Cartman was right...

[JThiessen]

Originally Posted by JERRY2KONE

Have you seen how fast the Koreans are now building the newest Supertankers. It used to take 2 to 3 years from start to finish, and now they can build a complete ship in a year. .

Dont go giving all the credit to them. Most ship builders/ferry builders here stateside do the same thing. Its all modular sections that are prefabbed and brought together for final assembly.

We do the same basic thing with airplanes now. Google "Dreamlifter". Its a modified 747 that we built to carry complete 787 body sections and wings from suppliers all over the world. The IDEA was that those folks overseas had half a clue as to what they were doing and would ship us completed (and correct) body sections and wings and we'd just do the final assembly here. Well, come to find out, America does have something that those other countries dont - the ability to build very complex aircraft. And now we are feeling the pain of assuming that they knew what they were doing. I've been to several of the plants in Italy, China, and one in Mexico, and I can tell you one thing, the work ethic the people there have is pathetic, even in comparison to what I thought were lazy slobs here. And you definitly dont leave a tool laying around - it'll be gone in someones lunch pail in a second.

Yes, we have our share of issues here - but technology and manufacturing capability are not one of them. Our products and standards are far safer than any other country in the world, and we can build just as fast while maintaining higher standards.