Link This |
Email this |
Blog This |
Comments (3)
More American toy manufacturing jobs?
September 6, 2007
I, as have many of you, have been asked if the problems with Chinese imports may prompt toy manufacturers to return to producing products in the US, and thereby, creating new manufacturing jobs.
Well, my answer is yes and no. Yes, it could prompt toy manufacturers to return home. No, even if they do it will not create many manufacturing jobs.
Here is why. Last week, I spoke with a company that makes injected molded plastics right here in the United States. Not only do they make them but they are competitive on price. How do they do it? In a word, automation!
As they explained it to me, the fewer the people who touch the product the lower the cost. So, any company that wants to produce in the US and continue to give American consumers the perceived value they expect will have to do it with far fewer employees.
What we may see is the beginning of a cycle that began when US companies migrated out of the US to pursue lower prices and accomplished by relying on low labor costs. We may have hit the wall and jobs could be coming home; just a whole lot fewer of them.
Posted by Richard Gottlieb on September 6, 2007 | Comments (3)
