It's the same in Australia - you can't rely on brand names to represent quality at all any more.
I got some really nice long Tee's that had a known brand name, made in Bangladesh. Really nice thick soft cotton. A year later, same brand name, made in China, half the thickness, nowhere near as nice a feel. Same price though.
WRT tools I'm not going to pay brand name prices for what to my eyes is indistinguishable from no-name stuff. If the big manufacturers want to outsource, that's one thing. Drop quality while holding price, shove it, I'll buy elsewhere.
Not aimed at US manufacturers but they sure led the way. As far as I'm concerned putting a known old quality name on a no better than average tool is the same as counterfeiting it even if the company doing it still owns the brand. I'm not getting the quality that the name implies.
The annoying thing is, they think we're stupid enough not to notice then run whining about unfair competition when we walk away & buy elsewhere.
I had a look at some Aldi power tools today & walked away. OK they're cheap and probably you get what you pay for but that's my point - I happily pay 2X or 3X as much for the better quality (I do have 3 Aldi angle grinders though, bought as disposa-tools for a butcherous job; 2 of them still work). Putting say a Metabo label on them (to pick a non-USA manufacturer) doesn't change the quality.
PDW
I think is is eminently fair and correct to lay the start of the decline at the doorstep of US market suppliers. Around 30 years i have been among those classing it as "The American Disease" AKA "we are cheaper than.." or "race to the bottom".
Not just tools. Everything. "Services" included - Governmental as well as private - as much the same as goods.
That said, "America" didn't seem to have patented product cheapening.
American or general greed, the "disease" had long-since spread to European and Japanese makers, too.
There remain work-arounds. I can still get "good" wrenches from S-K, whether QUITE as good as my 50+ year-old ones or no. Wright tools seem to have held firmer yet as to making the same quality as they always have. Both can be direct-ordered, online.
As to stocking distributors, dealers, or "retailers"? Gone. Only heavy truck and heavy equipment suppliers still have these 'on the wall". No longer ANY "consumer" outlets anywhere near me save the local Caterpillar & other Earthmover dealer. There's a truck parts supplier in St. Louis, IIRC, that has shelf stock even when S-K or Wright may be OUT of stock at the factory.
Similar with powered hand tools. My few Bosch goods are all Bosch-Scintilla (their Swiss plant). Hilti, ISTR are from a Czech factory, not a Chinese one. One Japanese brand was actually made at a plant in the UK!
Bottom line is that there still IS a market for the better goods. It is even still a significant market as to holding "critical mass" enough to keep the doors open and prosper on into the future.
So long as.. enough discerning buyers still do the - unfortunately NOW UNAVOIDABLE - deep-dive to FIND these sources. And then... actually "vote" with their purchase dollar to help keep them alive in our own interest, however seldom needed.
The "curse" of better goods, y'see is that they DO last a lifetime or close to it.
Meanwhile computerized "Point of Sale" systems are showing the retailers - brick-and-mortar OR "online' - that the way to THEIR "near -term" success is to keep selling the ever-cheaper schlock, 'coz Harry Homeowner or Joe shade-tree aprt time mechanic will ALWAYS
out number a many-decades seasoned heavy equipment mechanic or the like.
"Boycott America". Not good enough. No need to "boycott" anyone.
Just BUY THE GOOD STUFF.
Trust this: Stick TO that, there won't be any money LEFT OVER to buy much of the cheap shite! Nor much of a need, either.
Unless it really IS "throwaway" expendable, really rare need, etc..
At which point, Harbor Freight - who are actually trying to at least "modestly" IMPROVE their quality/value-for-money standing, may be found the better deal that [i[former-glory[/i] names who have not yet ceased degrading theirs.
