ORIGINAL: kurt2022
Reading the last three or four posts I get where you guys are coming from. The DLE 20 is really the only option for a small gas engine for a 60-90 2 stroke plane other than like turnigy. There seems to be a huge market for these light weight engines and why haven't any of the manufactures in the US, Japan and Europe jumped on this trend and introduced an option? I'm sure DLE will see some competition in the future but then again will they or are these engines to expensive to make other than in China?
The Chinese have figured out how to exploit the capitalist countries using the strength on their society - extremely low labor costs and very plentiful labor. They have sufficient funds to buy raw materials in quantities that drive the market, effecient shipping, and determination. For example: I decided I needed a shop crane (cherry picker) and was going to build my own. I went to the steel yard and priced steel at $.80/lb - ten years ago it was $.30/lb, but the Chinese have been buying it up and forced prices up. Adding up the steel and wheels (no hydraulic ram, paint, or specialty hardware) exceeded the price of a 2-ton foldable model from Harbor Freight that was perfect for what I needed. American-made units were approximately 5X as much money. The decision became buy Chinese or rent American.
Look at the DLE vs DA. The DLE is currently $420 at Tower. The DA 50R is $620 w/muffler. The DLE 20 is $270, so if the %s hold true a DA would be ~$399. Yes, there have been a few failures for the DLEs, but
AFAIK even DAs have been known to have problems...I'm sure a few guys would go with the DA, but DLE would hold most of the market share by comparison.
The only way American manufacturers will be able to compete - while paying a living US wage - is if the US government places a substantial (40-50%) import duty on this stuff. Of course, when prices shoot up accordingly, the US economy would be damaged - and the voters would react very unfavorably to a 40% increase in the price of imports. After all, we all want to be paid big bucks while buying cheap.
Things get even more interesting when you get to big-ticket items. A Toyota Tundra has a larger % of American-made components in it than does any of the "American" offerings....