What? You mean I can't get a better product with twice as many features as the last version, delivered in half the time of my previous supplier, at half the cost? What kind of raw deal is this? Isn't China supposed to be a win-win-win deal, the low-cost manufacturing garden of Eden, Willy Wonka's outsourced candyland of injection molding and die-casting...??
Interesting article in the Tribune today about the growth of manufacturing in China. No wonder they are having all kinds of problems. Americans want high-quality, safe, quick, and cheap -- but don't want to pay for it.
China's factories feel the squeeze
Vendors fight for work, cut costs Caught between rising costs at home and low-cost pressure abroad, some firms decide to cut corners
By Michael Oneal
Tribune staff reporter
8:08 AM CST, November 8, 2007
SHENZHEN, China
Sitting in a windowless conference room surrounded by the remote-control toy Ferraris and Mercedes he sells the world over, factory owner Kuma Gu summed up what it's like to manufacture products for American consumers these days.
"A lot of Chinese companies have a saying," he said between drags on a cigarette. "Do you want to kill yourself? Then do business with Wal-Mart."
Gu wasn't looking for sympathy. He has thrived for years amid the economic miracle that has transformed this one-time steamy fishing village into one of the world's largest manufacturing bases.
But as he discussed the lead-paint fiasco that has damaged his industry's vital relationship with U.S. shoppers, Gu put the issue in far broader context.
China's export machine, he said, has become a victim of its own success.
