In The News

Chasing Rare Earths, Foreign Companies Expand in China

Keith Bradsher August 30, 2011
Besides a huge market and inexpensive labor, China’s lure for foreign firms has now been revealed to be its vast holdings of rare earth minerals, essential for manufacturing cell phones, hybrid cars and other electronic products. “Companies that continue making their products outside the country must contend with tighter supplies and much higher prices for the materials because of steep taxes and...

Making the Desert Bloom

August 30, 2011
The North American Free Trade Agreement of 1994 gave Mexico great potential, but the country also became among the hardest hit in the Americas by the global debt crisis, notes the Economist. Some analysts urge ongoing diversification of trade partners to strengthen the economy: “The Inter-American Development Bank, the biggest lender in the region, describes a ‘two speed’ Latin America, in which...

Only 3 Percent of What You Buy Is Made in China, But It's the Most Important 3 Percent

Greg Lindsay August 25, 2011
For four decades, corporations have outsourced manufacturing operations to Asia, reducing costs. Shifting manufacturing off-shore eliminated jobs and also “sacrificed the know-how to think of new ways of manufacturing goods,” explains Greg Lindsay for Fast Company. In all, services represent two thirds of the US economy. Manufacturing’s role is small: San Francisco Federal Reserve economists...

The Trouble With Outsourcing

August 1, 2011
Outsourcing has been tried in every field – from manufacturing to security – relying on specialized companies to provide efficient service or parts at a low price. “There are signs that outsourcing often goes wrong, and that companies are rethinking their approach to it,” reports this article in the Economist. The mishaps behind the manufacture of Boeing’s Dreamliner, with supply-chain delays and...

China's Businesses Boom, But Its Brands Don't

Rob Gifford July 25, 2011
China is the world’s factory, yet other countries supply most of the designs. Chinese brands aren’t flowing along with the “Made in China” labels on products. “A key problem for Chinese businesses is a comparative lack of legal protection,” explains Rob Gifford for NPR. For China to move toward innovation, with corporate research and development, it must develop intellectual property rights to...

Wearing Coffee Beans on Your Sleeves

Victoria Jen June 9, 2011
Prompted in part by soaring prices of cotton and wool, some entrepreneurs look for substitute materials for natural fabrics. Coffee is a global beverage that fast gained popularity in the 17th century, and now a byproduct from the same plant may soon revolutionize the apparel industry. A company in Taiwan has invented a fabric based on used coffee beans, and now receives orders from major sport...

Measuring the Human Cost of an iPad Made in China

John Bussey June 6, 2011
Lower standards in workplace protections in China, along with the ample supply of low-cost labor, minimize manufacturing costs for Apple and other technology firms. Consumers demand low prices, companies pursue profits and the Chinese want jobs and economic growth. John Bussey of the Wall Street Journal describes how contract manufacturers satisfy those goals while shielding governments and...