe it was something to do with Trump being a nob.

JohnClimber wrote: ↑Mon Jan 25, 2021 1:36 pm The shipping on an €98 item from Jones Bikes is

USPS (Priority Mail International) $60.71
UPS (UPS Worldwide Expedited®) $82.26
Fed Ex (International Economy) $84.96

No I've no idea what it was before 2021, but this is crazy for a bit of carbon

I don't think that's any different to what you might have paid 6 months ago.