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China's days as 'world's factory' are over, iPhone maker says (Foxconn)

The chairman Young Liu said the company - also known as Foxconn - is gradually adding more capacity outside of China, the main base of production for gadgets from iPhones to Dell desktops and Nintendo Switches. The proportion outside the country is now at 30 per cent, up from 25 per cent last June. That ratio will rise as the company - the world's biggest electronics manufacturer - moves more manufacturing to Southeast Asia and other regions to avoid escalating tariffs on Chinese-made goods headed to US markets, Liu told reporters after his company reported financial results.

"No matter if it's India, Southeast Asia or the Americas, there will be a manufacturing ecosystem in each," Liu said, adding that while China will still play a key role in Foxconn's manufacturing empire, the country's "days as the world's factory are done."

Source

For reference - Foxconn manufactures electronic products for major American, Canadian, Chinese, Finnish and Japanese companies. Notable products manufactured by Foxconn include the BlackBerry, iPad, iPhone, iPod, Kindle, Nintendo 3DS, Nokia devices, Xiaomi devices, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Wii U, Xbox 360, Xbox One, and several CPU sockets, including the TR4 CPU socket on some motherboards. As of 2012, Foxconn factories manufactured an estimated 40% of all consumer electronics sold worldwide.


Misses, brother and I have been chatting about the backlash against China as Covid recovery progresses, it's going to really heat up for China. Personally I feel their aggressive behaviour in recent times appears to coincide with this very likely eventuality. It's great to see far less reliance on CCP and hopefully in turn it improves conditions for Chinese workers but I fear it will become an employment problem for the people as other manufacturers and countries reduce their reliance on CCP across the board.
 
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Phase

Member
Taiwan, all system are go!

giphy.gif
 
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highrider

Banned
Fuck China. They really aren’t a military force to be taken seriously, not yet. Perhaps in a few decades when they can build air and naval power. All they can really do is throw bodies at something. But they will not be able to take advantage of Trump, he’s not a globalist moron.
 
Its about time, tho I didnt see anyone have a problem with sweat shop mentality for their products to be manufactured before Covid. I feel because of current situation, the slowdowns of manufacturing etc, China knew people were eager to jump back in full production adn they probably raised their prices which left a bitter taste to developers. But hey, theres plenty of other countries it can be used for manufacturing that is still way cheaper than if it was done in the US but no more this child labor, 12 hour shift sweat shops.

For example Vietnam does major manufacturing for Adidas and Nike. Based on US salaries, they are getting paid peanuts but for them, its OK, they can take care of their family, theres no suicide rates, exploitation etc. They are much more grounded. China got way too big (inserted itself everywhere) and that is a scary thought, almost like a monopoly from a single country. Nothing against Chinese people, been there a few times, have friends etc but they are becoming scarily bigger and bigger.
 
Its about time, tho I didnt see anyone have a problem with sweat shop mentality for their products to be manufactured before Covid. I feel because of current situation, the slowdowns of manufacturing etc, China knew people were eager to jump back in full production adn they probably raised their prices which left a bitter taste to developers. But hey, theres plenty of other countries it can be used for manufacturing that is still way cheaper than if it was done in the US but no more this child labor, 12 hour shift sweat shops.

For example Vietnam does major manufacturing for Adidas and Nike. Based on US salaries, they are getting paid peanuts but for them, its OK, they can take care of their family, theres no suicide rates, exploitation etc. They are much more grounded. China got way too big (inserted itself everywhere) and that is a scary thought, almost like a monopoly from a single country. Nothing against Chinese people, been there a few times, have friends etc but they are becoming scarily bigger and bigger.

That's basically my definition; the people, culture and place are cool but the CCP ain't.
 
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nush

Member
For just over ten years there's been a rapidly depleting workforce for factory workers in China. Gone are the days where mirgrant workers would flock to the manufacturing towns in anything like the numbers they did late 90's -2000's. As China has pulled itself out of poverty and education has improved young workers now have more options for work in offices, retail, commercial and service industries. They no longer only have the option of being production line workers.

The salaries of production workers have climbed in order to attract them to the biggest factories alongside those factories having better worker facilities and this is adding onto the cost of the product. In fact for some factories automation has happened since the past few years, I've personally seen a robot make a pair of headphones, a robot make a PC keyboard in SIX seconds and even automatic self driving small train carts delivering parts to production lines. All due to the shortage of labor.

Also due to the rapidly rising price of property, factories have been pushed further and further away from from towns and the land the factories used to be on has been cleared and used for residential and commercial buildings. Workers don't want to go out an live in whatever remote place these factories now have to be situated in, so you'll actually now see the factories buying their own coaches and running a bus service to collect the workers from the place they actually want to live.

It's no surprise that larger manufacturers have been looking to relocate. However the challenges are not just labor but experienced skilled labor at a technical and management level as well as having a supply chain for components and raw materials that's all too focused on supplying China. These are things that people who have tried to move outside of China have had to deal with.
 

jadedm17

Member
Good, I can't speak for all but I'll pay more if that's the result.

To me I like to match energy, I firmly believe in the idea of "You teach others how to treat you." How you act should be how others act towards you.
China established long ago they don't care who they hurt or who's property they steal : They have whole fake Apple Stores.
If they don't care about undercutting products we make by stealing designs and copyrighted property, they don't care about us and who they hurt, so we shouldn't care about them.

I'll take this back if they ever make plans to change but they seriously don't give a shit about piracy and its ridiculous.
 

Neolombax

Member
Wonder what this will do the price of Iphones moving forward. I was working in the solar industry before, and we've experienced this kind of red tape years before. Companies do move their production to outside of China due to these red tape measures but China still sells the raw materials the cheapest. Hence you really can't move away completely from China unless you are willing to drive up product prices.
 

nush

Member
Good, I can't speak for all but I'll pay more if that's the result.

To me I like to match energy, I firmly believe in the idea of "You teach others how to treat you." How you act should be how others act towards you.
China established long ago they don't care who they hurt or who's property they steal : They have whole fake Apple Stores.
If they don't care about undercutting products we make by stealing designs and copyrighted property, they don't care about us and who they hurt, so we shouldn't care about them.

I'll take this back if they ever make plans to change but they seriously don't give a shit about piracy and its ridiculous.

Some factories will backdoor your own product into your market. They have everything they need to make perfect copy products, throw them up on Amazon and have a listing right under your own for $10 less. Even the big companies like Apple, Microsoft or Nintendo are not safe from it, you won't get a 100% copy switch or Ipad but samples of those products are leaked out and sold for $1000's before they have hit the market to other smaller boutique factories that make protective cases and chargers and be ready to sell them day one.
 

MaestroMike

Gold Member
didn't eat any soy today, but love this

edit: cuz of reduced dependence on china and diversifying who we buy our goods from hopefully raising the income/quality of life of these other countries :)
 
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For just over ten years there's been a rapidly depleting workforce for factory workers in China. Gone are the days where mirgrant workers would flock to the manufacturing towns in anything like the numbers they did late 90's -2000's. As China has pulled itself out of poverty and education has improved young workers now have more options for work in offices, retail, commercial and service industries. They no longer only have the option of being production line workers.

The salaries of production workers have climbed in order to attract them to the biggest factories alongside those factories having better worker facilities and this is adding onto the cost of the product. In fact for some factories automation has happened since the past few years, I've personally seen a robot make a pair of headphones, a robot make a PC keyboard in SIX seconds and even automatic self driving small train carts delivering parts to production lines. All due to the shortage of labor.

Also due to the rapidly rising price of property, factories have been pushed further and further away from from towns and the land the factories used to be on has been cleared and used for residential and commercial buildings. Workers don't want to go out an live in whatever remote place these factories now have to be situated in, so you'll actually now see the factories buying their own coaches and running a bus service to collect the workers from the place they actually want to live.

It's no surprise that larger manufacturers have been looking to relocate. However the challenges are not just labor but experienced skilled labor at a technical and management level as well as having a supply chain for components and raw materials that's all too focused on supplying China. These are things that people who have tried to move outside of China have had to deal with.

Interesting info on factory workforce conditions. I can't speak towards that specific industry but over the last 10 years tech services for quality work out of China has gone from the likes of USD $12-$20 to $25-$35 per hour. Still cheaper than Australian or USA counterparts in terms of pay grade but it's a sign of their living conditions, work/life options and generally being a developing nation. From your comments it appears to be across the board e.g. manufacturing and services.
 
I cannot recall where I read it but there was an article way way way back in 2010 talking about how Foxconn and other major players were trying to get out of China as quickly (in a few decades) as long term labor demands and the Chinese government would make it costly and annoying to mass produce in China. I have heard this similar theory from economic lectures on campus over the last few years as political stability is a must for mass production. I just see basic shit no matter if it is cell phones, medication or other mass produced items going to automation farms in poverty stricken countries that will allow massive factories and low labor costs to appease their own citizens demands for jobs.
 
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Porcile

Member
Maybe I'm misunderstanding but won't China still make all the money from the manufacturing in this case?
 

-Arcadia-

Banned
Everyone say 'Thank you, Donald Trump.'

In a normal world, I wouldn't have to write something half that arrogant, but in this one, a thousand excuses and historical revisionism pieces are coming.
 

epicnemesis

Member
I'm guessing as soon as a lot of companies leave China, that's when they'll start a world war.
I would imagine, like Germany in the 30s, they’ve already started a world war, the world just hasn’t realized it yet.

You have ethnic groups in concentration camps, and power grabs surrounding their borders that violate agreements with other countries. It’s a play by play of Nazi germany.
 

Texas Pride

Banned
I don't believe China and the US can coexist as we have up to this point. The first country to realize that and make the first move will have an advantage in the conflict to come if not knock the other out outright.
 
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GeorgPrime

Banned
I don't believe China and the US can coexist as we have up to this point. The first country to realize that and make the first move will have an advantage in the conflict to come if not knock the other out outright.

Whoever fires an atomic bomb first wins
 

Kenpachii

Member
I don't believe China and the US can coexist as we have up to this point. The first country to realize that and make the first move will have an advantage in the conflict to come if not knock the other out outright.

It won't come to a conflict. China will implode at some point and that will be the end of it. The reason for imploding its own people its just a matter of time.
 
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F

Foamy

Unconfirmed Member
Fuck China. They really aren’t a military force to be taken seriously, not yet. Perhaps in a few decades when they can build air and naval power. All they can really do is throw bodies at something. But they will not be able to take advantage of Trump, he’s not a globalist moron.
You do realize they have 6 subs capable of lobbing 12 nukes each anywhere they want?
I'd say that's to be taken seriously.
 
China no longer has the demographics to offer cheap labor to the outside world. They won't have enough able-bodied people to take care of their elderly in 20 years (wonder who will be liquidated...) let alone grow and transport food, let alone maintain the paper cities they've built, let alone defend their borders...
 

nush

Member
It won't come to a conflict. China will implode at some point and that will be the end of it. The reason for imploding its own people its just a matter of time.

Everybody there is OK with the status quo while they are getting richer, have jobs and living conditions are improving. As soon as that stops is when things could start going very wrong. Mao's cultural revolution is still within living memory, nobody wants to starve again.
 

Greedings

Member
I don’t get it. It’s still a Chinese company. Every Chinese company is directly linked to the regime. It will be China making money, while others do the work.
 

poppabk

Cheeks Spread for Digital Only Future
I don’t get it. It’s still a Chinese company. Every Chinese company is directly linked to the regime. It will be China making money, while others do the work.
They are a Taiwan based company. Of course this may just accelerate the Chinese ambitions to claim Taiwan as part of China.
Tariffs work, it seems.
Depends on what the goal is. Is this China moving backwards or China moving forwards? The US was once effectively the world's factory until they moved most of their manufacturing to cheaper countries. Foxxcon may build the iPhone but Apple are the ones who design and sell it and own the ecosystem.
 
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Need to see more products with the lable "Made in the USA". That's when you know shit will last you a long time. my tools are proof of that.

IFMGwcX.jpg

American products are not really of the highest quality. They often have heavy marketing behind them but the actual product is crap.
Let's take cars for example. Every single American car is an overpriced chunk of metal that can't really compete with European or Japanese made cars.
Bikes also. Harley Davidson makes cruisers that use 50 year old tech. They sell it at a premium cost while a similar cruiser, let's say a honda, costs a fraction of the price and outperforms a Harley.
I also had plenty of made in USA tools. All of them were shit compared to German Bosch or Japanese Makita.
Just my 2 cents.
 

godhandiscen

There are millions of whiny 5-year olds on Earth, and I AM THEIR KING.
I don’t get it. It’s still a Chinese company. Every Chinese company is directly linked to the regime. It will be China making money, while others do the work.
Yes, it is a move in the right direction, but China is still taking a large cut.
 

oagboghi2

Member
IFMGwcX.jpg

American products are not really of the highest quality. They often have heavy marketing behind them but the actual product is crap.
Let's take cars for example. Every single American car is an overpriced chunk of metal that can't really compete with European or Japanese made cars.
Bikes also. Harley Davidson makes cruisers that use 50 year old tech. They sell it at a premium cost while a similar cruiser, let's say a honda, costs a fraction of the price and outperforms a Harley.
I also had plenty of made in USA tools. All of them were shit compared to German Bosch or Japanese Makita.
Just my 2 cents.
I'll take my mustang over many Japanese cars any day. In my experience people who talk shit about American produced cars have rarely driven them.
 

zeorhymer

Member
All they are saying is that they are adding more capacity outside of China. Even though it's outside of the borders, CCP can and will still be able to take data/information/money right out of the company. Australia has this issue now since a lot of farmers/businesses are owned by Chinese nationals.
 

Patrick S.

Banned
IFMGwcX.jpg

American products are not really of the highest quality. They often have heavy marketing behind them but the actual product is crap.
Let's take cars for example. Every single American car is an overpriced chunk of metal that can't really compete with European or Japanese made cars.
Bikes also. Harley Davidson makes cruisers that use 50 year old tech. They sell it at a premium cost while a similar cruiser, let's say a honda, costs a fraction of the price and outperforms a Harley.
I also had plenty of made in USA tools. All of them were shit compared to German Bosch or Japanese Makita.
Just my 2 cents.

Most of what about you say American cars hasn't been true for a while. Makita is good, but is super expensive, so it better be. Bosch? Nowadays Bosch's traditional green series isn't super high quality anymore. Bosch blue series is better but $$$.
 

Mr Nash

square pies = communism
Make electronics in Japan again so the younger generations can see what quality control looks like.

When COVID broke out, the Japanese government offered to help pay Japanese companies to move factories out of China and back to Japan. So far it looks like 87 Japanese companies are taking them up on the offer. 30 are moving to other parts of Asia while the other 57 are returning to Japan.


 
IFMGwcX.jpg

American products are not really of the highest quality. They often have heavy marketing behind them but the actual product is crap.
Let's take cars for example. Every single American car is an overpriced chunk of metal that can't really compete with European or Japanese made cars.
Bikes also. Harley Davidson makes cruisers that use 50 year old tech. They sell it at a premium cost while a similar cruiser, let's say a honda, costs a fraction of the price and outperforms a Harley.
I also had plenty of made in USA tools. All of them were shit compared to German Bosch or Japanese Makita.
Just my 2 cents.

You have to admit though that Coca Cola and Pepsi are amazing drinks.

I mean we have Irn Bru in the UK and it's a great drink too but they changed the formula under pressure from our Govt.

Not saying you are wrong of course that some American Products do rely on Marketing, but they also gave us some wonderful stuff as well!
 
You have to admit though that Coca Cola and Pepsi are amazing drinks.

I mean we have Irn Bru in the UK and it's a great drink too but they changed the formula under pressure from our Govt.

Not saying you are wrong of course that some American Products do rely on Marketing, but they also gave us some wonderful stuff as well!
Yeah I didn't mean all products.
 
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