Why the U.S. Trails China in Phone Manufacturing

[beijingwalker]

Why the U.S. Trails China in Phone Manufacturing​

By Sydney Boyo,CNBC​

Nov. 19 2022

• In 2021, China controlled 30.5% of global manufacturing output, ahead of the U.S. at 16.8%.
• Mobile phones are the most commonly used device in America, yet none of the Big Tech companies manufacture smartphones in the U.S.
• Purism is the only American-based company to produce a smartphone with the "Made in USA" stamp.

A smartphone. It's the most commonly used device by Americans every day, but domestic tech companies don't seem to be investing in making these devices at home.

China is the faraway leader in global manufacturing. In a report published by the United Nations, the country accounted for 30.5% of global manufacturing output in 2021, with the U.S. second at 16.8% and Japan a distant third, at only 7%.

Apple is so heavily reliant on China that in 2019 news was leaked on social media that the iPhone maker was United Airlines' biggest customer, with the company purchasing 50 business-class seats daily from San Francisco to Shanghai.

While many tech companies have opted to manufacture products abroad, one U.S.-based company is defying conventional wisdom and building local.

The startup is called Purism, and it was founded in 2014 by Todd Weaver. In its early days, Purism was supported through crowdfunding initiatives. Now, the company has expanded to make electronics like smartphones. Purism makes the Librem 5 USA model phone, which is the only smartphone in the world with the "Made in USA" stamp.

Why the U.S. Trails China in Phone Manufacturing

In 2021, China controlled 30.5% of global manufacturing output, ahead of the U.S. at 16.8%. Mobile phones are the most commonly used device in America, yet none of the Big Tech companies manufacture smartphones in the U.S. Purism is the only American-based company to produce a smartphone with...

www.nbcconnecticut.com

 

[Hamartia Antidote]

There’s definitely a reason..reminds me of “The Jungle”…a book written in 1906 by a Socialist about the perils of living under US capitalism where people are treated poorly like a cog in a rich man’s machine.

https://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/22/...ueezed-middle-class.html?pagewanted=3&_r=3&hp

How the U.S. Lost Out on iPhone Work​

....

But as Steven P. Jobs of Apple spoke, President Obama interrupted with an inquiry of his own: what would it take to make iPhones in the United States?

Mr. Jobs’s reply was unambiguous. “Those jobs aren’t coming back,” he said, according to another dinner guest.

....

Advanced semiconductors have come from Germany and Taiwan, memory from Korea and Japan, display panels and circuitry from Korea and Taiwan, chipsets from Europe and rare metals from Africa and Asia. And all of it is put together in China.

One former executive described how the company relied upon a Chinese factory to revamp iPhone manufacturing just weeks before the device was due on shelves. Apple had redesigned the iPhone’s screen at the last minute, forcing an assembly line overhaul. New screens began arriving at the plant near midnight.

A foreman immediately roused 8,000 workers inside the company’s dormitories, according to the executive. Each employee was given a biscuit and a cup of tea, guided to a workstation and within half an hour started a 12-hour shift fitting glass screens into beveled frames. Within 96 hours, the plant was producing over 10,000 iPhones a day.

 

[beijingwalker]

https://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/22/...ueezed-middle-class.html?pagewanted=3&_r=3&hp

How the U.S. Lost Out on iPhone Work​

Advanced semiconductors have come from Germany and Taiwan, memory from Korea and Japan, display panels and circuitry from Korea and Taiwan, chipsets from Europe and rare metals from Africa and Asia. And all of it is put together in China.

One former executive described how the company relied upon a Chinese factory to revamp iPhone manufacturing just weeks before the device was due on shelves. Apple had redesigned the iPhone’s screen at the last minute, forcing an assembly line overhaul. New screens began arriving at the plant near midnight.

A foreman immediately roused 8,000 workers inside the company’s dormitories, according to the executive. Each employee was given a biscuit and a cup of tea, guided to a workstation and within half an hour started a 12-hour shift fitting glass screens into beveled frames. Within 96 hours, the plant was producing over 10,000 iPhones a day.

2012？ man, you are so stuck in the history.

 

[applesauce]

There’s definitely a reason..reminds me of “The Jungle”…a book written in 1906 by a Socialist about the perils of living under US capitalism where people are treated poorly like a cog in a rich man’s machine.

https://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/22/...ueezed-middle-class.html?pagewanted=3&_r=3&hp

How the U.S. Lost Out on iPhone Work​

Advanced semiconductors have come from Germany and Taiwan, memory from Korea and Japan, display panels and circuitry from Korea and Taiwan, chipsets from Europe and rare metals from Africa and Asia. And all of it is put together in China.

One former executive described how the company relied upon a Chinese factory to revamp iPhone manufacturing just weeks before the device was due on shelves. Apple had redesigned the iPhone’s screen at the last minute, forcing an assembly line overhaul. New screens began arriving at the plant near midnight.

A foreman immediately roused 8,000 workers inside the company’s dormitories, according to the executive. Each employee was given a biscuit and a cup of tea, guided to a workstation and within half an hour started a 12-hour shift fitting glass screens into beveled frames. Within 96 hours, the plant was producing over 10,000 iPhones a day.

cost of employees hasn't been a major draw for manufacturers in china for some time now.
workers in south east asia are way worse off/cheaper than chinese workers, yet china continues to dominate manufacturing only letting some of the lowest end manufacturing go while it climbs the ladder from making garments to making screens, chips, and design work.

For the US, it simply cannot complete on anything. it cannot match the cost of a assembly worker from southeast asia or china. it does not have the integrated supply chain clusters that china has. it does not create critical component of the devices that other cannot. It has only designs, and there it must compete with those from europe/japan/korea and more recently china.

 

[beijingwalker]

cost of employees hasn't been a major draw for manufacturers in china for some time now.

That guy's mind has been stuck in the past and thought China was just the same 10 years ago

富士康一个月多少钱？ 平均工资￥15070/月，其中拿20K-30K 工资的人占比最多达31.7%，其次是6K-8K 占19.9%， 8K-10K 占13.6%，该数据统计于该企业近一年在各网站发布的公开薪酬，仅供参考。
How much does Foxconn pay per month? The average salary is ￥15070/month ( $2,155 USD ), of which 31.7% earn 20K-30K wages, followed by 6K-8K accounting for 19.9%, and 8K-10K accounting for 13.6%. The published salaries are for reference only.

 

[Hamartia Antidote]

For the US, it simply cannot complete on anything. it cannot match the cost of a assembly worker from southeast asia or china.

No, the article I posted was not merely about cheap labor. It was about labor that can be grabbed with the snap of a finger. That factory had 8000 people living their lives in a dormitory serving the owner...who immediately put them all to work in 12 hour long shifts on an assembly line to fix the problem. That is something that can't be done in the US easily.

This was part of the issue in 1906's "The Jungle" that workers were basically bodies to be used by a company..and if they didn't like the work or pay there were 10 people that would happily take their job instead.

That guy's mind has been stuck in the past and thought China was just the same 10 years ago


How much does Foxconn pay per month? The average salary is ￥15070/month ( $2,155 USD ), of which 31.7% earn 20K-30K wages, followed by 6K-8K accounting for 19.9%, and 8K-10K accounting for 13.6%. The published salaries are for reference only.

Your perpetual blindness of what my posts are truly about never ceases to amaze me.

The problem is you don't see any issue with 1000's of people living in manufacturing dormitories for an owner who snaps their finger and sends them all out to work on an assembly line for 12 hour shifts.

It's so ingrained as normal in China you can't even see it as what my post was really about.

 

[beijingwalker]

No, the article I posted was not about cheap labor. It was about labor that can be grabbed with the snap of a finger. That factory had 8000 people living their lives in a dormitory serving the owner...who immediately put them to work in 10 hour long shifts on an assembly line to fix the problem. That is something that can't be done in the US easily.

You do know that was the situation over 10 years ago based on your 10 years old article, don't you?

而现在富士康的工作比起以前就大不一样了，每天大概就是工作六个小时左右，下班之后员工就可以在宿舍里面休息，宿舍也是24小时的空调，根本不用担心有些城市的温度过高或过低，现在富士康里面的年轻女孩子也是越来越多，由此可见的确富士康的工作挺轻松的。
Google translate

But now Foxconn’s work is quite different from before. It is about six hours a day. After get off work, employees can rest in the dormitory. The dormitory is also air-conditioned for 24 hours. There is no need to worry about the temperature in some cities. Too low, and now there are more and more young girls in Foxconn, which shows that Foxconn's work is indeed quite easy.

 

[Hamartia Antidote]

But now Foxconn’s work is quite different from before. It is about six hours a day. After get off work, employees can rest in the dormitory. The dormitory is also air-conditioned for 24 hours. There is no need to worry about the temperature in some cities. Too low, and now there are more and more young girls in Foxconn, which shows that Foxconn's work is indeed quite easy.

The fact that you are specifically mentioning air conditioning as if it is something special above running water is an interesting tidbit.

But, maybe this treating Chinese workers better in recent years is one of the reasons Foxconn/Pegatron is looking to some other third world countries like India to move some of their assembly line work to...a place where the people will work long hours and complain very little...just like the China of 10+ years ago.

Foxconn set to make iPhone 12 in India, shifting from China

Tamil Nadu plant expected to take as much as 10% of Chinese production

asia.nikkei.com

Apple adds Pegatron as new iPhone 14 supplier in India - Bloomberg News

Apple Inc's Taiwanese contract manufacturer Pegatron Corp has begun assembling the new iPhone 14 in India, Bloomberg News reported on Friday, citing people familiar with the matter.

www.reuters.com

---

Oh sure no parallels to "The Jungle" about harsh conditions in US factories....it sounds like 1906 all over again...this kind of workeforce Apple was alluding to when it needed the glass screen replacement.

Foxconn suicides - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

The Foxconn suicides were a spate of suicides linked to low pay and brutal working conditions at the Foxconn City industrial park in Shenzhen, China, that occurred alongside several additional suicides at various other Foxconn-owned locations and facilities in mainland China

The 2010 suicides prompted 20 Chinese universities to compile an 83-page report on Foxconn, which they described as a "labor camp". Interviews of 1,800 Foxconn workers at 12 factories found evidence of illegal overtime and failure to report accidents. The report also criticized Foxconn's management style, which it called inhumane and abusive.[34] Additionally, long working hours,[35] discrimination towards Mainland Chinese workers by their Taiwanese coworkers,[36] and a lack of working relationships[37] were all presented as potential problems in the university report.

---

What a great place to work at!

now there are more and more young girls in Foxconn, which shows that Foxconn's work is indeed quite easy.

 

[beijingwalker]

maybe this treating Chinese workers better in recent years is one of the reasons Foxconn/Pegatron is looking to some other third world countries like India to move some of their assembly line work to...a place where the people will work long hours and complain very little...just like the China of 10 years ago.

Foxconn set to make iPhone 12 in India, shifting from China

Tamil Nadu plant expected to take as much as 10% of Chinese production

asia.nikkei.com

Apple adds Pegatron as new iPhone 14 supplier in India - Bloomberg News

Apple Inc's Taiwanese contract manufacturer Pegatron Corp has begun assembling the new iPhone 14 in India, Bloomberg News reported on Friday, citing people familiar with the matter.

www.reuters.com

Lol, now you change your point to other issues after being caught using article from over a decade ago to talk about today's situation, Ok, I willl play along.
First, shifting a supply chain is easier said than done, second, China's phones are fast catching up, Iphone's future is not that alll bright with this competition.

Why China will continue to rule iPhone production

Analysts hope Apple’s move to India to assemble iPhone 14 will strengthen the country’s position as a supplier for the premium smartphone. However, the process will take time as India has infrastructural challenges and China has a crucial head start

www.livemint.com

 

[Hamartia Antidote]

Lol, now you change your point

LOL! What point was that?
I posted an article from 2012 about how Apple said they were never bringing iPhone manufacturing back to the US.

You think they suddenly have a different set of reasons in 2022?

 

[beijingwalker]

LOL! What point was that?
I posted an article about why Apple was not bringing iPhone manufacturing back to the US.

You think they suddenly have different reasons in 2022?

Come on, you yourself stated about the point you intend to make out of that decade old article, backtracking too soon?

 

[Hamartia Antidote]

Come on, you yourself stated about the point you intend to make out of that decade old article, backtracking too soon?

View attachment 899135

You think Foxconn 12 years later can't snap their fingers and bring thousands of workers from company dormitories into a plant to rework an assembly line within 96 hours to get production up to 10,000 units a day???

ok, instead of 8,000 workers doing 12 hours shifts they can get 16,000 workers to do 6 hours shifts (ok 32,000 workers doing 6 hour shifts)

 

[beijingwalker]

You think Foxconn 12 years later can't snap their fingers and bring thousands of workers from company dormitories into a plant to rework an assembly line within 96 hours to get production up to 10,000 units a day???

ok, instead of 8,000 workers doing 12 hours shifts they can get 16,000 workers to do 6 hours shifts (ok 32,000 workers doing 6 hour shifts)

What I think doesn't matter, I m talking about the current fact, you are just in denial after being caught using decade old article for current situation but stilll trying to defend the indefensible.

 

[applesauce]

No, the article I posted was not merely about cheap labor. It was about labor that can be grabbed with the snap of a finger. That factory had 8000 people living their lives in a dormitory serving the owner...who immediately put them all to work in 12 hour long shifts on an assembly line to fix the problem. That is something that can't be done in the US easily.

This was part of the issue in 1906's "The Jungle" that workers were basically bodies to be used by a company..and if they didn't like the work or pay there were 10 people that would happily take their job instead.

Sure, and i was saying its entirely possible to gather people in factory dormitories in large numbers in places other than china, heck it would be at a lower cost with lower standards for the amenities and working longer hours.
additionally, chinese wages are going up, this indicates the situation is not " if they didn't like the work or pay there were 10 people that would happily take their job instead". in fact there were reports of labor shortages in the last few years.
and my point stands, like it or not, the us cannot compete in most manufacturing, hence why those jobs are not going to back to the us, it cannot compete on cost, nor on effectiveness/integration of the whole supply chain. only a small handful of things can be made in the us profitably, specifically, extremely high cost items where labor is a very small percentage of the total, very specific types of skilled labor that costs as much elsewhere due to the specialization, or things that cannot be made elsewhere(this is mostly military items) . so even if china was not the manufacturing capital of the world, those jobs would just be in places like vietnam, india, malaysia and others. So i think the issue at hand here must be split into two. one is why china outcompetes all others in manufacturing, beating places far cheaper than it. and two why the us cannot compete. the two issues arent really all that related.

 

[Hamartia Antidote]

What I think doesn't matter, I m talking about the current fact, you are just in denial after being caught using decade old article for current situation but stilll trying to defend the indefensible.

It is impossible for a US company to get thousands of employees to live in a company dorm and have them available to work with the snap of a finger. It was easy back in 1906 when people were desperately poor and easily exploitable but it isn't going to be possible today.

I don't understand why you think this is any different in 2022 than when this scenario was talked about in 2012.