As tensions rise between China and the USA, is a new 'Cold War' brewing? If so, what effect is this or could this be having on manufacturing? Adrian from Sofeast and myself go political in this episode, discussing how the political rhetoric and actions towards China by the USA and other Western nations are on a downward trend and how the media seem to encourage this, too. Renaud posted this recent Forbes article which suggested that Americans polled would be prepared to pay 20% more for … [Read more...]
Challenges for Moving Manufacturing out of China in 2020
The US Congress and the White House have been pushing hard for "decoupling" from China. And a part of that objective is moving manufacturing out of China -- and ideally to reshore to the USA. It may be too early to draw a conclusion on the effect of their decisions (the tariffs but, more generally, the perceived risk of stronger and stronger measures). But here is a short summary of what I have seen, heard, and read. … [Read more...]
China Still Best For New & Complex Manufacturing Projects
Steve Dickinson wrote an article (Moving Manufacturing from China: Where you Gonna Run?) that got me thinking about complex manufacturing projects and China. He outlines the main reasons why China became "the factory of the world" so quickly (especially from 1992 to 2005), for small and large buyers alike. Other low-cost Asian countries are now trying to emulate these results and attract manufacturing, and they seem to focus on lower tax rates. Here are two recent articles I found on this … [Read more...]