On Tue, 28 Nov 2006 15:21:05 +0000, Brian Elfert wrote:

"Pete C." writes:

They do, however given the phenomenal amount of cargo they move I expect
their actual efficiency is quite high especially given the fact that
they don't have to stop at traffic lights and similar fuel guzzling
delays. Once they leave port it's pretty much an efficient non stop
cruise at optimum speed the whole way.

Overall, they are still using a lot more fuel than buying something made
in the USA.

Once the containers hit a US port, they still have to be moved to at least
one warehouse and then perhaps to a distributor's warehouse. From there,
it has to be shipped to you.

If an item is made in the USA, it may be shipped from the manufacturer
directly, or shipped to a distributor and then to you.

The made in the USA item won't have all that fuel used by the container
ship and getting the item to/from the container ship.

I don't strictly buy made in the USA items, but country of origin is
certainly a factor. Many items are just not made in the USA anymore or
are very hard to find.

This whole argument that shipping from Asia "wastes fuel" is Politically
Correct buffoonery.

Factories don't make metal, they buy it from a mill and then cast, forge,
and machine it into the finished product. Mills don't mine metal, they
buy ore from a mine. So the ore gets shipped from the mine, and a
fraction of the weight of the ore gets shipped from the mill as iron or
steel and a fraction of the weight of that is shipped by the factory as
finished tools. The US does not have all the raw materials to make modern
tools--no matter where the tool is made there is significant shipping of
some component of it from overseas, if not as a finished part then as ore
or other raw materials. And it usually uses a lot more energy to ship
that ore than it does to ship the tool.

If you want to buy American because you're loyal to your contry that's
fine, but don't delude yourself that you are "saving energy".

Brian Elfert

--
--John
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