美國制造緣何撤離中國
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????馬克?科萊克和兒子杰森當年在佛羅里達州圣彼得堡市附近的一個小鎮成立了Sleek Audio數字音頻公司，生產iPod及其他音頻設備使用的入耳式耳機。公司成立之初，他們曾向美國的幾家生產商詢問耳機的生產價格。當然，中國生產商的報價更便宜，所以他們將生產外包給一家廣東的工廠，并在2007年推出了首款產品。 ????但是去年，該公司遭遇了一系列麻煩：產品質量低劣、頻繁出差、溝通不暢、交貨延誤以及成本上升。最糟糕的情況是，整批1萬只耳機在運輸途中報廢，使公司損失了上百萬美元，幾乎讓公司倒閉。于是，克萊克父子做出了一個重大決定：退出中國，將產品生產撤回到美國。杰森說道：“之前，我們的運作非常困難和吃力。而現在，我們自己可以控制產品的質量。此外，不會再出現交貨延誤的情況了。這真是太好了。” ????重新尋找代工工廠已經成為一種趨勢，Sleek Audio僅是其中一家。一些公司認為在中國代工生產很麻煩，想把產品生產撤回到本國，而這其中又以小公司為主。經濟衰退使得美國的企業成本降低，而且許多工人急于找到工作；對于美國制造業來說，這些都是利好條件。加州、德州及美國各地的小企業——甚至是諸如通用電氣（GE）和卡特彼勒（Caterpillar）這樣的大公司——都充分利用當地的激勵政策，至少將部分制造業務撤回到美國國內，生產在美國市場銷售的產品。 ????代工業務撤回美國本土后,Sleek Audio的成本增加了15%至20%，但是用美國產的高檔鋁、鈦和特種碳纖維取代此前中國產的塑料配件使該公司重新設計的耳機在質量上得以提升，價格自然也水漲船高。公司不僅獲得了“美國制造”的標簽，而且重新設計的SA7耳機獲得了由美國消費電子產品協會（Consumer Electronics Association）頒發的2011年最佳創新產品獎。“雖然在中國生產可以節省大量的成本，但是最后算下來，節約的費用并沒有預期的那么多，”馬克表示。“經歷過了才會發現，其實有很多隱性成本，比如交付延誤和運輸產生的費用。” ????2011年，Sleek Audio剛剛成立時，美國制造商對某個特定配件的報價是19美元或20美元，而中國制造商的報價僅為2美元。但是當克萊克去年決定退出中國，詢問美國制造商同一配件的報價時，這一報價僅為8美元。此前報價為4至5美元的外殼現在價格僅為3美元。而且，克萊克父子還找到了一家從事工業設計的國防工業承包商，開車僅需10至15分鐘便可抵達。“根據目前的經濟形勢，我們可以用較低的價格來外包我們的業務。我們清楚這一點，我們也了解價格行情。因此，我們可以直接對制造商說‘你不能向我們收這么高的費用。’現在，很多美國本土公司開始意識到，必須降低價格，從事規模化生產，才會有競爭力。” ????在中國代工生產的一個大問題是，公司需要委派全職員工監督生產，而這對于小公司來說是無法承擔的。馬克說，這意味著他們不得不經常出差、或熬夜到凌晨2點，通過電話與中國員工進行溝通，即使只是一些非常瑣碎的問題。小公司的訂單通常受到大規模訂單的擠壓，意味著他們經常會受到怠慢。馬克表示：“我們在場時，他們會給予特殊照顧，讓我們滿意。”杰森補充道：“我們在場時，他們的生產質量很好，但是一旦我們告訴他們再生產10,000到20,000件，他們就會出現問題。” ????現在，公司的產品生產完全依照規范進行，克萊克父子能更有效地進行控制。他們估計，現在，不同公司提交的訂單可以創造100個就業崗位。鑒于美國缺少一種特殊的紅木原料，他們目前還不能在美國生產全部所有的產品，其中35%的配件仍在中國生產，他們計劃在今年年底之前將80%的配件生產撤回美國國內。“我們的長期目標是，90%至95%的配件將來都在美國本土生產，”杰森表示。“我們將生產撤回到美國后，不斷收到表達感謝的郵件。這種感覺真好。” ????譯者：喬樹靜 |
????When Mark Krywko and his son, Jason, launched Sleek Audio, a small business making in-ear headphones for iPods and other audio devices from a Florida town near St. Petersburg, they asked several U.S. manufacturers for quotes on how much it would cost to make their product. It was, of course, oh so much cheaper in China, so they contracted with a factory in Guangdong province and launched their first product in 2007. ????But last year, fed up with low quality, too much travel, communications problems, shipping delays, rising costs, and -- worst of all -- a ruined shipment of 10,000 sets of earphones that cost millions and nearly brought the company to its knees, the father-and-son team made a big business decision: quit China and move their manufacturing back to the U.S. "It became very difficult and taxing on us," says Jason. "Now we control the quality of the product. No more waiting for production has been a wonderful thing." ????Sleek Audio is part of a trend called reshoring, in which primarily small businesses decide that China is a hassle and that they want to bring their operations closer to home, where the recession has lowered costs, created workers eager for jobs, and made it easier to justify U.S. manufacturing. Reports have emerged from California, Texas and all across the country as small businesses -- and even large ones like GE (GE) and Caterpillar (CAT) -- take advantage of local incentives and move back at least some of their manufacturing operations for products sold in the U.S. market. ????Sleek Audio's costs are about 15% to 20% higher because of the move back, but the company's redesign of earphones that replaced a formerly Chinese-made plastic component with U.S.-made high-end aluminum, titanium and special carbon fiber, resulted in a higher quality product that justifies the price. It not only gets a "Made in USA" label, but Sleek Audio's redesign of the SA7 earphone won a 2011 Best of Innovation award from the 2011 Consumer Electronics Association. "Even though there's a tremendous cost savings when you go to China, in the end it really isn't that much," says Mark. "It's the hidden costs -- the delays, the shipping costs, you pick all that up on a learning curve. ????When Sleek Audio got off the ground in 2005, they first found that U.S. manufacturers were quoting prices of $19 or $20 for one particular component that the Chinese were offering to make for $2. But when the Krywkos decided to quit China last year and asked around again about making the part the U.S., this time the answer was $8. A box that used to be quoted for $4 to $5 in the U.S. before was quoted at $3 now. And the Krywkos found a defense contractor doing industrial design that they hadn't known existed before, just a 10- to 15-minute drive down the road. "The economy has allowed us to get better deals. Now that we're aware and we know the pricing, we can say, 'You can't charge us this much.' But companies now realize that if they want to be competitive, they have to lower their prices here and work on quantity." ????A big part of the problem in China is that small companies cannot afford to have someone there full-time to oversee their operations. That means they have to travel, or stay up until 2 a.m. to talk to people on the phone in China over even minor problems, says Mark. Small companies often get their production runs squeezed in between larger orders, meaning that they can get short shrift. "Great care would be used to satisfy us when we were there," says Mark. Adds Jason: "We'd go there and they would do it perfectly, but when we'd say go ahead and make 10,000 to 20,000 pieces, that's when the differences would happen." ????Now, with manufacturing to their specifications done just down the road, the Krywkos have much more control. And they estimate that their orders from various U.S. companies now support 100 jobs. They haven't been able to make everything here -- in fact, a particular type of Rosewood can't be found in the U.S. But while 35% of their components are still made in China, they plan to have 80% back here by the end of this year. "Our long-term goal is 90% to 95% of everything we make made here in the U.S.," says Jason. "We've been getting thank you emails for bringing it back to the U.S. It feels very good." |
