India v China: Export of Goods & Services

choi

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(1) India’s economy |  Not Just Rubies and Polyester Shirts; Is India becoming an export powerhouse?
Economist, Oct 8, 2011.
http://www.economist.com/node/21531527
("As for services, which are a third of the overall export basket, they are dominated by software, sold mainly to America and Europe, and may wilt")

(2) Adriana Gardella, A Company Grows, And Builds a Plant Back in the USA. New York Times, Oct 13, 2011.
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/13/business/smallbusiness/bringing-manufacturing-back-to-the-united-states.html?scp=1&sq=china%20handles&st=cse
(interview with an owner of a small business at Seatle that makes tap handles and signs for bars)

Quote:

"Our Chinese labor costs have increased 300 percent since 2006, when we opened our factory there. Even at the higher wages Chinese workers are demanding, it’s gotten harder to find labor. To stay competitive we’ve also had to upgrade benefits like dormitories and food. On top of that, the Chinese currency continues to appreciate — it was valued at 8.28 to the dollar when I started the business. Now it’s at 6.38. And I predict shipping costs will keep going up as a result of the rising cost of oil.

"Five years ago, there was an absolute advantage to manufacturing in China. Today, some things are better produced here, and some are better produced there. It’s 50-50. But I think the U.S. advantage will become clearer with time.

His American workers will be "[m]ostly skilled technicians who can use computer numerical controlled machines. * * * [Why are you leaving the tap-handle manufacturing in China?] The tap handles have very intricate shapes — for example, the teeth on a whale — that require detailed hand painting. It’s labor that you can’t automate. I’ve searched the world and not been able to find the same quality of labor elsewhere.

Note:
(a) Woodinville, Washington
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Woodinville,_Washington
(part of the Seattle metropolitan area)
(b) lead time (n; First Known Use 1944):
"the time between the beginning of a process or project and the appearance of its results"
www.m-w.com


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