What a difference a decade makes. In 2000, China's labor rates were a fraction of those for U.S. workers, the dollar was strong, oil prices were relatively low, and the promise of access to the Chinese market had manufacturers hopping to get into China. China remains a huge market domestically, but the country is not as important in aerospace & defense (A&D) manufacturing as some predicted. It may surprise some readers to learn that over the past 20 years, Mexico-not China-has drawn the highest number of investments in aerospace manufacturing facilities, according to an analysis of 150 A&D original equipment manufacturers and service providers by ICF SH&E, a management consultancy. China was second, the U.S. third and India a distant fourth. The ICF study reflects Aviation Week's own recent overview of Mexico's rise (AW&ST April 1/8, p. 44).
展开▼
