美國成為低成本的生產基地

在弱美元以及新興市場貨幣高企下，不少歐資企業將生產活動(以高增值產業為主)轉到美國。相對歐洲來說，美國的勞工法例對企業沒有那麽不友善，而且美國政府近年亦提供財務獎勵(Incentives)以鼓勵海外企業於美國設立生產基地，相信這因素亦是吸引海外企業的其他原因。

因此筆者不排除美國經濟的其中一引擎「商業資本性投資」有望維持增長。弱美元(美元指數仍遠低於90點)亦有利美國的出口活動，同時間美國人的消費力並未被嚴重削弱。

有見及此，美國經濟可能於中期內改善，尤其是正當樓市有穩定下來的跡象。

-----------------------------------------------------

US BECOMES THE LOW-COST SITE OF THE MOMENT FOR MANUFACTURERS
(Financial Times; 8 Sep 08)


The latest cheap manufacturing site for European companies is not in Asia or eastern Europe but the United States, say top executives from some of the continent's biggest companies.

"It may sound like a joke but it can be cheaper than you imagine to manufacture there," the chairman of one of Germany's largest automotive groups told the Financial Times.

The reason is less the level of the dollar, which remains relatively high in spite of the euro's recent plunge, but rather the huge level of incentives some US states are offering companies to set up factories in their region.

Tennessee, for instance, just disclosed that it agreed to give German carmaker Volkswagen US$577m in incentives for its US$1bn plant in Chattanooga.

A senior executive at Fiat, the Italian industrial conglomerate, said: "With the amount of money US states are willing to throw at you, you would be stupid to turn them down at the moment. It is one of the low-cost locations to be in at the moment."

ThyssenKrupp, the German steelmaker and industrial group, is receiving more than US$811m to build a new steel mill in Alabama. It turned down even more from Louisiana, which reportedly offered as much as US$2bn, as well as an additional US$900m in cheap debt from Alabama, which it declined as it wished to remain debt-free.

Incentives are not new but their increasing size, plus the relative weakness of the dollar and increasing wages in China and eastern Europe, makes the US more attractive.

A VW official suggested the US also had a competitive advantage because European Union state aid rules made support for factories difficult. "It is more difficult in Europe."