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China, Once Again

Well, hey everybody out there, long time no hear, huh?  Well, I took a few days off from the daily blogging to make time for Thanksgiving with my fiancé Anita and family.  It was a low key dinner, nothing too extravagant.  But it was a great time, nonetheless.  Also, during the course of the weekend, I met some her close friends, and of course, the talk came up as to what I do for a living.  I naturally answered being a tech writer, and do work in Biometrics.  That was enough to spark up some interest and dialogue.  The talk then traversed to Black Friday shopping, and of course, “Made In China” was brought up again. 

Although I did not do any shopping, I can probably guarantee you that 95% of all products bought was made in China.  But once again, its not in the retail sector we see this ever popular slogan, we now see it today in the security industry. 

A market research study/report called “China Sourcing Report: Access Control & Anti-intrusion – 2011” was just recently released, and here we go:  “China suppliers of access control and anti-intrusion products are looking forward to strong sales this year. For exports, the anticipated increase in revenue is at least 10 percent . . . nonetheless, the industry is prepared to see a deceleration in growth amid various challenges. For one, manufacturers are facing the possibility of weakening demand, especially in the EU and the US, where the difficult economic climate has caused a housing slump.”  (SOURCE:  http://www.findbiometrics.com/industry-news/i/9390/). 

My Take

There was not a lot of detail offered, but I have few comments, to make, of course.  First, the report is for the year of 2011, which if I am correct, is almost over?!  Perhaps these projections are more meant for 2012?  Anyways, it is interesting to note how Chinese growth is expected to grow at 10% (and while any growth is positive, it is still in my view sort of “luke warm growth”), while the United States and the rest of Europe still wrangle with the issues of the debts of Greece, Italy, Spain, Portugal, etc., and spiraling downwards economies.  But, as the report also forecasts, this growth is probably not expected to last too much longer, as the economies of the Western Hemisphere continue to detiorate, which will take a toll on an already awful real estate market (I assume that the hypothesis here is that a slumpening housing market means less demand for physical access entry security). 

But irregardless of what this research concludes, one cannot ignore the fact of how much we, as a society are dependent upon China, and vice versa.  If we do well, they do well, and if we do bad (like the horrible housing market), it will eventually take a toll on the Chinese as well (probably by not too much though, because of the huge demand of the population there-this can probably make up for the deficit they face with the United States and the EU).  But this dependency is something that we cannot break easily at all-it is an issue which has been with us for the last decade, and is completely mired in political and economic debates.  When will this dependency break?  Who knows. 

But, it will be a very long, long time though.  I can understand buying retail products which are made in China, as we as consumers, have hardly a choice in this (unless you want to drive 200+ miles to find something made in the good ole USA).  But, this is where I draw the line.  When it comes to protecting my own home, or any business here, I want the security products and devices to be made in the USA.  I don’t care if I have to pay a higher price for this, at least I know there will be quality instilled into it.  And this is especially true for Biometrics. 

If I were to ever buy any device here, I want it made in the USA.  Believe me, although it has been some time, I have seen Biometrics products made in China versus the USA.  And there is no need to debate this, the answer is obvious:  USA made Biometrics products and goods are much more higher quality and reliable than their Chinese counterparts. 

So as much as I support this, I think the Biometrics Industry here in the United States as well as the EU (and heck, for that country all over the world) say forget it to made in China, and instead advocate “Made In The USA!!!” (or whatever country manufactures that product).  Remember in the end, it is our security at stake, and we should only demand and expect the best of the best.

Comments

[China Sourcing]

China has been developing a lot in the past decade, and it certainly is going beyond just consumer, retail goods. China manufacturing is becoming more and more productive and producing higher quality goods as it's not just plastic toys where China sourcing is proving profitable. For example, as described in a post "Is China Manufacturing Losing its Competitive Edge"(http://www.chinaperformancegroup.com/is-the-china-manufacturing-industry-losing-its-competitive-edge/) we see that there are major pushes in the aviation and heavy machinery industries as well.