It's All Gone Pete Wong.
May 7, 2008 5:23 PM Subscribe
Chinese manufacturers are setting up shop in the U.S. due to a weak dollar, energy shortages, tax credits, and a desire to compete globally.
Hooray, we'll have somebody else pay for rebuilding our manufacturing infrastructure!
posted by TwelveTwo at 5:40 PM on May 7, 2008 [1 favorite]
posted by TwelveTwo at 5:40 PM on May 7, 2008 [1 favorite]
MUHFUCK I thought it said Cheese Manufacturers. Got my hopes up. They're all blessed and stuff.
posted by Ambrosia Voyeur at 5:50 PM on May 7, 2008 [1 favorite]
posted by Ambrosia Voyeur at 5:50 PM on May 7, 2008 [1 favorite]
讲中文，蠢货？
posted by elpapacito at 5:50 PM on May 7, 2008
posted by elpapacito at 5:50 PM on May 7, 2008
I thought it said Cheese Manufacturers. Got my hopes up.
Hey, keep 'em up! It's gonna be Chinese cheese for everyone! U! S! A! , U! S! A!
posted by flapjax at midnite at 6:05 PM on May 7, 2008
Hey, keep 'em up! It's gonna be Chinese cheese for everyone! U! S! A! , U! S! A!
posted by flapjax at midnite at 6:05 PM on May 7, 2008
Good for them.
posted by Mr. President Dr. Steve Elvis America at 6:13 PM on May 7, 2008
posted by Mr. President Dr. Steve Elvis America at 6:13 PM on May 7, 2008
Jesus Christ, the dog caught its tail and is eating its own asshole!
posted by The Straightener at 6:17 PM on May 7, 2008 [5 favorites]
posted by The Straightener at 6:17 PM on May 7, 2008 [5 favorites]
I, for one, welcome our... uh...
posted by mwhybark at 6:33 PM on May 7, 2008 [1 favorite]
posted by mwhybark at 6:33 PM on May 7, 2008 [1 favorite]
I just can't imagine this trend catching on - the $1500 credit won't offset the $1800 wage difference and a lot of chinese manufacturers are going to have problems with the strict labor laws in the us (which are expensive to implement and maintain)...
posted by prestor at 6:42 PM on May 7, 2008 [1 favorite]
posted by prestor at 6:42 PM on May 7, 2008 [1 favorite]
THAT is too cute.
posted by Durn Bronzefist at 6:52 PM on May 7, 2008 [1 favorite]
posted by Durn Bronzefist at 6:52 PM on May 7, 2008 [1 favorite]
Do you think they'll pay us to rebuild the railroads we've let rot this past century?
posted by stet at 6:53 PM on May 7, 2008 [1 favorite]
posted by stet at 6:53 PM on May 7, 2008 [1 favorite]
It'll get real interesting when they start hiring migrant Mexican workers.
posted by sourwookie at 6:59 PM on May 7, 2008 [1 favorite]
posted by sourwookie at 6:59 PM on May 7, 2008 [1 favorite]
prestor- Actually, it makes a great deal of sense. The companies mentioned in both articles specialize in offset printing; paper, inks and equipment may be more readily available here than in certain provinces, and any shipping could be contracted out to a number of Western ventures that could deliver more easily (and with greater reach to other nations) than state-approved methods may permit on the other side of the Pacific. There's also the opportunity to provide business for the North American arts scene, in addition to the prospect of more direct provision of product to U.S.-based wholesalers.
posted by Smart Dalek at 7:00 PM on May 7, 2008
posted by Smart Dalek at 7:00 PM on May 7, 2008
I just can't imagine this trend catching on
i think you need more imagination. the wage differences will only become less and i think chinese are used to regulations.
posted by bhnyc at 7:00 PM on May 7, 2008
i think you need more imagination. the wage differences will only become less and i think chinese are used to regulations.
posted by bhnyc at 7:00 PM on May 7, 2008
Hmm...
Good. I'm translating a movie script into English about a family that does exactly this. It's already plugged into the popular imagination here in Beijing. Nifty.
posted by saysthis at 7:02 PM on May 7, 2008 [1 favorite]
Good. I'm translating a movie script into English about a family that does exactly this. It's already plugged into the popular imagination here in Beijing. Nifty.
posted by saysthis at 7:02 PM on May 7, 2008 [1 favorite]
Prestor you need to understand that the 1800 wage difference isn't the cost picture. Once you factor in the productivity loss, management costs, corruption and other issues the cost savings of moving your factory overseas is probably a couple of pennies a unit. Now the dollar has fallen and the few RMB per unit has moved in our favor. The entire rust belt is the creation of earning $100 more per car.
posted by humanfont at 7:13 PM on May 7, 2008
posted by humanfont at 7:13 PM on May 7, 2008
And here I was being interested in China in Africa.
What a dope I am.
posted by PHINC at 7:14 PM on May 7, 2008 [1 favorite]
What a dope I am.
posted by PHINC at 7:14 PM on May 7, 2008 [1 favorite]
This is a great idea. Because if there's one thing Chinese industrialists are, it's sensitive to the needs of foreign cultures and labor standards.
posted by 1adam12 at 7:30 PM on May 7, 2008
posted by 1adam12 at 7:30 PM on May 7, 2008
The biggest disadvantage of operating in the US is the labor costs, but then there's all these prisoners...hmmm...
posted by mullingitover at 7:46 PM on May 7, 2008
posted by mullingitover at 7:46 PM on May 7, 2008
And to think how much xenophobic angst was wasted on the Japanese!
posted by ornate insect at 7:52 PM on May 7, 2008 [1 favorite]
posted by ornate insect at 7:52 PM on May 7, 2008 [1 favorite]
The new Chinese bosses bringing manufacturing jobs here are already better than the greedy American cocksuckers who sent the jobs away.
posted by Benny Andajetz at 7:54 PM on May 7, 2008 [3 favorites]
posted by Benny Andajetz at 7:54 PM on May 7, 2008 [3 favorites]
Once you factor in the productivity loss, management costs, corruption and other issues the cost savings of moving your factory overseas is probably a couple of pennies a unit
Not to mention ever rising fuel costs. It's not getting any cheaper to ship materials and finished goods halfway around the world and then truck them all over the U.S. Oh, let's not forget lead times. My employer sources a fair number of goods from the PRC and we have to allow 12 weeks from order to delivery (add 2 more weeks around Chinese New Year). Get a hot new order in? Your customer want to double their order? Cancel their order? If your product is already on the water you're SOL unless you want to burn your entire margin (and possibly more) to ship via air freight to keep the customer happy. And so on...
posted by MikeMc at 8:04 PM on May 7, 2008
Not to mention ever rising fuel costs. It's not getting any cheaper to ship materials and finished goods halfway around the world and then truck them all over the U.S. Oh, let's not forget lead times. My employer sources a fair number of goods from the PRC and we have to allow 12 weeks from order to delivery (add 2 more weeks around Chinese New Year). Get a hot new order in? Your customer want to double their order? Cancel their order? If your product is already on the water you're SOL unless you want to burn your entire margin (and possibly more) to ship via air freight to keep the customer happy. And so on...
posted by MikeMc at 8:04 PM on May 7, 2008
This puts me in mind of the possible-future laid out in the book China Mountain Zhang by Maureen McHugh.
A second communist revolution went global and now the Chinese are in charge of everything. This makes life interesting for the protagonist who is only half-Chinese (there's a bit of a racial bent to the story) and has to hide it to keep his dreams up.
I'm curious to see how these real life events unfold.
posted by Sam.Burdick at 8:17 PM on May 7, 2008 [1 favorite]
A second communist revolution went global and now the Chinese are in charge of everything. This makes life interesting for the protagonist who is only half-Chinese (there's a bit of a racial bent to the story) and has to hide it to keep his dreams up.
I'm curious to see how these real life events unfold.
posted by Sam.Burdick at 8:17 PM on May 7, 2008 [1 favorite]
>I don't really see why this is a big deal myself.
Is it something to do with the crescendo of China-hating coming out of the US over the last couple of years?
posted by pompomtom at 11:38 PM on May 7, 2008 [1 favorite]
Is it something to do with the crescendo of China-hating coming out of the US over the last couple of years?
posted by pompomtom at 11:38 PM on May 7, 2008 [1 favorite]
Where the hell else will they spend all those worthless US dollars?
posted by Blazecock Pileon at 11:40 PM on May 7, 2008
posted by Blazecock Pileon at 11:40 PM on May 7, 2008
FREE TIBET!
No, in business they call that a "loss leader".
posted by Blazecock Pileon at 11:43 PM on May 7, 2008
No, in business they call that a "loss leader".
posted by Blazecock Pileon at 11:43 PM on May 7, 2008
Because if there's one thing Chinese industrialists are, it's sensitive to the needs of foreign cultures and labor standards.
Yeah, they say there's a dead Canadian for every mile of railroad in China.
Oh wait...
posted by GuyZero at 12:19 AM on May 8, 2008
Yeah, they say there's a dead Canadian for every mile of railroad in China.
Oh wait...
posted by GuyZero at 12:19 AM on May 8, 2008
do you think the US Gov will start setting up a few tax free Free Trade Zones? it would be only fitting given the way they force feed the 3rd world into taking them.
posted by mary8nne at 12:36 AM on May 8, 2008
posted by mary8nne at 12:36 AM on May 8, 2008
"FREE TIBET!" available only with purchase of $100 or more.
Offer not valid in Taiwan or Tennessee.
posted by malocchio at 12:39 PM on May 8, 2008
Offer not valid in Taiwan or Tennessee.
posted by malocchio at 12:39 PM on May 8, 2008
So.... globalization works? I guess? This is what's supposed to happen, right?
posted by rhys at 12:40 PM on May 8, 2008
posted by rhys at 12:40 PM on May 8, 2008
I thought it said Cheese Manufacturers.
It wasn't meant to be taken literally; it refers to any manufacturers of dairy products.
posted by spirit72 at 12:43 PM on May 8, 2008
It wasn't meant to be taken literally; it refers to any manufacturers of dairy products.
posted by spirit72 at 12:43 PM on May 8, 2008
What does that mean, huh? "China is here." I don't even know what the hell that means.
posted by kirkaracha at 3:22 PM on May 8, 2008
posted by kirkaracha at 3:22 PM on May 8, 2008
Btw, by saying that I can't imagine this trend catching on I'm not in any way saying that I don't want to see this happening - I think the free market usually gets things right and if manufacturers can operate more profitably in the US, by all means, they should.
I have visited several Chinese factories, however, and just cannot imagine, even taking the weak US dollar into account, many manufacturers going this route any time soon. Perhaps for certain industries (like offset printing) it will make more sense... your wifi router isn't going to be manufactured in the us anytime soon.
posted by prestor at 8:26 PM on May 8, 2008
I have visited several Chinese factories, however, and just cannot imagine, even taking the weak US dollar into account, many manufacturers going this route any time soon. Perhaps for certain industries (like offset printing) it will make more sense... your wifi router isn't going to be manufactured in the us anytime soon.
posted by prestor at 8:26 PM on May 8, 2008
Wages in China are on a faster upward path than wages in the US.
posted by Catfry at 12:29 AM on May 9, 2008
posted by Catfry at 12:29 AM on May 9, 2008
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posted by GuyZero at 5:28 PM on May 7, 2008 [5 favorites]