by Renaud Anjoran in 'Quality Inspection Blog'

A few months ago, Steve Dickinson wrote about what would happen to low-tech factories along the coast of China in Factory Closings In South China. All Part Of The Plan:

by David Dayton in 'Silk Road International'

A few months ago I was talking with a Korean lawyer friend of mine about where Korean companies are locating in China. He talked of how Qingdao and Dalian were still really popular with his Korean clients, but that some of them were looking at Chengdu and a few other places "more inland." They were looking to cut costs. I told him of how very few of our clients were seriously looking to inland China.

by Renaud Anjoran in 'Quality Inspection Blog'

The Guangdong province of China (and specifically the Pearl River delta) was THE country’s hub for export manufacturing in the 1980s. But the situation has changed a lot:

by Renaud Anjoran in 'Quality Inspection Blog'

If you purchase from China, there is one thing you have noticed: prices are going up, often by 10-25% a year. The reason is not that manufacturers are increasing their margins, but that their costs are rising very fast.

by Dan Harris in 'China Law Blog'

Got an email from a client/friend yesterday with a link to an Industry Week Article and a note saying that i needed to give this "CLB's dumbest article of the month award." We do not actually have such an award (should we?) so for that reason alone, it is not in contention. Bad articles on China abound, but this one stands out because it is in a very influential magazine and because much of what it is wrong on has been repeated so often I fear it is beginning to pass for truth.

By Shelly Zhao in 'China Briefing'

May 20—As a "China alternative" in overall production efficiency and quality, there is no doubt that Vietnam is up-and-coming, but industry and market development play a key role in the decision to move to Vietnam. For industries such as clothing and toy manufacturing—for which low-cost production is a chief concern—the labor market would be more responsive to any wage rate increases, thus requiring cutting down on factor inputs such as land and labor. For large multinationals it may make sense to set up production bases in Vietnam to complement expansion into the Vietnamese market.

by Renaud Anjoran in 'Quality Inspection Blog'

Yesterday I wrote about orders that were canceled by importers because of escalating costs in China. But does it mean other Asian countries such as Vietnam or India will become the lowest-cost producers?

by China Briefing

May 17—Here at China Briefing we have been putting a lot of focus on the rising land and labor costs across China—particularly in more well-known first tier east coast and southern cities such as Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou. While prices in China's rural regions are rising as well, the country's inland cities still offer significant savings when compared with those along the coast—but which inland city is the best option for your business?

by Renaud Anjoran in 'Quality Inspection Blog'

Several factors are pushing the prices of made-in-China products up: the rise of the RMB against the US dollar, the factory labor shortage (because of demographic changes but also of alternative options for young workers), and the increases in raw materials prices.

by Dan Harris in 'China Law Blog'

Co-blogger Steve Dickinson recently wrote an article for the China Economic Review, entitled, "Farewell to the China Price." In it, he talked extensively on the price changes going on in China and on how those price changes have and will impact foreign businesses.

by Dan Harris in 'China Law Blog'

Co-blogger Steve Dickinson recently wrote an article for the China Economic Review, entitled, "Farewell to the China Price." In it, he talked extensively on the price changes going on in China and on how those price changes have and will impact foreign businesses.

By Dan Harris in 'China Law Blog'

I know many of our posts of late have been fairly negative on China, and I really wish this one were not, but I really have no choice but to "call 'em like I see 'em" We are constantly writing articles on what country is going to be the "next China" and I have mostly been talking up Vietnam as that choice. See, for instance, the following posts:

Savings could run into millions of dollars for makers planning to move production to India.

Comparatively lower costs are working to India's advantage as it develops into a suitable alternative for international businesses looking to relocate factories from traditional Asia hubs.

By Barry in 'The China Sourcing Blog'

Low labor costs have been a crucial element of China's low cost country sourcing advantage. Yet in the course of this year a series of strikes and labor shortages in China have to some observers heralded the end of the era of 'cheap' China. Salary increases have supposedly become common in China's manufacturing sector—high-profile increases at firms like Hon Hai and Foxconn have been prominent examples of this. (For more detailed analysis on these developments this year, see this article by the Wall Street Journal's Andrew Batson and Norihiko Shirouzo).

By Renaud Anjoran in 'Quality Inspection Blog'

Every time I read an article about rising Chinese labor costs, it seems there are only two solutions: moving to inland provinces or automating production. I do not really buy into these proposals, and I want to focus on the myth of automation.