Aluminum fans out of stock again

[dave in australia]

Originally Posted by Y-Blockhead

So it is the companies that makes the rules in other countries. It's all clear now. It has nothing to do with the cost of makig the part.

And it takes decades to source raw materials in the US. No wonder they can't keep aluminum fans in stock!

Not quite, Australia has some very strict environmental laws. One of the reasons ALCOA setup in Australia was shipping costs. From memory, it takes five ton of bauxite to make 1 ton of aluminium. Australia has some of the worlds largest Bauxite reserves in the world. It is far cheaper to transport 1 ton of aluminium over 5 tons of bauxite. Australian wages are also high, definitely not third world level. The difference between transporting the two materials would cover any disparity in wages etc.