Made in America, Again

Why Manufacturing Will Return to the U.S.

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Made in America, Again
Why Manufacturing Will Return to the U.S.
Harold L. Sirkin, Michael Zinser, and Douglas Hohner
August 2011
Made in America, Again 2
Chinas overwhelming manufacturing cost advantage over the U.S. is shrinking fast.
Within fve years, a Boston Consulting Group analysis concludes, rising Chinese
wages, higher U.S. productivity, a weaker dollar, and other factors will virtually close
the cost gap between the U.S. and China for many goods consumed in North
America.
LOOK AT TOTAL COSTS
Companies should undertake a rigorous, product-by-product analysis of their global
supply networks that fully accounts for total costs, rather than just factory wages.
For many products sold in North America, the U.S. will become a more attractive
manufacturing option.
REASSESS YOUR CHINA STRATEGY
For many products that have a high labor content and are destined for Asian
markets, manufacturing in China will remain the best choice because of technologi-
cal leadership or economies of scale. But China should no longer be treated as the
default option.
AT A GLANCE
The Boston Consulting Group 3
F
or more than a decade, deciding where to build a manufacturing plant to
supply the world was simple for many companies. With its seemingly limitless
supply of low-cost labor and an enormous, rapidly developing domestic market, an
artifcially low currency, and signifcant government incentives to attract foreign
investment, China was the clear choice.
Now, however, a combination of economic forces is fast eroding Chinas cost advan-
tage as an export platform for the North American market. Meanwhile, the U.S.,
with an increasingly fexible workforce and a resilient corporate sector, is becoming
more attractive as a place to manufacture many goods consumed on this continent.
An analysis by The Boston Consulting Group concludes that, by sometime around
2015for many goods destined for North American consumersmanufacturing in
some parts of the U.S. will be just as economical as manufacturing in China. The
key reasons for this shif include the following:
Wage and beneft increases of 15 to 20 percent per year at the average Chinese
factory will slash Chinas labor-cost advantage over low-cost states in the U.S.,
from 55 percent today to 39 percent in 2015, when adjusted for the higher
productivity of U.S. workers. Because labor accounts for a small portion of a
products manufacturing costs, the savings gained from outsourcing to China
will drop to single digits for many products.
For many goods, when transportation, duties, supply chain risks, industrial real
estate, and other costs are fully accounted for, the cost savings of manufacturing
in China rather than in some U.S. states will become minimal within the next
fve years.
Automation and other measures to improve productivity in China wont be
enough to preserve the countrys cost advantage. Indeed, they will undercut the
primary attraction of outsourcing to Chinaaccess to low-cost labor.
Given rising income levels in China and the rest of developing Asia, demand for
goods in the region will increase rapidly. Multinational companies are likely to
devote more of their capacity in China to serving the domestic Chinese as well
as the larger Asian market, and to bring some production work for the North
American market back to the U.S.
Manufacturing of some goods will shif from China to nations with lower labor
costs, such as Vietnam, Indonesia, and Mexico. But these nations ability to
Made in America, Again 4
absorb the higher-end manufacturing that would otherwise go to China will be
limited by inadequate infrastructure, skilled workers, scale, and domestic supply
networks, as well as by political and intellectual property risks. Low worker
productivity, corruption, and the risk to personal safety are added concerns in
some countries.
This reallocation of global manufacturing is in its very early phases. It will vary
dramatically from industry to industry, depending on labor content, transportation
costs, Chinas competitive strengths, and the strategic needs of individual compa-
nies. But we believe that it will become more pronounced over the next fve years,
especially as companies face decisions about where to add future capacity. While
China will remain an important manufacturing platform for Asia and Europe, the
U.S. will become increasingly attractive for the production of many goods sold to
consumers in North America.
This report, the frst in a series, examines the economic trends that point to a U.S.
manufacturing renaissance. It also explores the strategic implications of the shifing
cost equation for companies engaged in global sourcing.
The U.S. Decline and Renaissance in Perspective
The death of American manufacturing has been foretold many times in the past
four decades. As the only major industrialized nation not leveled by World War II,
the U.S. accounted for around 40 percent of the worlds manufactured goods in the
early 1950s. But then, fueled by a relentless wave of imports from a reconstructed
Europe and eventually from Japan, the U.S. experienced a dramatic loss of market
share in industries such as color TVs, steel, cars, and computer chips. In the 1970s
and 1980s, fears of the loss of U.S. industrial competitiveness were particularly
acute, prompting a widespread debate over whether the nation should adopt a
Japan Inc.-style industrial policy and teach its schoolchildren to speak Japanese.
Then came the rise of such East Asian Tigers as South Korea and Taiwan, which led
to a massive transfer of production of labor-intensive goods, including apparel,
shoes, and toys, and then of much of the U.S. computer and consumer-electronics
manufacturing industry.
The U.S. sufered through many painful adjustments to these challenges. Unlike
most nations, however, it quickly ripped of the Band-Aid and allowed industry to
adapt. Factories closed, companies failed, banks wrote of losses, and workers had
to learn new skills. But U.S. industry and the economy responded with surprising
fexibility and speed to reemerge more competitive and productive than ever. By
the late 1990s, American companies dominated the world in high-value industries
such as microprocessors, aerospace, networking equipment, sofware, and pharma-
ceuticals. Manufacturing investment, output, and employment surged.
It may not be obvious yet, but the U.S. manufacturing sector is today in the midst
of a similar process of readjustment in response to perhaps its greatest competitive
threat everthe rise of China. Since opening its doors to foreign investment and
trade, China has ofered a virtually unbeatable combination of seemingly limitless
cheap labor (less than $1 per hour), a growing pool of engineers, a fxed currency,
The reallocation of
global manufacturing
will become more
pronounced over the
next fve years,
especially as compa-
nies face decisions
about where to add
future capacity.
The Boston Consulting Group 5
and local governments willing to ofer inexpensive land, free infrastructure, and
generous fnancial incentives.
In the decade since it entered the World Trade Organization (WTO) in 2001, China
has essentially become the default option for companies wishing to outsource
production in order to lower costs. From 2000 to 2009, Chinas exports leapt nearly
fvefold, to $1.2 trillion, and its share of global exports rose from 3.9 percent to
9.7 percent, according to United Nations Conference on Trade and Development
data. These developments occurred in a remarkable breadth of industries, from
labor-intensive assembly work to heavy industry and high-tech. Chinas portion of
global apparel exports increased from 17.4 percent to 32.1 percent, for example. Its
share of the world export market for furniture soared from 7.5 percent to 25.9 per-
cent, for ships from 4.1 percent to 19.6 percent, for telecom equipment from
6.5 percent to 27.8 percent, and for ofce machines and computer equipment from
4.9 percent to 32.6 percent. In the U.S., meanwhile, the loss of some 6 million
manufacturing jobs and the closure of tens of thousands of factories over the past
decade has fanned frequent warnings of a manufacturing crisis.
The Tide Is Turning
Once again, however, predictions of the demise of American manufacturing are
likely to prove wrong. The U.S. manufacturing sector remains robust. Output is
almost two and a half times its 1972 level in constant dollars, even though employ-
ment has dropped by 33 percent. Despite the recent wave of outsourcing to China,
the value of U.S. manufacturing output increased by one-third, to $1.65 trillion, from
1997 to 2008before the onset of the recessionthanks to the strongest productiv-
ity growth in the industrial world. Although China accounted for 19.8 percent of
global manufacturing value added in 2010, the U.S. still accounted for 19.4 per-
centa share that has declined only slightly over the past three decades.
The conditions are coalescing for another U.S. resurgence. Rising wages, shipping
costs, and land pricescombined with a strengthening renminbiare rapidly
eroding Chinas cost advantages. The U.S., meanwhile, is becoming a lower-cost
country. Wages have declined or are rising only moderately. The dollar is weaken-
ing. The workforce is becoming increasingly fexible. Productivity growth continues.
Our analysis concludes that, within fve years, the total cost of production for many
products will be only about 10 to 15 percent less in Chinese coastal cities than in
some parts of the U.S. where factories are likely to be built. Factor in shipping,
inventory costs, and other considerations, andfor many goods destined for the
North American marketthe cost gap between sourcing in China and manufactur-
ing in the U.S. will be minimal. In some cases, companies will move work to inland
China to fnd lower wages. But this will not be an attractive option in many indus-
tries. Chinese cities in the interior provinces lack the abundance of skilled workers,
supply networks, and efcient transportation infrastructure of those along the
coast, ofsetting much of the savings aforded by slightly lower labor costs.
When all costs are taken into account, certain U.S. states, such as South Carolina,
Alabama, and Tennessee, will turn out to be among the least expensive production
The U.S. is becoming
a lower-cost country,
with a workforce that
is increasingly fexible
and productivity
growth continuing.
Made in America, Again 6
sites in the industrialized world. As a result, we expect companies to begin building
more capacity in the U.S. to supply North America. The early evidence of such a
shif is mounting.
NCR moved production of its ATMs to a plant in Columbus, Georgia, that will
employ 870 people by 2014.
The Coleman Company is moving production of its 16-quart wheeled plastic
cooler from China to Wichita, Kansas, owing to rising Chinese manufacturing
and shipping costs.
Ford Motor Company is bringing up to 2,000 jobs back to the U.S. in the wake of
a favorable agreement with the United Auto Workers that allows the company
to hire new workers at $14 per hour.
Sleek Audio has moved production of its high-end headphones from Chinese
suppliers to its plant in Manatee County, Florida.
Peerless Industries will consolidate all manufacturing of audio-visual mounting
systems in Illinois, moving work from China in order to achieve cost efciencies,
shorter lead times, and local control over manufacturing processes.
Outdoor Greatroom Company moved production of its fre pits and some
outdoor shelters from China to the U.S., citing the inconvenience of having to
book orders from Chinese contractors nine months in advance.
The reallocation of production is still in its early stages, but we believe it will
accelerate in the years ahead. The impact of the changing cost equation will vary
from industry to industry. Products in which labor accounts for a small portion of
total costs and in which volumes are modest, such as auto parts, construction
equipment, and appliances, will be among those that companies reevaluate in
terms of their options for supplying the North American market. But the manufac-
ture of goods with relatively higher labor content that are produced in high vol-
umes will likely remain in China. Finally, companies that make mass-produced,
labor-intensive products, like apparel and shoes, may move production from China
to other low-cost nations. (We will assess the implications of the new manufactur-
ing math for specifc industries in the second report in this series.)
These trends do not suggest that Chinese manufacturing will decline or that multi-
national companies will shut their mainland plants. More Chinese production
capacity will be devoted to supplying the countrys enormous domestic market,
which is gaining millions of new middle-class households each year, as well as other
growing economies in Asia. In addition, China will continue to remain a low-cost
supplier to Western Europe. And China will remain competitive in industries that
have developed strong clusters of excellence and that have an immense installed
base of production capacity and component and material suppliers.
This means that when it comes to building new production capacity, companies will
likely choose to explore alternatives instead of automatically opting for China. Over
The manufacture of
goods with relatively
high labor content
that are produced in
high volumes will
likely remain
in China.
The Boston Consulting Group 7
the next fve years, we believe that the U.S. will be the optimal choice for many
manufacturing investments aimed at serving the North American market.
The New Manufacturing Math
A combination of factors is starting to dramatically shif the manufacturing cost
equation in favor of the U.S.
Chinas Rising Wages
Rising labor rates have been a fact of life in Chinese factories for years. Average
wages leapt by 150 percent from 1999 through 2006, for example, a period in which
China emerged as the worlds workshop for a range of industries. Those increases
started from a low base, but now the tipping point is in sight. For one thing, wage
growth has accelerated much faster than productivity growth. From 2000 through
2005, pay and benefts for the average Chinese factory worker rose by 10 percent
annually. (See Exhibit 1.) From 2005 through 2010, wage hikes averaged 19 percent
per year, while the fully loaded cost of U.S. production workers rose by only 4 per-
cent. The last few years have been especially volatile in China. In 2010, the giant
contract manufacturer Foxconn International, which employs 920,000 people in
China alone, doubled wages at its immense Shenzhen campus following a string of
worker suicides. Afer a factory supplying Honda was hit by strikes last year, wages
rose by 47 percent. Minimum wages rose by more than 20 percent in 20 Chinese
regions, and by up to 30 percent in Sichuan province.
Average wages could approach 17 percent of those
in the U.S. by 2015, up from 3 percent in 2000
China
U.S. 2
10
4
19
20002005
(%)
20102015
(%)
3
17
CAGR
20052010
(%)
Ratio of
average
Chinese
to average
U.S. wage
rates
2009
2008
2007
2006
2005
18.8
2004
2003
2002
2001
2000
0.5
16.6
Fully loaded factory-worker wages ($/hour)
30
25
20
15
10
5
0
4%
9%
17%
2015E
26.1
2014E
2013E
2012E
2011E
2010
2.0
22.3
3%
4.5
0.8
Sources: Economist Intelligence Unit; U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics; selected company data; BCG analysis.
Exhibit 1 | China's Wage Rates Are Growing Rapidly
Made in America, Again 8
BCGs research projects that over the next fve years, the fully loaded cost of
Chinese workers in the Yangtze River Delta, which includes Shanghai and the
provinces of Zhejiang and Jiangsu, will rise by an annual average of 18 percent, to
about $6.31 per hour. This region has the highest manufacturing output in the
country and is the heart of such high-skilled industries as automobiles and electron-
ics. Chinese compensation packages will then be equal to about 25 percent of what
skilled workers are earning in the manufacturing states of the southern U.S. While
this gap may still seem huge, consider that factory workers in the Yangtze River
Delta averaged only 72 cents per hour in 2000, compared with $15.81 per hour in
the U.S. South.
It is also possible that this trend will accelerate. Chinese labor organizations are
gaining a greater ability to demand higher wages and benefts from foreign compa-
nies. The government is enacting new labor laws that give greater rights to workers,
requiring, for example, that companies pay laid-of workers one months salary in
severance for every year that they worked.
Productivity Insufficient to Offset Wage Increases
One common belief is that rising Chinese productivity will compensate for rising
wages. Indeed, manufacturing output per worker in China has improved by an
average of 10 percent per year over the past decade, nearly five times the pace of
U.S. productivity growth. Although we forecast that Chinese productivity growth
will remain impressive, at 8.5 percent annually over the next five years, output
per worker will increase at only half the pace of the rise in wages. (See Exhibit 2.)
This means that productivity-adjusted costs are rising, which in the past was not
always the case.
Chinese productivity relative to U.S. productivity (%)
80
60
40
20
100
0
2015 2014 2013 2012 2011 2010 2009 2008 2007 2006 2005 2004 2003 2002 2001 2000
40
29
20
13
Growing at nearly 10 percent per year, Chinas productivity
could reach 40 percent of U.S. productivity by 2015
Average unit productivity, CAGR
20002010
(%)
U.S.: ~2
China: ~10
Average unit productivity, CAGR
20102015
(%)
U.S.: ~1
China: ~8.5
Sources: Economist Intelligence Unit; U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics; BCG analysis.
Note: All figures are based on real units.
Exhibit 2 | Chinas Productivity Gains Will Lag Behind Wage Increases
The Boston Consulting Group 9
Add in the diference in productivity itself, and the cost gap between Chinese and
U.S. manufacturing shrinks much further. Adjusted for output per worker, the
average cost of Chinese labor was 22 percent that of U.S. labor in 2005. By 2010,
average Chinese labor costs had risen to 31 percent of the U.S. level. Although the
Yangtze River Delta is more productive than other regions in China, the gap in
wages is quickly closing there, as well. The hourly Chinese factory wage adjusted for
productivity was $8.62 in the region in 2010, compared with $21.25 in the U.S.
South. In 2015, labor adjusted for productivity will cost $15.03 an hour in the
Yangtze River Delta, compared with a projected $24.81 in the U.S. South.
While it may appear that Chinese wages are still much lower, keep in mind that
labor is only part of the cost of making a product. The labor content ranges from
only about 7 percent for products like video cameras to about 25 percent for a
machined auto part. When transportation, duties, and other costs are included, not
to mention the expected continued appreciation of Chinas currency, companies
may fnd that any cost savings to be gained from sourcing in China may not be
worth the time and myriad risks and headaches associated with operating a supply
chain extending halfway around the world.
To illustrate how the math is changing, lets look at a hypothetical part for a car
assembled in the U.S. One option is to make the part in the U.S. Southsay, in South
Carolina. The alternative is to make it in the Yangtze River Delta. (See Exhibit 3.)
In 2000, it would have made economic sense to source the part in China, where
wages were about 20 times lower. Now fast-forward to 2015. The U.S. labor cost for
the part will come to $3.31. At a factory in the Yangtze River Delta, workers will still
2000 2015E
Wage rate ($/hour) 15.81 24.81
Productivity (%) 100 100
Labor cost/part ($) 2.11 3.31
Wage rate ($/hour) 0.72 6.31
Productivity (%)
1
13 42
Labor cost/part ($) 0.74 2.00
Labor cost savings (%) 65 39
Total cost savings before
transportation, duties,
and other costs (%)
16 10
Imagine a
company...
...with the following
choices of location
U.S.-based auto parts
supplier
Most customers are U.S.
OEMs that manufacture
in the U.S.
U.S.,
selected
southern
states
China,
Yangtze
River
Delta
Flexible unions/
workforce
Minimal wage
growth
High worker
productivity
Scarce labor
Rapidly rising
wages
Low productivity
relative to the U.S.
Parts require eight
minutes of labor, on
average, in the U.S.
Labor represents
one-quarter of the
total cost of the part
Sources: Economist Intelligence Unit; U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics; BCG analysis.
1
Average productivity difference between the U.S. and China's Yangtze River Delta. Productivity in the Yangtze River Delta region is assumed to
grow at a CAGR of ~7 percent over a 2009 baseline, slightly slower than overall Chinese manufacturing productivity (~8.5%) as other regions adopt
more advanced manufacturing practices.
Exhibit 3 | Economics Will Drive Reinvestment in the U.S.
Made in America, Again 10
be earning only one-quarter of their U.S. counterparts wages. However, even with
massive productivity improvements, output per worker at the Chinese factory will
be only 42 percent that of a southern U.S. plant. So the Chinese labor cost for the
part will be $2.00, bringing the savings down to 39 percent. Moreover, since labor
represents approximately one-quarter of the total cost of making the part, the total
savings will shrink further, to less than 10 percent.
Thus, the cost savings, if any, are unlikely to be enough to justify outsourcing the part
to China, once all the other costs and risks are taken into account. If this trend contin-
ues through 2020, say, the equation might even reverse itself completelywith
manufacture in the U.S. being cheaper even before those added costs are considered.
The Limits of Automation
It might seem that greater investment in automation would solve the problem of
Chinas lower productivity. Multinational companies would merely have to install
the same equipment used in their factories at home. That, however, would under-
cut the chief competitive advantage of manufacturing in Chinalow labor costs.
Automation reduces a products labor content. Despite the greater productivity that
automation would aford, Chinas total cost advantage over the U.S. would likely not
increase signifcantly as a result.
Take a kitchen appliance for which labor accounts for 20 percent of the cost. (See
Exhibit 4.) In 2005, the products labor cost in a typical Chinese factory would have
been 61 percent lower than in the U.S., and the total cost before supply chain costs
would have been about 21 percent lower, accounting for productivity diferences.
By 2015, higher Chinese wages will have shrunk that total cost advantage to 13 per-
cent. Now assume that the factory in China installs production lines identical to
those in the U.S. and that it achieves the same level of productivity. Because of the
reduced labor content of the appliance and the costs of operating the advanced
factory, the total savings from manufacturing in China would improve only slightly,
to 15 percent, according to our analysis. Again, that is before shipping, duties,
inventory costs, and other expenses. For such an appliance intended for sale in
North America, many companies would probably decide to build it domestically.
Other Expenses
Labor isnt the only part of Chinas changing cost equation. The cost of electricity
has surged by 15 percent since 2010. Rising prices for imported thermal coal and an
end to preferential rates for high-energy-consuming businesses are also pushing up
utility rates for industry, which consumes 74 percent of Chinas electricity.
In addition, industrial land is no longer cheap in China. In fact, commercial prices
are dramatically higher than in most of the U.S. For example, industrial land costs
$11.15 per square foot in the coastal city of Ningbo, $14.49 in Nanjing, $17.29 in
Shanghai, and $21 in Shenzhen. The national average is $10.22 per square foot.
Industrial land in Alabama, by contrast, costs only $1.86 to $7.43 per square foot; in
Tennessee and North Carolina, the price ranges from $1.30 to $4.65. To secure low
real-estate costs in China, companies will need to move inland. But in so doing, they
will incur higher transportation costs and lose some of the benefts of being part of
the industrial clusters that have grown up in the major coastal cities.
Greater investment
in automation
would undercut the
chief competitive
advantage of
manufacturing
in Chinalow
labor costs.
The Boston Consulting Group 11
Transpacifc shipping rates are going up, too. While ocean freight remains inexpen-
sive, the doubling of bunker-fuel prices since early 2009 is causing rates to increase.
Rising oil prices, a fallof in new shipbuilding, and a projected shortage in container
port capacity in 2015 are expected to boost ocean freight rates.
The steady appreciation of the renminbi against the U.S. dollar, meanwhile, is further
increasing the price of Chinese exports to the U.S. We expect that trend to continue.
Finally, there are the many costs and headaches of relying on extended supply
chains. These include inventory expenses, quality control problems, unanticipated
travel needs, and the threat of supply disruptions due to port closures or natural
disasters. With China, there are added concerns about intellectual-property theft
and trade disputes that result in punitive duties. In response to a petition by the
United Steelworkers, for instance, the U.S. in 2010 began investigating subsidies of
Chinese green-technology products, such as wind turbines and solar panels, for
possible unfair trade practices. In September 2009, the U.S. imposed extra duties
of 25 to 35 percent on certain Chinese car and truck tires under a WTO safe-
guard provision that allows countries to curb surges of Chinese imports that
cause market disruptions.
Other Low-Cost Countries
It might seem reasonable for many companies to look for sourcing opportunities in
other low-cost nations and to shif much of their export manufacturing from China
to these cheaper locations. Fully loaded hourly manufacturing wages average $1.80
60
40
20
0
2015
100
15
75
2015E
42
13
39
2010
27
16
44
2005
19
21
61
2000
13
25
66
Cost savings (%)
100
80
Chinas productivity relative to U.S. productivity (%)
Total cost savings in China (%)
Labor cost savings in China (%)
1

Product with 20 percent labor content

(Chinas productivity
assumed to be equal
to U.S. productivity)
Total savings before
supply chain costs
Source: BCG analysis.
1
Total labor cost in China divided by total labor cost in the U.S.
Exhibit 4 | Increased Automation in China Is Unlikely to Change the Cost Equation
Made in America, Again 12
in Thailand, 49 cents in Vietnam, 38 cents in Indonesia, and 35 cents in Cambodia.
There has already been a signifcant transfer of work in apparel, footwear, sporting
goods, and other labor-intensive products to South and Southeast Asia.
Other low-cost nations wont be able to absorb all the export manufacturing that is
likely to leave China, however. A simple reason is that there is no replacement for
Chinas labor force. China not only has the worlds largest population (1.34 billion),
it also has the highest proportion of able-bodied adults in the workforce (84 per-
cent). Twenty-eight percent of those workers are employed by industry, far more
than in Southeast Asia, indicating that China has an estimated 215 million industri-
al jobs. That is approximately 58 percent more than the industrial workforce of all
of Southeast Asia and India combined. Chinese workers are also more productive
than workers in other low-cost nations. Vietnamese workers earn only 25 percent of
what their Chinese counterparts earn, but Chinese workers are signifcantly more
productive, which mitigates much of the labor savings advantage. Whats more, as
labor markets grow tighter, wages are rising fast in low-cost Asian nations, as well.
Nor can many other low-cost nations match the frst-rate infrastructure, skilled
talent pool, well-developed supply networks, and worker productivity of Chinas
coastal industrial zones. Add to that the advantageous treatment by Chinese
bureaucracies, from the central government down to the villages, which have
showered foreign investors in targeted industries with incentives and have speedily
cut through red tape. Indeed, for the manufacturing world, China has been the
opposite of a perfect storm, ofering a total package unlikely to be matched by any
other low-cost nation.
Mexico, on the other hand, has the potential to be a big winner when it comes to
supplying North America. It has the enormous advantage of bordering the U.S.,
which means that goods can reach much of the country in a day or two, as opposed
to at least 21 days by ship from China. Goods imported from Mexico can also enter
duty-free, thanks to the North American Free Trade Agreement. In addition, by
2015, wages in Mexico will be signifcantly lower than in China. In 2000, Mexican
factory workers earned more than four times as much as Chinese workers. Afer
Chinas entry into the WTO in 2001, however, maquiladora industrial zones border-
ing the U.S. sufered a large loss in manufacturing. Now that has changed. By 2010,
Chinese workers were earning only two-thirds as much as their Mexican counter-
parts. By 2015, BCG forecasts that the fully loaded cost of hiring Chinese workers
will be 25 percent higher than the cost of using Mexican workers.
Mexicos gains will be limited, however, especially in higher-value work now done
in China. Because of concerns over personal safety, skill shortages, and poor infra-
structure, many companies will keep manufacturing high-end products in the U.S.
The Role of Government Incentives
Governments in Asia and Europe have used generous fnancial incentives to per-
suade multinational companies to build high-tech plants in targeted industries.
Frequently they ofered terms that the U.S. could not match, such as ten-year
holidays from corporate taxes, cash grants, and cheap loans. In recent years, the
federal government and many states have closed the gap with aggressive incentive
Other low-cost
nations wont be able
to absorb all the
export manufacturing
that is likely to leave
China. There is no
replacement for
China's labor force.
The Boston Consulting Group 13
packages, making the U.S. more competitive in the chase for manufacturing facili-
ties. GlobalFoundries, for example, is receiving $1.3 billion in cash reimbursements
and tax breaks over the next 15 years from the State of New York to build a
$4.2 billion state-of-the-art silicon-wafer plant in Malta, New York, and Nissan
received a $1.45 billion loan under the Advanced Technology Vehicles Manufactur-
ing Program managed by the U.S. Department of Energy that covered most of the
companys $1.8 billion investment in a new plant in Tennessee.
While government subsidies wont make a major diference in determining whether
a plant is built in the U.S. instead of in Asia, they can make the decision easier at a
time when other cost factors are shifing in favor of the U.S.
Chinas Manufacturing Future
A U.S. resurgence will not diminish Chinas role as a global manufacturing power.
The nations immense domestic market, installed base across a range of capital-
intensive industries, and pool of skilled talent guarantee that it will be a rising force
in a range of manufacturing sectors.
Instead of pulling out of China, most multinational companies will orient more of
their production to serve China and the rest of a growing Asia. In nominal terms,
Chinas economy is projected to be about two-thirds the size of the U.S. economy by
2015. It is already slightly larger than Japans and will be nearly twice as big in
another fve years. Disposable income is expected to grow by 230 percent, to $5.57
trillion. Over the next fve years, China will add nearly 90 million households
earning at least $9,000 per year.
China also will continue to be a major low-cost export base for Western Europe,
even though the wage gap will narrow signifcantly. In 2010, fully loaded wage costs
adjusted for productivity in the Yangtze River Delta were 25 percent of those in
Western Europe. In 2015, wages in the region will be only 38 percent of those in
Western Europe. This change will probably not be enough to generate a tipping
point, so Europe will continue to rely on China as a primary source of manufac-
tured products fve years from now.
The Implications for Companies
The shifing cost structure between China and the U.S. will present more manufac-
turing and sourcing choices. For many products that have a high labor content and
are destined for Asian markets, manufacturing in China will still make sense
because of technological leadership or economies of scale. But China should no
longer be treated as the default option.
Companies should undertake a fresh, rigorous, product-by-product analysis of their
global supply networks that takes into account the total cost of production. Rather
than fxate on labor rates, this analysis should factor in worker productivity, transit
costs, time-to-market considerations, logistical risks, energy costs, and other expens-
es in a range of scenarios. Companies should also make sure that their supply
chains are fexible, dynamic, and globally balanced, providing the leeway to shif
A U.S. resurgence will
not diminish Chinas
role as a global
manufacturing power.
Made in America, Again 14
production and sourcing to other locations when the time is right. And they should
weigh the many intrinsic advantages of locating manufacturing close to consumers,
such as the ability to more quickly get products into the hands of customers, replace
depleted inventory of popular items, and make design changes in response to
market trends or customer demands.
In some cases, companies may fnd that now is the time it makes tactical sense to
move some production away from China and into the U.S., Mexico, or Southeast
Asia. Manufacturers that remain in China for economic or strategic reasons will
have to fnd dramatic ways to improve efciency if they are to preserve current
levels of proftability in the face of double-digit annual wage hikes.
More-strategic decisions will have to be made when the time comes to consider
where to build new manufacturing capacity to serve markets outside of China. Our
analysis suggests that the U.S. will become an increasingly attractive option, espe-
cially for products consumed in North America. As long as it provides a favorable
investment climate and fexible labor force, the U.S. can look forward to a manufac-
turing renaissance.
The Boston Consulting Group 15
About the Authors
Harold L. Sirkin is a senior partner and managing director in the Chicago ofce of The Boston
Consulting Group and the author of GLOBALITY: Competing with Everyone from Everywhere for Every-
thing. You may contact him by e-mail at [email protected].
Michael Zinser is a partner and managing director in the frms Chicago ofce. You may contact
him by e-mail at [email protected].
Douglas Hohner is a partner and managing director in BCGs Chicago ofce. You may contact
him by e-mail at [email protected].
Acknowledgments
This report would not have been possible without the eforts of Justin Rose, Chris Erickson, and
Jonas Bengtson of BCGs project team. The authors also would like to thank David Fondiller, Lexie
Corriveau, Beth Gillette, and Mike Petkewich for their guidance and interactions with the media,
Pete Engardio for his writing assistance, and BCGs editorial and production staf, including Gary
Callahan, Angela DiBattista, Abby Garland, Sean Hourihan, and Gina Goldstein.
For Further Contact
If you would like to discuss this Focus report, please contact one of the authors.
For a complete list of BCG publications and information about how to obtain copies, please visit our website at
www.bcg.com/publications.
To receive future publications in electronic form about this topic or others, please visit our subscription website at
www.bcg.com/subscribe.
The Boston Consulting Group, Inc. 2011. All rights reserved.
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