Textile Work Winds It Way Back to theU.S.

紡織行業(yè)回歸美國(guó)

One Chinese Yarn Maker Finds Savings in South Carolina Hard to Resist

一家中國(guó)紗線制造商發(fā)現(xiàn)南卡州帶來(lái)的陳本節(jié)約無(wú)法抵擋。

Zhu Shanqing, who owns a yarn-spinning factory in Hangzhou inChina's Zhejiang province, is struggling with rising costs for labor, energy and land. So he is boxing up some of his spindles and moving. To South Carolina.

朱善慶，在中國(guó)浙江省杭州市擁有一家紡紗廠，正面臨勞動(dòng)力、能源和土地成本不斷增長(zhǎng)的問(wèn)題。他目前正在打包并搬遷他的紡紗機(jī)。搬遷到南卡州。

Mr. Zhu is one of a growing number of Asian textile manufacturers setting up production in the U.S. Southeast to save money as salaries, energy and other costs rise at home. His company, Keer Group Co., has agreed to invest $218 million to build a factory in unincorporated Lancaster County, not far from Charlotte, N.C. The new plant will pay half as much as Mr. Zhu does for electricity inChinaand get local government support, he says. Keer expects to create at least 500 jobs.

朱總是眾多亞洲紡織制造商中的一個(gè)，為了節(jié)約工資、能源及其他不斷增長(zhǎng)的成本，決定在美國(guó)東南部建立生產(chǎn)廠房。 他的公司，科爾集團(tuán)，已經(jīng)同意在蘭開(kāi)斯特郡投資2.18億美金建廠，該廠房距離北卡州夏洛特市不遠(yuǎn)。 朱總說(shuō)，該新工廠所需支付的電力成本將是中國(guó)的一半，并且他得到了當(dāng)?shù)卣拇罅χС帧?科爾計(jì)劃創(chuàng)造至少500個(gè)工作崗位。

There is another benefit. As costs continue to increase inChina, Keer can ship yarn to manufacturers in Central America, which, unlike companies inChina, can send finished clothes duty-free to theU.S.

還有另外的有利之處，因?yàn)橹袊?guó)成本的不斷上升，科爾可以將紗線運(yùn)送給中美洲的制造商，這些制造商跟中國(guó)公司不一樣， 他們可以再將成品布免稅運(yùn)回美國(guó)。

The move by Mr. Zhu and others will scarcely revive a once bustling Southern textile industry. But it illustrates how shifts in global trade are creating advantages for U.S.-based manufacturing.

朱總和其他人的搬遷，也許不能重現(xiàn)曾經(jīng)繁榮的南方紡織行業(yè)，但是它表示了全球貿(mào)易的轉(zhuǎn)變正在為美國(guó)基礎(chǔ)制造業(yè)創(chuàng)造有利條件。

"We are on the leading edge of a mature cycle" with rising costs pushing Asian companies to consider moving to the U.S., said Robert Hitt III, South Carolina's commerce secretary.

不斷增長(zhǎng)的成本在推動(dòng)亞洲公司考慮搬遷到美國(guó)來(lái)，“我們?cè)谝粋€(gè)成熟產(chǎn)業(yè)圈的前沿”南卡州商部部長(zhǎng)Robert Hitt III說(shuō)。

In October, Mumbai-based ShriVallabh Pittie Group announced it would build a $70 million yarn operation in rural Sylvania, Ga., bringing 250 jobs. The company wants to avoid payingU.S.duties and to secure "cheap, plentiful and importantly reliable" energy, crucial in yarn production yet erratic inIndia, said Zulfiqar Ramzan, vice president for international development. Yarn spinning runs 24 hours a day, seven days a week, for most of the year, and any energy disruptions cause substantial delays and waste, he said.

在10月份，一家孟買公司ShriVallahb Pittie集團(tuán)公布了它將投資7000萬(wàn)美金在喬治亞州建立一家紗線廠，將會(huì)帶來(lái)250個(gè)工作崗位。 公司想避免支付美國(guó)關(guān)稅并確?！傲畠r(jià)、充足、可靠”的能源供應(yīng)，這些對(duì)紗線生產(chǎn)非常重要，但是目前這些在印度都不穩(wěn)定，國(guó)際發(fā)展部副總Zulfiqar Ramazn說(shuō)。他還說(shuō)紗線廠一天運(yùn)行24小時(shí)，每周7天不間斷運(yùn)行，幾乎常年都是如此，任何能源中斷都會(huì)導(dǎo)致大量的延遲和浪費(fèi)。

In April, Alok Industries, another Mumbai textiles producer, said it would build a yarn-spinning factory in the South, though it hasn't said where. The company expects to save on duties by making yarn in theU.S.and pay less than 10% of what it pays for energy inIndia, said Chief Executive Arun Agarwal.

在四月，Alok實(shí)業(yè)公司，另外一家孟買紡紗廠，說(shuō)它將在南方建立一家紗線廠，但是它沒(méi)說(shuō)具體的位置。該公司也希望通過(guò)在美國(guó)制造紗線來(lái)節(jié)約關(guān)稅，并且可以支付比印度便宜10%的能源費(fèi)，公司首席執(zhí)行官Arun Agarwal說(shuō)。

In September, JN Fibers Inc. ofChinaagreed to build a $45 million plant in South Carolina that turns plastic bottles into polyester fibers used to stuff pillows and furniture. That investment is expected to create 318 jobs. Development officials in South Carolina andGeorgiasay more Asian textile manufacturers have contacted them this year.

在9月，中國(guó)的JN纖維公司同意投資4500萬(wàn)美金在南卡州建立工廠，將塑料瓶轉(zhuǎn)變成聚酯纖維用與枕頭和家具。該投資預(yù)計(jì)創(chuàng)造318個(gè)工作崗位。南卡州及喬治亞州的發(fā)展官員說(shuō)今年有越來(lái)越多的亞洲紡織制造商來(lái)聯(lián)系他們。

Rising costs have made it more expensive to spin yarn in China than in the U.S., said Brian Hamilton, a 2012 doctoral graduate of North Carolina State University's College of Textiles, who wrote his Ph.D. dissertation on the global textile industry.

不斷上升的各種成本使得在中國(guó)的紡紗成本遠(yuǎn)遠(yuǎn)高于在美國(guó)的，Brian Hamilton說(shuō)，他是2012年畢業(yè)于北卡州立大學(xué)紡織學(xué)院的博士生，他的博士論文是關(guān)于全球紡織行業(yè)的。

He found that in 2003, a kilogram of yarn spun in theU.S.cost $2.86 to produce, while it cost $2.76 to produce a kilogram inChina. By 2010, however, it cost $3.45 to produce a kilogram in theU.S.and the cost inChinahad jumped to $4.13 per kilogram.U.S.production costs were lower thanTurkey,KoreaandBrazil.

他發(fā)現(xiàn)，在2003年美國(guó)每公斤紗線的生產(chǎn)成本是$2.86，在中國(guó)是$2.76, 到了2010年，在美國(guó)是$3.45每公斤，而中國(guó)上升至$4.13沒(méi)公斤。美國(guó)的制紗線成本低于土耳其、韓國(guó)和巴西。

The new investments bring only a few jobs to a textile industry that all but died in the late 1990s, as many mills shut down or moved overseas for cheaper labor. In November, 114,900 people worked inU.S.textile mills, a sharp decline from 1993, when 477,300 people worked in the mills, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

對(duì)于蕭條于90年代末的紡織行業(yè)來(lái)說(shuō)， 該新投資僅帶來(lái)了少量的工作，在90年代末很多的工廠因國(guó)外的廉價(jià)勞動(dòng)力而關(guān)閉在美工廠，搬遷到了國(guó)外。根據(jù)勞工統(tǒng)計(jì)局?jǐn)?shù)據(jù)顯示，在9月份，只有114,900個(gè)工人工作于美國(guó)紡織工廠，跟1993年相比是一個(gè)急劇的下降，那時(shí)候有477,300個(gè)工人工作于紡紗廠。

U.S.duties on imported yarn and clothing have existed for decades. But trade pacts such as the North American Free Trade Agreement created duty-free zones between theU.S.and several trade partners.

美國(guó)對(duì)進(jìn)口紗線和布料的關(guān)稅已經(jīng)存在幾十年了，但是貿(mào)易協(xié)定例如“北美自由貿(mào)易協(xié)定”在美國(guó)和一些貿(mào)易伙伴之間創(chuàng)造了免稅區(qū)域。

In those agreements, theU.S.imposed a "yarn forward" requirement, meaning that textiles imported from partner countries have to be made completely from material produced in those countries or theU.S.

在這些協(xié)定中，美國(guó)對(duì)該種紗線也提出了要求，要求從貿(mào)易伙伴國(guó)家進(jìn)口的紗線必須完全是有該國(guó)自己的原材料或是來(lái)自美國(guó)的原材料生產(chǎn)的。

If not, they face duties, usually ranging from 5% to 6% for yarns, 10% and 12% for fabrics and 15% to 20% for clothing, according to the National Council of Textile Organizations, a U.S. textile trade group.

如果不是，就需要交關(guān)稅，根據(jù)美國(guó)全球紡織團(tuán)體協(xié)會(huì)—一個(gè)紡織貿(mào)易組織，關(guān)稅通常是紗線5%-6%的范圍，面料10%-12%，服裝15%-20%。

For years Asian clothing producers just swallowed the duties because production and transport costs were so low. Now they are reassessing that practice. Mr. Zhu at Keer said thatU.S.duties figured into his decision to set up shop in theU.S.so that he could take advantage of cloth makers in Central America, and not be solely dependent on an increasingly expensiveChina.

數(shù)年來(lái)，亞洲服裝生產(chǎn)商都忍受了這些關(guān)稅，因?yàn)樯a(chǎn)和運(yùn)輸成本都比較低。但是現(xiàn)在他們需要重新評(píng)估該現(xiàn)象?？茽栔炜傉f(shuō)美國(guó)的關(guān)稅政策讓他決定在美國(guó)建廠，這樣的話他可以利用中美洲服裝制造商的優(yōu)勢(shì)，而不是完全依賴于日益昂貴的中國(guó)市場(chǎng)。

Mr. Zhu said that in Hangzhou—one ofChina's wealthiest cities—industrial land prices have soared, making expansion difficult.China's textile industry is plagued by overcapacity, which has squeezed margins, and local governments are reluctant to sell land to producers.

朱總說(shuō)，在杭州（中國(guó)最富裕的城市之一），工業(yè)用地價(jià)格飛漲，使得企業(yè)擴(kuò)張難上加難。中國(guó)紡織企業(yè)飽受產(chǎn)能過(guò)剩的困擾，利潤(rùn)也受到擠壓，并且政府也越來(lái)越不愿意將土地賣給制造商。

U.S. labor costs outstrip what Keer pays in China, but that difference will shrink as Chinese salaries keep rising, said Mr. Zhu, adding that he expects the gap will be more than compensated for by other savings. The company settled on South Carolina's Lancaster County in part because of the proximity to Charlotte's banks and the port in Charleston,  S.C., he said.

朱總說(shuō)，美國(guó)的勞動(dòng)力成本依然高于中國(guó)，但是隨著中國(guó)工資的不斷增長(zhǎng)，該差距將會(huì)逐漸縮小，他補(bǔ)充說(shuō)他預(yù)計(jì)該勞動(dòng)力成本的差距將會(huì)被其他方面節(jié)約下來(lái)的費(fèi)用所彌補(bǔ)。他還說(shuō)，公司決定將工廠建在南卡州蘭開(kāi)斯特郡部分原因是該地區(qū)離銀行中心夏洛特和查爾斯頓港口比較近。

Lancaster County, which once had 11,000 residents working in textiles and now has 8.1% unemployment, has set an annual fixed fee in lieu of taxes that Keer will pay for 30 years. Sixty percent of that annual fee will be returned to the company each year until it has paid off a $7.7 million bond that the county issued to help buy the land, said Keith Tunnell, president of the Lancaster County Economic Development Corporation. The state also provided benefits.

蘭開(kāi)斯特郡，曾經(jīng)有11,000的居民工作于紡紗廠，現(xiàn)在又8.1%的失業(yè)率，每年為科爾提供了固定金額稅收抵免。每年60%的該費(fèi)用將會(huì)返還給科爾，直至該公司還清了郡里為了幫助其買土地而給他的$770萬(wàn)美金的金額，蘭開(kāi)斯特郡經(jīng)濟(jì)發(fā)展局部長(zhǎng)Keith Tunnell說(shuō)。 南卡州也提供了一些優(yōu)惠政策。

ShriVallabh Pittie Group plans to finance its plant with loans at interest rates much lower than it could get inIndia, plus generous state and local tax breaks and other benefits,Mr. Ramzan said.

The yarn spun at the new plant, about 50 miles north of a port in Savannah,  Ga., will be shipped to Latin America to be made into clothing that can then be shipped back to the U.S. duty-free, he said.

ShiVallabh Pittie集團(tuán)打算為其工廠貸款籌措資金，貸款利率遠(yuǎn)低于印度，且有州及地方慷慨的稅收減免和其他優(yōu)惠政策， Ramzan總說(shuō)。 紗線廠距喬治亞州的一個(gè)港口50英里的距離，生產(chǎn)的紗線將被運(yùn)往拉丁美洲，制成服裝后還可以免稅運(yùn)回美國(guó)。

"It's been a barrier to access," Mr. Ramzan said ofU.S.duties. "As an Indian company, you have to try to make everything for 12% to 15% less to make a profit. Now we won't have to do that."

“這是一個(gè)障礙，”Ramzan在說(shuō)到美國(guó)關(guān)稅時(shí)說(shuō)，“作為一家印度公司，你必須試著讓一切都少12%-15%的利潤(rùn)?，F(xiàn)在我們不用再如此了?！?/p>