And when that isn't enough profit they will switch to bolt on bowl handles and bolt in grate straps.
you are exactly correct.
let's think about this a little bit. Fender's Squier guitars and Gibson's Epiphone guitars at the budget introductory level are $100 brand new. There are a lot more details, parts, finish, and electronics that go into an electric guitar. They sell a ton of them AND they make a profit -otherwise they wouldn't be offering them.
Certain electronics -game systems, they are under $100 and they recoup tooling of plastics, assembly, shipping, packaging...."How can they do it and make a profit?" Well they must be making a profit or they wouldn't be charging that price. Cell phones are very inexpensive to manufacture in a lights out system.
So you essentially have the exact same tooling and presses since the 1950s still running and banging out identical parts for the last 50 years. That capital investment is all paid for many, many times over. Other than raw stock (and the finish) you have an operator and routine maintenance. And you know the shapes aren't complicated, they're not stressing the presses. It's practically all gravy at this point.