Atlas C40-8

[asarge]

If you think things are getting tough all over, I'd hate to be a Model RR manufacturer right now. Sales have been slowing for about a year now and costs are increasing at a very rapid pace. There are ALOT of projects now suffering from a lack of working capital to get them to market. Things may get worse before they get better. Cost will level off and even decrease, but sales will be even slower of the next year.

I am really surprised we haven't seen some manufacturers fail.

[Chulvis]

I am really surprised we haven't seen some manufacturers fail.

It's still early in the game.

[nscalesteve]

Yes, but by the time these are released the manufacturers will have been hit with two price increases. One that hit in August that had to be re-figured into this model and the one still coming in January. This price falls right in line with those increases and gives Atlas a little room to breath. Don't forget they they are eating any cost increases on products they announced before the August increase but have not yet been delivered. I think they deserve some credit for that.

I do not complain... ! but another question I have, is it really that much cheaper to produce in Japan than it is in China ? Atlas C40-8W MSRP $140 compared to Kato SD70ACe MSRP $110 ?
(or are the big GEs in real life also 27% more expensive than the EMDs ?) 

[Chulvis]

I do not complain... ! but another question I have, is it really that much cheaper to produce in Japan than it is in China ? Atlas C40-8W MSRP $140 compared to Kato SD70ACe MSRP $110 ?
(or are the big GEs in real life also 27% more expensive than the EMDs ?) 

I was thinking about that today, Steve. Hard to believe it could be less expensive to produce something in Japan. Kato prices have stayed pretty much the same for a long time now. The $110.00 price tag on the ACe's I beleive is the highest yet for a diesel loco from them, but it was only $105.00 before that. Five bucks vs. $20.00 is a big difference.  They have not raised the price of Unitrack in over four years. Maybe longer. Strange.

PS: I never said you were complaining. I was just making a point.  :-*

[nscalesteve]

Five bucks vs. $20.00 is a big difference...

...yes, but five bucks vs. $30.00 is an even bigger difference !   
(wasn't the first announcement $109.95 ?)

[sundowner]

Maybe Atlas should go back to Kato to produce there locos. This price increase is making me rethink my order from 6 to 5. Kato advantage of having everything in house is a great advantage.

[daniel_leavitt2000]

Man that is steep. At least with the Bachmann $130 C40-8Ws you can get them at about $50 street.

Somthing is rotten at Atlas. No other manufactuer has had suck drastic price increases.

[James Costello]

What hurts me most is the way the Aussie dollar has dropped by about 30% against the US in the last few weeks... that hurts  :'(  ??? :'(

Ah well...the near parity was good while it lasted....

[nscalesteve]

What hurts me most is the way the Aussie dollar has dropped by about 30% against the US in the last few weeks... that hurts  :'(  ??? :'(

Ah well...the near parity was good while it lasted....

same here but if I sell them custom painted back to the US of A... (big grin !)
(...but it did hurt when the US $ was low against the NZ $ - it did really hurt !)

[Walkercolt]

Give Atlas a little credit, they do more "road specific" details than Kato usually does, and that increases costs. And Kato has a totally different "business model" than anyone in the world(SD-40-2's anyone?). And Atlas will probably re-run the C40's before we all die. Seen any U30C's new recently? :

[Chulvis]

Man that is steep. At least with the Bachmann $130 C40-8Ws you can get them at about $50 street.

Somthing is rotten at Atlas. No other manufactuer has had suck drastic price increases.

The reason you can buy them at that price is because they didn't sell and Bachmann blew them out. Second, that price point of $130.00 at the time, 2004, was crazy. Bachmann priced those locos high because it gave them a lot of room to drop the price. I mean really, how many do you really think they sold at the higher price? Those locos are years old now and you can still find them on distributors shelves. You can't give them away.

Take a minute and think about this. Atlas comes out with new locomotive announcements on a monthly basis for release in about six months forward. Who else is doing that? InterMountain has not announced a new run of locos in months. Micro Trains...not in the game. Model Power is dead in the water. Con-Cor, nothing in over a year. Life Like: Y3's a year over due. Bachmann, once a year. Athearn, just a few every year. Seems to me that Atlas has their finger on the pulse of the market price wise. I don't think there is anything rotten there at all. They are more representative of what is coming down the line from all manufacturers from a price perspective.

[flight2000]

.... This price increase is making me rethink my order from 6 to 5....

You and me both.  I dropped from 6 to 4 of the DCC versions. I need to start saving a little each month so I can make the house payment in May.... ;D

Brian

[wm3798]

Could Kato be able to maintain its prices because they are vertically integrated?  They control the whole process from design to manufacture to distribution...  Atlas is beholden to the Chinese factory's schedule and costs. 

Lee

[asarge]

Could Kato be able to maintain its prices because they are vertically integrated?  They control the whole process from design to manufacture to distribution...  Atlas is beholden to the Chinese factory's schedule and costs. 

Right on. When you think about it, the only two things Kato has on it's major competitors are control over their own manufacuring process AND they have a MUCH larger market selling products on more area's of the world. NA is a small percentasge of their market. I beleive they are also good at controlling costs on the supply chain also. Maybe buying a larger quantity of raw materials when the price is low. That could be huge.

[Mark5]

Are Kato locos still "overwide"? Do they have alternating ditch light capability? Available in paint schemes outside UP?

Personally though, I always hope it won't be Kato doing a loco I want, since I have this theory that the Japanese government pays them to keep some of their tooling dormant for decades at a time.

The C40-8 list is $109.95. and the W adds $30 woohoo!

I'm glad I'm not in HO though (the last run of the W was $149.95).

I picked up one of the Bachmann C40-8s for $20 a few years back. Certainly an OK model. Certainly not worth more than say $50.

As the slick one said: "I feel your pain"