Honda Exports More Cars Made In The U.s. Than Imports From Japan

By Author: Charles Martin
Total Articles: 5
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1982 brought a change in Honda manufacturing when the first US plant opened in Marysville, Ohio. It was a turning point for America in showing the world that this profitable market could be sustained on US soil. Today, another milestone has been reached with more exports of Hondas from the US than imports from Japan. This goal has always been thought of as unreachable, but 30 years of hard work and determination by the US-based Honda manufacturing team, have proven many wrong.

Organization and Team Effort
Creating an atmosphere to build new vehicles is not new to Americans, but being able to compete with the low wages and diligence of the Japanese culture, has been. Working together with the Honda Corporation with their beliefs that Japanese-run manufacturing can take place anywhere, the US put it to the test and has delivered big. Providing parts plants in conjunction with the automaker's needs, has been considered to be one of the major assets of delivering several different Honda models to places such as Africa, Central America and the Middle East.

The small Ohio-based assembly plant has grown to 14 manufacturing ...
... plants in the US, Mexico and Canada. Over 26,000 Americans are now benefiting from the jobs created by Honda and over 95% of all Hondas and Acura’s produced in the US, stay in America. This fact alone presents a remarkable achievement in working as a team with other countries that once considered the Western world to be independent of other areas of the world. Moving on to exports in excess of 108,700 cars and trucks, compared to Japan's 88,537 imports in 2013, speaks wonders of this program. In addition to vehicles, North Carolina has manufacturing plants that produce Honda motorcycles and lawn mowers, a separate field that has growing potential.

The Dollar versus the Yen
Many Americans had debated the idea that the lower value of the yen was reason enough why building Hondas in the US would never work. With this significant difference, the competing nature of US manufacturing versus Japanese manufacturing just did not balance. Japan could easily build models and export for a significantly lower price than the dollars that the high United States dollar. The Japanese argued that the wages and technology-based costs of the US dollar would offset this difference. The confidence of the Japanese paid off and is shown through the amazing US export numbers of Honda and Acura vehicles.

By investing money in North America and Mexico, Honda US manufacturing spreads the wealth around through labor, taxes, marketing, research and stockholders for not only the Honda Company, but also the countries that share in their manufacturing process. The investments were key in building a successful base and taking that first step 30 years ago that had many experts scratching their heads. Future plants and projects can be expected due to this major shift in American productivity. As the 2013 numbers show, with a good plan, teamwork, and a will to succeed, everyone can come out a winner.

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