Fixing Chinese goods will be costly: LA Times
September 9th, 2007 by AdministratorDon Lee and Abigail Goldman of the Los Angeles Times wrote yesterday about the steps that will likely be taken to improve the quality and safety of products manufactured in China. Bottom line, they report: Higher quality will result in higher prices.
For years, American consumers have enjoyed falling prices for goods made in China thanks to relentless cost cutting by retailers such as Wal-Mart and Target.
But the spate of product recalls in recent months — Mattel announced another last week — has exposed deep fault lines in Chinese manufacturing. Manufacturers and analysts say some of the quality breakdowns are a result of financially strapped factories substituting materials or taking other shortcuts to cover higher operating costs.
Among the China consultants and other experts quoted is Technomic Asia’s own Kent Kedl. Read the full article from the LA Times.
