| Viewpoint: 5 reasons Mexico is best for electronics production |
|
|
|
|
Mike Oliver (08/07/2009 12:02 AM EDT) URL: http://www.eetimes.com/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=219100376 Over the past few decades outsourcing to Asia has been the default manufacturing strategy for many high technology companies but recent events at home and abroad are causing companies to re-think this strategy. World events and trends in the global marketplace have combined to once again make Mexico the most attractive market in which to manufacture products for US high technology companies. The outsourcing push began more than 50 years ago when U.S. manufacturers began outsourcing high labor content activities to countries with significantly lower labor costs, including Mexico, which was one of the first beneficiaries of this trend. Thousands of jobs, mostly lower level assembly activities, were sent to Mexico where highly manual processes could be performed at a fraction of the cost in the United States. Mexico was rapidly followed by Puerto Rico and Ireland as locations for high technology, low-cost manufacturing. In time, locations in Asia were developed as even lower cost venues and the trend to outsourcing began to focus on Asia. It is interesting that what is true for U.S. companies is also true for European companies and Asian manufacturers from China, Japan, Korea and Taiwan. This is especially important for companies that plan to sell most of their product into the U.S. market and who also wish to retain the flexibility to sell output to other countries around the world without penalty. Here are five key reasons why Mexico is an outstanding value for high technology manufacturing today and, looking to the future, will be an important location in years to come: READ ENTIRE EETimes Article HERE |
