Chinas Multinational Plastics Trade Effect

Plastics China Technologies, Markets and Growth Strategies to 2008 29 

Not all product production is moving to China. While production of many consumer products migrates to China, fewer industrial or commercial products do. The sector that has seen the most extensive transfer of manufacturing activity from the USA to China is power cord, which is dominated by consumer market applications. Teknor Apex (Pawtucket, RI) acted to hold on to its migrating customer base when it acquired Singapore Polymer Corp (SPC) in 2001. The subsidiary compounds speciality PVC grades to the same specifications required in the USA, including UL and NSF certification, at a 70 000 tonnes/y facility. 

Taiwanese manufacturers dominate the global production of notebook computers, and as they shift production to mainland China their suppliers are following. As recently as the first half of2002, 76% of the production at Taiwanese notebook manufacturers was in Taiwan. In 2003, it had dropped to 24%. Market leader Quanta Computer (Taoyuan) plans to manufacture 80-85% of its 9 million laptops in China. 

China also manufactures 70% of the toys marketed in Europe and America, according to the International Council of Toy Industries (London). If anything, the mainland looks like it will expand its dominance in this sector. Last November, Hasbro (Pawtucket, RI) announced the closure of its last wholly owned toy plant in Ribarroja de Turia, Spain, with the loss of 515 jobs. MB Espana was established as recently as 1999, but shut down as demand in the European region declined, with children now preferring toys with smaller parts and more electronics than those manufactured in Spain, according to Hasbro. Production will be outsourced primarily to China, while some will be shifted to a Hasbro game production plant in Ireland. 

An influx of global automakers into China, meanwhile, is changing the industry. According to The New Tork Times, sales of cars, vans, pick-up trucks and sports utility vehicles in China overtook the same sales in Germany last year, and analysts say China could surpass Germany as the world s third-largest producer of cars within four years. 

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