Comments on: Top 10 Manufacturing Countries 2006 http://management.curiouscatblog.net/2008/01/15/top-10-manufacturing-countries-2006/ Management Improvement focused on Deming, lean thinking, innovation, customer focus, six sigma, etc. Wed, 08 Feb 2012 14:35:23 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 By: CuriousCat: Outsourcing To America http://management.curiouscatblog.net/2008/01/15/top-10-manufacturing-countries-2006/comment-page-1/#comment-32308 CuriousCat: Outsourcing To America Fri, 30 May 2008 12:30:49 +0000 http://management.curiouscatblog.net/2008/01/15/top-10-manufacturing-countries-2006/#comment-32308 "Foreign production in the U.S., however, is not limited to the automotive industry…. In fact, almost 1 million Americans get their paychecks from Mexican companies..." “Foreign production in the U.S., however, is not limited to the automotive industry…. In fact, almost 1 million Americans get their paychecks from Mexican companies…”

]]> By: Ron http://management.curiouscatblog.net/2008/01/15/top-10-manufacturing-countries-2006/comment-page-1/#comment-31160 Ron Tue, 22 Jan 2008 05:18:22 +0000 http://management.curiouscatblog.net/2008/01/15/top-10-manufacturing-countries-2006/#comment-31160 John, The temptation to rank x or y is great. We all want to know how our countries are doing. But I just want to sum this up and this is a fact. No matter what other techniques you bring about to increase production and productivity, the lifline of both the U.S and China is oil. Both of these nations produce very little. How these two giants go about in the world capturing black gold to feed their millions is the vital key to being top manufacturer, top everything... John,

The temptation to rank x or y is great. We all want to know how our countries are doing.

But I just want to sum this up and this is a fact. No matter what other techniques you bring about to increase production and productivity, the lifline of both the U.S and China is oil. Both of these nations produce very little. How these two giants go about in the world capturing black gold to feed their millions is the vital key to being top manufacturer, top everything…

]]> By: John Hunter http://management.curiouscatblog.net/2008/01/15/top-10-manufacturing-countries-2006/comment-page-1/#comment-31144 John Hunter Mon, 21 Jan 2008 01:39:48 +0000 http://management.curiouscatblog.net/2008/01/15/top-10-manufacturing-countries-2006/#comment-31144 Not really 2 years old, the data for the calendar year 2006 is approaching 13 months old. The way people have been talking about the "death of US manufacturing" for at least 10 years getting a clear picture of the actual state of affairs is important. I would be surprised if the trends change much in the next couple of years. China continues to grow rapidly. Manufacturing in the USA also continues to grow. The USA stays the largest manufacturing country. It is harder to tell where things will stand 10 years from now. I would guess the USA would still be the largest though it is possible it will be 2nd. It is not really possible it will be less than 2nd. I would be surprised if the USA wasn't manufacturing more then than it is today. I would be surprised if we didn't have fewer workers in manufacturing. I would be amazed if productivity were not substantially higher (so that if we did not have fewer workers in manufacturing then our manufacturing output would be significantly above current levels). Not really 2 years old, the data for the calendar year 2006 is approaching 13 months old. The way people have been talking about the “death of US manufacturing” for at least 10 years getting a clear picture of the actual state of affairs is important. I would be surprised if the trends change much in the next couple of years. China continues to grow rapidly. Manufacturing in the USA also continues to grow. The USA stays the largest manufacturing country.

It is harder to tell where things will stand 10 years from now. I would guess the USA would still be the largest though it is possible it will be 2nd. It is not really possible it will be less than 2nd. I would be surprised if the USA wasn’t manufacturing more then than it is today. I would be surprised if we didn’t have fewer workers in manufacturing. I would be amazed if productivity were not substantially higher (so that if we did not have fewer workers in manufacturing then our manufacturing output would be significantly above current levels).

]]> By: Ron http://management.curiouscatblog.net/2008/01/15/top-10-manufacturing-countries-2006/comment-page-1/#comment-31141 Ron Sun, 20 Jan 2008 23:56:35 +0000 http://management.curiouscatblog.net/2008/01/15/top-10-manufacturing-countries-2006/#comment-31141 Curiouscat, Its nice to see you've been reading as well. I believe that you've said the right thing. Cheap labor is not everything, but it is nevertheless an important factor in bringing costs down while keeping quality the same or more. It is a very interesting game that's going on and I'll try to reason why this is so : 1. China is state run and quite pro business. There seems to be a planned way to development. 2. China's infrastructure is very developed compared to other countries in the south Asian belt. 3. China opened its doors to FDI way before other countries (late 70's), now there are quite experienced suppliers in the country who understand how businesses in U.S are run, they understand ISO standards etc. (Thats being moot as we're understanding that some bad products are made in China as well) 4. China is a far more attractive than India perhaps for manufacturing because India is more geared towards the IT services industry. It is said that India's consumption of aluminum is about two pounds per person, compared with nine pounds per person in China. 5. The foreign investment pouring into China is far more than other countries, where red tape-ism has been getting in the way in the private sector. You're right in saying that labor costs are not everything. That is all set to change as I hear that wages, especially in the rural areas of China, are steadily increasing. I think in high wage countries, Toyota, while not particularly interested in lower wages, has an excellent production system and that keeps costs to a minimum. They have gone outside Japan and duplicated their manufacturing plants and their production ideas exactly. Theirs has been a model to follow for auto makers in the U.S. I think China will exceed manufacturing in the U.S. The data you have provided is two years old. Think about it. 1. China has the most number of people. Its amazing when you think of the number. Chinese people are developing fast and are demanding more of everything, cars, computers, tvs, what not. 2. Steady oil cost increases for the U.S will ultimately slow down manufacturing unless they can get that oil cheaper, reduce transportation costs and what not from the supply chain. It'll be interesting to see what happens in the next couple of years. Ron Cozy Beehive Curiouscat,

Its nice to see you’ve been reading as well. I believe that you’ve said the right thing. Cheap labor is not everything, but it is nevertheless an important factor in bringing costs down while keeping quality the same or more. It is a very interesting game that’s going on and I’ll try to reason why this is so :

1. China is state run and quite pro business. There seems to be a planned way to development.

2. China’s infrastructure is very developed compared to other countries in the south Asian belt.

3. China opened its doors to FDI way before other countries (late 70′s), now there are quite experienced suppliers in the country who understand how businesses in U.S are run, they understand ISO standards etc. (Thats being moot as we’re understanding that some bad products are made in China as well)

4. China is a far more attractive than India perhaps for manufacturing because India is more geared towards the IT services industry. It is said that India’s consumption of aluminum is about two pounds per person, compared with nine pounds per person in China.

5. The foreign investment pouring into China is far more than other countries, where red tape-ism has been getting in the way in the private sector.

You’re right in saying that labor costs are not everything. That is all set to change as I hear that wages, especially in the rural areas of China, are steadily increasing.

I think in high wage countries, Toyota, while not particularly interested in lower wages, has an excellent production system and that keeps costs to a minimum. They have gone outside Japan and duplicated their manufacturing plants and their production ideas exactly. Theirs has been a model to follow for auto makers in the U.S.

I think China will exceed manufacturing in the U.S. The data you have provided is two years old.

Think about it.

1. China has the most number of people. Its amazing when you think of the number.

Chinese people are developing fast and are demanding more of everything, cars, computers, tvs, what not.

2. Steady oil cost increases for the U.S will ultimately slow down manufacturing unless they can get that oil cheaper, reduce transportation costs and what not from the supply chain.

It’ll be interesting to see what happens in the next couple of years.

Ron
Cozy Beehive

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