Is it just me or do motor industries do not make money?

[Vercingetorix]

I keep input prices low and engine prices are high but they barely break even. Maybe the wages or base prices for engines need to be rebalanced. Anyone else agree?

[Caramel_Clown]

I had them turn profit, but not that high. I think you have to look at it as part of a supply chain. Make machinery cheap and feed it into other production to make good profit there. Not every building needs to make bank. Sometimes it just needs to satisfy your market or supply chain needs.

[Globox (AL)]

I remember on my first run . It was the only industry I had to "subsidize" because worker would leave to other businesses... and this was such a crucial good for the entire economy. So running out of engines.. was always a catstrophy.

[Dray Prescot]

Just subsidize them (if they are not at full production) to get max production of engines, at least early in the game. You need a lot of engines to improve many farms, resources, industries, and Rail Roads, and then to support them afterwards.

Make sure you (export) Tariff them (Engines) as well, in case other countries try to buy them.

Part of your problem is likely to be high prices on their input resources/goods, and it is hard to keep their prices down (by building more of their production sites) because other countries are placing a lot of buy orders on them and they keep raising the amounts that they want to buy. So (export) Tariff those input resources/goods as well.

added: You need to research the Techs that use Motors as Production Methods for various Farms, Mines(Respurces), Industries, as well as Rail Roads. Then change the Production Methods to actually use them, and soon you will be using more Motors than you are producing, and you will be building additional Motor Industries.

[curtadamsCA]

It's just like any other industry - profitability requires high prices for output and low prices for input. For some time at the start, there is little demand for engines and a high price for steel because there's a high price for iron (needed for construction in huge quantities).

There's no point in building a motor industry until you need engines, generally as part of particular production mechanisms. Once you can, it *looks* unprofitable to get it going, because the game figures when you build your first factory it will drive the price to minimum (no demand) Meanwhile the mechanisms to use it look unprofitable because engine prices are currently maxed.

To get out of this trap, you have to force things to get going. Build a small motor industry and subsidize it to get it going. Then start using those mechanisms. Meanwhile, keep working on your iron, coal, and steel supply. Soon things will start being reasonably profitable.

[Thamalandis]

I subsidized my "Steam Engines" from Day 1 to Day X... since it was never profitable. When it only cost 1k in subsidies I was happy. It is a core essentiell industry. The fact to be profitable it has to be gold in value and low silver in input is ridiculous.

As if coal, steel and tools will ever be copper to low silver and engines are high. You don't want expensive engines, you need them for your railroads and machinery in industry.

The game needs more balance.

[Globox (AL)]

its like railways I agree its worth spending some money , and have the supply chain guarantee to work.

[Dray Prescot]

Once you change a Production Method (in Farms, Mines, Industries, and building Rail Roads) to use Motors, start subsidizing your Motor Industry, and building up your Coal, Steel, and more Motors as needed to meet demand(purchases) as you change more and more Production Methods to use Motors(Boilers) and/or Transportation(Rail Roads).

[EP]

They're quite profitable by mid game once all your inputs become cheap and you've built out your rail network so there is strong demand. Especially electric railways and electric engine make them very good by late game. Also getting public roads creates strong demand for automobiles so you can switch a few factories to make those as well.

[passover1105]

The wages are meant to be high, you just don't have enough engineers and maybe machinists to fill all the new jobs. So all of your factories with their fancy new production methods (steel tools, sewing machines, chrystal glass) now competes with the engine factory for a profession that nearly doesnt existed before (Lathes needs some).
It will become better over time, you can speed it up with universities in that state.

[shiggies713]

play as belgium, export to france an england, and you wouldn't say that, in fact you might be able to complete the economic dominance journals as fast as anyone with them.

You need railroads lots of places for it to be profitable, and then you also need businesses to use up the transportation they provide, which is usually pretty easy. Its important to switch the railroads production method to the kind that gives more transportation rather than infrastructure in most cases.

[Skill Less]

Selling motors is one of my main columns of economy. I'm part of the british market and there is high demand. I got 2x10 industries running so far and planning on building more.

[Voksenlokker]

pumpjacks and railroads

[Skill Less]

Originally posted by Voksenlokker:

pumpjacks and railroads

Yeah whould be cool, I control east borneo, it is 1913 but I didnt find any oil, yet. However electric motors sell just fine :D

[Voksenlokker]

You don't need oil for either of those. Btw, you can check which areas in the world produce oil to see if it ever appears in Borneo (I have no idea)

[Nuprin Feelgood]

I think motors are the most difficult thing to build for sure...and i suppose rightfully so. but finding the balance of materials and usage to make them profitable is tricky. IMHO that build chain needs a little more nuance with production methods and usage. they are lumping steam power and combustion power into one production chain, which I think is a mistake. Water mills are missing entirely... there was automation long before steam.