Chesapeake Bay Candle Struggles to Open U.S. Factory

Chesapeake Bay Candle is a major player in the multibillion dollar scented candle industry.  In spite of its name, all its candles are made in Vietnam and China.  Recently, due to increasing wages in those countries and high shipping costs, the company decided the time was right to start making candles in the U.S.  What the company did not account for was how much more expensive it is to build a factory in the U.S., with many laws and codes to comply with.  The factory is now over budget and delayed, and the founders are wondering whether the U.S. is ready to compete with Asia for manufacturing business.

Chesapeake Bay Candle Struggles to Open U.S. Factory

Alabama Sock Town Suffers as Cotton Soars

Fort Payne, Alabama, calls itself the "sock capital of the world."  Ten years later, about one in eight pairs of socks came from Fort Payne.  Sock manufacturing is largely automated, so labor is not a huge component of the cost.  The closing of the sock's toe, however, is still done by hand so any cost advantage becomes important when multiplied over high volume.  A few years Ft. Payne fought to re-instate a sock tariff to protect itself from cheaper laborers in South America, but today, more mills are still closing in Ft. Payne.  The culprit this time is the high cost of cotton, up to $2.40 per pound, double last year's price.  Only 10 mills remain in Fort Payne, and while some are focusing on higher end (and profit) product like organic socks, the industry is once again in deep trouble.

Alabama Sock Town Suffers as Cotton Soars - WSJ.com

Auto Maker Nissan to 'Significantly' Reduce Exports From Japan

At Nissan, a move in the value of the dollar versus the yen by one yen in either direction is worth around 18 billion yen, or $219 million, of Nissan's operating profit on an annualized basis.  That's why the carmaker announced recently plans to dramatically reduce the number of exports from Japan and production increases in plants outside Japan.  Nissan joins Toyota and Honda, as all Japanese automakers have said it is difficult to export cars from Japan profitably when the Yen falls below 90 to the dollar (it is currently at 82).  Production of the Micra (above) will shift to India, the Micra to Thailand, the Juke to U.K., and the Rogue to Tennessee.

Auto Maker Nissan to 'Significantly' Reduce Exports From Japan - WSJ.com

Cotton Clothing Price Tags to Rise

Get ready to pay a lot more for T-shirts and jeans.  Flooding in Pakistan and bad weather in India and China means that there is a worldwide shortage in cotton.  This shortage recently led to a record high price for cotton, meaning that everyone in cotton's supply chain, from farmers to processors to manufacturers to retailers, are going to raise prices soon.

Cotton Clothing Price Tags to Rise - NYTimes.com

Chinese Remake the ‘Made in Italy’ Fashion Label

Prato, Italy, is now home to Europe's largest concentration of Chinese.  In this city, in the heart of Tuscany, they work for over 3,200 companies making low-end clothes, shoes, and accessories, often with materials imported from China.  Their products get the exclusive "Made in Italy" label, and now Italians are growing resentful at how the Chinese are beating them at their own game.

Chinese Remake the ‘Made in Italy’ Fashion Label - NYTimes.com

N-hexane Poisoning Scare At Apple Supplier In China

There's nothing like opening the box on a brand new electronic gizmo, and holding the pristine cold metal in your hands, unsoiled by human fingerprints and smelling like.... wait, what is that smell? If you've ever wondered how the factory got that screen so perfectly clean on the gizmo (well, let's call it an iPhone or iPod Touch), wonder no more. The factory has been using a chemical called n-hexane, and it's illegal.

Wintek China, which supplies the screens for the iPhone and iPod Touch from its subsidiary in Suzhou, is the target of an investigation involving the use of n-hexane rather than alcohol to clean screens. Several workers have fallen seriously ill, and one has died. Lax labor laws, no government oversight and relentless pressure to lower costs and increase quality are all contributing to continued safety violations in China. But hey -- we gotta have our clean iPod screens, right?

N-hexane Poisoning Scare At Apple Supplier In China - ChinaTechNews.com - The Technology Source for the Latest Chinese News on Internet, Computers, Digital, Science, Electronics, Law, Security

Made in USA

Do people care if something is made in the USA anymore? That was the subject of much debate in class this week. A student pointed out that New Balance shoes are made in the USA, and the company tries to capitalize on that in product marketing. It's true that 25% of shoe production for the company is still in the USA. My question is, do consumers care? Is there empirical evidence that proves that a sneaker shopper will purposefully choose New Balance over Nike or Reebok, simply because it's made in the USA and for no other reason? The company hopes so, as the ad above amply demonstrates.

To Make a Bicycle

Sourcemap.org is a really cool idea. The website allows users to submit "sourcemaps," which are essentially supply chain diagrams of common products. The site's platform is completely web-based, and allows all kinds of customization. The whole idea behind Sourcemap is to drive transparency into the supply chain so that you, the consumer, knows what it took to make your iPod, Mac and Cheese, etc. Environmental impact is particularly important, as it allows you to calculate carbon emissions in each step of manufacturing, including delivery to your final destination.

Obviously Sourcemap isn't going to have any really sensitive or confidential information on real suppliers or pricing. And it depends entirely on user contributions for content. With time, though, I hope this project takes off. It's a great example of web technology enabling transparency in global manufacturing.

Here's a good example of a Sourcemap. It looks even better on the website, where you can play around with different options and see a description of the components. Check out the site to see one for an Ipod and Mac n Cheese!