“Like most of American fitness equipment, kettlebells have for decades been forged in Chinese factories; most of which have been shut down as a result of the coronavirus.
The shutdown overseas created a bottleneck in the kettlebell supply chain. The shortage is a problem, factory workers said, that could have been prevented were the U.S. not so reliant on foreign manufacturing and iron production.
Consumer goods like kettlebells have become the domain of foreign foundries that are able to mass produce goods at a cheaper price.
The process of equipping a foundry to make a new product is expensive and time consuming. In the case of a kettlebell, a design mold of the equipment has to be created, which can sometimes cost up to $100,000. Then a foundry must equip itself with the necessary materials (for a kettlebell, gray cast iron) and possibly, special machinery.”
SOURCE: https://nyti.ms/3dLjLWV