The Last Days of Cheap Chinese

Ferretlover · Posted: Thu Apr 10, 2008 8:14 am Post subject: The Last Days of Cheap Chinese

WHY AMERICAN CONSUMERS ARE ABOUT TO START PAYING MORE FOR CLOTHES, ELECTRONICS, TOYS, AND JUST ABOUT EVERYTHING ELSE. By Alexandra Harney
… The era of cheap Chinese consumer goods may finally be ending, thanks to irrepressible inflation. Now when the Chinese present their lists, some American importers are conceding higher prices, meaning that American shoppers, for the first time in years, are starting to pick up the tab for rising costs in China. Some Chinese factories are now asking their American customers for price increases of as much as 20 percent to 30 percent. …
But now a perfect storm has hit China's manufacturers. So far this year, the renminbi has been appreciating at a 16 percent annualized rate. And prices for raw materials, which account for 60 percent to 70 percent of manufacturers' costs, are soaring. Hundred-dollar-a-barrel oil has raised transport costs and the price of oil-related materials such as plastics. Although some economists expect raw material prices to weaken in the second half of this year, in the long term, the emergence of millions of new car drivers, home buyers, and office workers in India and China will keep the price of steel, plastic, and other raw materials high. …
Consumers to get hit by yet another storm
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dorlomin · Light Sweet Crude Joined: Aug 05, 2007 Posts: 1063

Inflation.

Surely no one is suprised?

Ferretlover

This ought to wake up the sheeple a bit more (provided their alarm clocks are not Chinese) when they discover they can't afford even the cheap junk.
Remember about 15-20 years ago when everyone put down the cheap Japanese junk in the marketplace?
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seahorse · Expert Joined: Oct 15, 2004 Posts: 2196 Location: Arkansas

Kunstler has warned of this problem for years, as well as many others. The beginning of the end for the 1,000 mile long salad.

canis_lupus

Funny you should mention --

I've got a case of the late winter blues (too many house projects, crappy weather, too much take home work, bored with my instruments, tired of cleaning, etc.) and I had $60 stashed away from gigs.

Mrs. Lupus and I splashed out on Red Lobster to get me out of the house. Weird feeling (we simply never do that -- I'd rather get chops and get them on the grill) but this little flashing light in the back of my mind said I'd like to have crab legs before the price went through the roof here in Illinois.

Anyway, it was a great date night -- it unwound me a little and I got to spend quality husband time with the mrs. and not be a bitch to her.

Now, if I could just find a way to farm Alaskan King Crab sustainably here in Chicagoland, I'll be loaded. Very Happy

alecifel

FoxV

This will also create feed back loops as higher prices will mean more money coming into China (unless the US wants to make plastic crap for $0.50/hr themselves) so more inflation in China.

I'm expecting the Chinese to start yanking their Dollar peg shortly after the Olympics, as well as dumping treasuries.

Gotta keep up those big smiles for the Olympics.
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dorlomin · Light Sweet Crude Joined: Aug 05, 2007 Posts: 1063

gollum

Great, now all of the good factory jobs are gone things will be expensive anyway, THANKS A LOT WASHINGTON WAY TO GO

heroineworshipper

If Chinese stop taking dollars, it's time for more regime change.
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alokin · Intermediate Crude Joined: Aug 24, 2007 Posts: 793

Even if there won't be the problems of increasing price of oil price, materials etc. things won't go on like this. Do you think that the Chinese like to produce eternally cheap products miserably paid in horrible working conditions? Even if peak oil would not happen one day the Chinese manufactures want to get more for their goods, especially if there is not anyone else who produces.

dooberheim

China will evolve like we did. In the 1920s there were low wage sweatshop/factory jobs galore - the 30's less so, but there came the rise of unions and that took care of that for some segments of the economy. After WWII the economy came first. Pollution was a good thing - it meant jobs. The suburbs were built for people to get away from the nasty air of the industrial city.

Except China will run into the problem of energy depletion, where we didn't until we had developed a largely post industrial civilization. The idea that China can be the industrial breadbasket of the world will be curtailed by expensive oil, and they will sink back into a more subsistence economy just like we will. Only they'll have the factories. We won't.

DK
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dorlomin · Light Sweet Crude Joined: Aug 05, 2007 Posts: 1063

OilFinder2

cube · Fusion Joined: Mar 12, 2005 Posts: 3585