Recordar Lawrence... nada está escrito (parte III)

Continuado daqui.
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Seria irónico se a recessão em que a Europa está agora a mergulhar funcionasse como um auxiliar suplementar às exportações portuguesas.
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Absurdo?
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Ler "Small Manufacturers Rethink 'Made In China'":
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"We're witnessing a sea change in the way entrepreneurs think about manufacturing. Increasingly, China isn't the bargain it once was, and making things in the U.S. seems less over-the-top expensive now. Like Simple Wishes, many small businesses that sell goods in the U.S. are rethinking whether manufacturing on the other side of the planet is worth it.
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Across China, wages have been climbing 15 to 20 percent annually for the past four years, and the currency, the yuan, has begun to rise. Harold Sirkin, of The Boston Consulting Group, predicts that overall costs in the U.S. and China are likely to converge around 2015, ushering in a "renaissance" for U.S. manufacturing. Some of that shift is already under way: One-fourth of the more than 850 companies surveyed by MFG.com, an online manufacturing referral service, brought jobs to North America from low-cost countries in the last quarter of 2010."
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Ler também "Made (again) in the USA: The return of American manufacturing":

• " Overseas workers are getting more expensive. China, known as the world's factory, is seeing wages soar ahead of productivity growth. In 2000, hourly Chinese manufacturing wages were just 52 cents compared to $16.61 in the U.S., according to a recent report by Boston Consulting Group. By 2015, the wage difference should be $4.41 vs. $26.06 – still powerfully in China's favor, but no longer a no-brain decision to hire there. And the growth rate should continue to build in China while BCG expects the US to grow at a much slower rate. As the cost savings of off-shoring narrows, BCG says it expects the return of some U.S. manufacturing.
• Shipping costs keep increasing. On top of wage increases, the costs of jetting to far flung locations and more importantly, moving goods from the factory to the store keeps heading upward. In the last four years, shipping costs have risen 71% because of higher oil prices, as well as cutbacks in ships and containers, according to IHS Global Insight. 
• Global supply chains have shown weak links. Perhaps little highlights the issue more recently than the March earthquake and tsunami in Japan. Aside from the human tragedy, the disaster disrupted global supply chains, leaving many companies stranded without critical components. Boeing (BA), Caterpillar, and General Motors (GM), were among those concerned that the disaster would disrupt delivery of components and parts from Japan and therefore stall production."

Ler também "Fashion Friday: Todd Shelton" e recordar o que escrevo há anos sobre moda e proximidade e rapidez e flexibilidade:
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""But for us, making clothing had little to do with numbers. It was about creating something that enhanced people’s lives. It was about being proud to accomplish something meaningful with likeminded people. In 2006, because the China experience never felt genuine, we pulled out and began making Todd Shelton in the USA.
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"The decision changed the course of our brand; we became deeply involved in production. We learned how to make a more authentic product. We built real relationships with tailors, pattern makers and fabric suppliers (and we shared in their challenges). And in so, these unique American experiences became ingrained in our product"