In other cars/politics news... Toyota exporting many models from the US.

[te72]

Reading the April issue of Motortrend, I came across something that made me think a bit. It was mentioned that Toyota is exporting many of it's models (Camry, Tundra, Sequoia, etc) FROM the US to other regions such as Korea, the Middle East, Europe, etc... Their reasoning?

"...because of the rising value of the yen."

So why export from America then? What does the Yen have to do with their choice of export location? Surely it can't be cheaper to ship to Korea from the US than it would be from Japan? Of course not. They do this because (from all I can figure, knowing what I do of supply/demand/trade in general) America is now their lowest cost point of production.

Discuss.

 

[Poodles]

The dollar is weak, and I bet there's some import/export tax issues there too.

 

[te72]

Hadn't thought of the tariff side of it, I'll admit. That may play a factor into it as well, but you hit the nail I was holding right on the head. Why not come out an say, "your dollar isn't worth as much as it was 10 (even 5) years ago", that I don't understand.

The full quote:

"Toyota Motor Company will boost the number of of exports from its North American factories as a way to ease the effects of rising yen values. Toyota already exports North American-assembled Camrys, Avalons, Tundras, Tacomas, Siennas, and Sequoias to such markets as South Korea, Venezuela, and the Middle East.

You know, I do see a *small* bit of humor that AMERICA is building TACOMAS that are being sent to the Middle East. Juuuuuuust saying, it's kinda funny when you think about it.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toyota_War

Yes, I know, *not* the Middle East, but you get my point.