August 12, 2008

China set to lead manufacturing

Next year will be the year that China overtakes the USA as the biggest manufacturer of goods, this was always going to happen, but the experts had initially predicted that this would actually be taking place in four years time.

The main reason for this jump is being put down to the economy in the US being much weaker than the originally thought.

In 2009, China will be expected to reach the seventeen per cent mark, with the US dropping down to sixteen per cent, although if there was a recovery the roles could easily be reversed all be it temporary, as China will inevitably assume the top spot at some time.

This is a remarkable achievement for China as they have only been considered as a manufacturing country for the past twenty years, whereas the USA has seen over a hundred years of manufacturing at the top level.

Source [FT]