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Most people seem to be focusing narrowly on wages and worker conditions, which is not the main point of the article-- even if you take wages out of the equation
by polshaw 15y ago
Most people seem to be focusing narrowly on wages and worker conditions, which is not the main point of the article-- even if you take wages out of the equation, China is now much better positioned for production. The whole supply chain is nearby-- vast majority of high-tech electronics are made in asia (Taiwan, Japan, Malaysia etc), everything else in China itself. To make even one component in the US would require shipping it to China for assembly, which would introduce a lead time of weeks, whilst still costing more. There is a lack of mid-level (degree > x> HS) skilled workers (engineers) in the US, many in China. These are bigger problems for US manufacturing than the costs alone (labour costs aren't a huge portion of most manufacturing).
- bugsbunnyak 15y agoThe Atlantic has an interesting take on this, quite in line with your point about mid-level skills: http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2012/01/making-it-in-america/8844/ http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2012/01/making-i... the take-away is that American companies can be, and are, very competitive in some areas of manufacturing thanks to automation. But automation requires a relatively small number of these high- and mid-skilled workers to design things and operate machines. the layer below them - when, for various reasons, they are even still employed in the US - doesn't earn enough to make middle-class (they earn 10x Chinese workers, but that's not enough for a home even in low cost areas such as S. Carolina).