The Economist (November 24)
Mexico is experiencing a boom as it benefits from economic trends. “Wages in Chinese factories have quintupled in the past ten years and the oil price has trebled, inducing manufacturers focused on the American market to set up closer to home. Mexico is already the world’s biggest exporter of flat-screen televisions, BlackBerrys and fridge-freezers, and is climbing up the rankings in cars, aerospace and more.” By 2018, America is expected to import more from Mexico than from any other country. “Made in China” is giving way to “Hecho en México”.
Los Angeles Times (May 9)
“Perhaps the only silver lining to the Great Recession is that it triggered a new focus on manufacturing in the United States. After 25 years of being sold a shiny vision of a service-dominated post-industrial economy, the U.S. is rediscovering how important it is to actually make things in order to spur innovation, raise wages, drive exports and lower the trade deficit.”
Tags: Exports, Great Recession, Innovation, Manufacturing, U.S., Wages
Industry Week (April 20)
Changing economics are starting to favor manufacturing in the U.S. A study by the Boston Consulting Group (BCG) found that over “a third of U.S.-based manufacturing executives at companies with sales greater than $1 billion are planning to bring back production to the United States from China or are considering it.” Larger companies with revenues of at least $10 billion are even more enthusiastic, with 48% considering reshoring. Considerations driving this new trend include labor costs, product quality, ease of doing business, and proximity to customers.
Tags: Boston Consulting Group, China, Costs, Manufacturing, Quality, Reshoring, U.S.
The Economist (March 10, 2012)
“The end of cheap China is at hand. Blue-collar labour costs in Guangdong and other coastal hubs have been rising at double-digit rates for a decade. Workers in the hinterland, too, are demanding—and receiving—huge pay increases. China is no longer a place where manufacturers can go to find ultra-cheap hands.”
“The end of cheap China is at hand. Blue-collar labour costs in Guangdong and other coastal hubs have been rising at double-digit rates for a decade. Workers in the hinterland, too, are demanding—and receiving—huge pay increases. China is no longer a place where manufacturers can go to find ultra-cheap hands.”
Tags: China, Labor, Manufacturing, Rising pay
Time (May 30)Time (May 30)
In the U.S., hiring is taking place in an unusual spot. “Amid a lackluster economic rebound, American manufacturing, for the first time in decades, has seen an unlikely updraft. After losing 6 million jobs from 1999 to 2009, the manufacturing sector has been one of the few stars of the sluggish recovery. Nearly 1 in 6 jobs that have been created since the beginning of 2010 has been in manufacturing.” To continue growing the manufacturing sector, it will be important to focus on the “most lucrative — high-end engineering positions that spawn other positions.”In the U.S., hiring is taking place in an unusual spot. “Amid a lackluster economic rebound, American manufacturing, for the first time in decades, has seen an unlikely updraft. After losing 6 million jobs from 1999 to 2009, the manufacturing sector has been one of the few stars of the sluggish recovery. Nearly 1 in 6 jobs that have been created since the beginning of 2010 has been in manufacturing.” To continue growing the manufacturing sector, it will be important to focus on the “most lucrative — high-end engineering positions that spawn other positions.”
Tags: Engineering, Hiring, Job creation, Manufacturing, U.S.
Bloomberg (May 10)
In the U.S., “once-ailing manufacturers are enjoying a robust rebound as cost-saving moves from job cuts to a greater reliance on technology help drive stronger-than-forecast growth.” Some analysts predict a “manufacturing renaissance,” with industry leading expansion in the U.S. economy and stock markets. Manufacturing productivity increased 5.9% during 2010, the third largest gain since the Labor Department began tracking in 1987. U.S. manufacturers are also benefiting from strengthened exports on the back of a weaker dollar. Companies like Siemens are even expanding manufacturing in the U.S. because this can be more cost efficient than importing from China.
In the U.S., “once-ailing manufacturers are enjoying a robust rebound as cost-saving moves from job cuts to a greater reliance on technology help drive stronger-than-forecast growth.” Some analysts predict a “manufacturing renaissance,” with industry leading the U.S. economy and stock markets into expansion. Manufacturing productivity increased 5.9% during 2010, the third largest gain since the Labor Department began tracking in 1987. U.S. manufacturers are also benefiting from strengthened exports on the back of a weaker dollar. Companies like Siemens are even expanding manufacturing in the U.S. because this can be more cost efficient than importing from China.
Tags: China, Economy, Manufacturing, Markets, U.S.
Time (April 25)
Time calls it “the China Effect.” As China prospers and internal demand generates an ever larger share of economic growth, low-skill manufacturing is being shifted to other Asian countries, including Vietnam, Bangladesh, Malaysia and Thailand. “After ferociously sucking jobs and investment out of Southeast Asia over the past two decades, the China Effect is now lifting once declining industrial hubs like Penang out of their long economic slump.” The era with China as the world’s factory is beginning to come to an end.
Time calls it “the China Effect.” As China prospers and internal demand generates an ever larger share of economic growth, low-skill manufacturing is being shifted to other Asian countries, including Vietnam, Bangladesh, Malaysia and Thailand. “After ferociously sucking jobs and investment out of Southeast Asia over the past two decades, the China Effect is now lifting once declining industrial hubs like Penang out of their long economic slump.” The era with China as the world’s factory is beginning to come to an end.
Tags: Bangladesh, China, Malaysia, Manufacturing, Thailand, Vitenam
Economist (February 10)
3D printing “is likely to disrupt every field it touches.” Also known as additive printing this technology could upend traditional manufacturing. 3D printing “makes it as cheap to create single items as it is to produce thousands and thus undermines economies of scale.” For runs of up to 1,000 items, 3D printing is “already competitive with plastic injection-moulding.” Just as personal computers and conventional printers made it possible for anybody to become a publisher, 3D printing promises to empower individuals with manufacturing capabilities. This revolution may unfold rapidly. Basic 3D printers now cost less than laser printers did in 1985.
