Wages on the rise in China

Posted: July 16, 2012 | Author: | Filed under: China, Electronics, Jobs, Salaries | Tags: , , | 2 Comments

Several reports have been published this year documenting rising wages in China. In “Wage Rises in China May Ease Slowdown“, the WSJ notes that these increases may help lower the impact of a slowdown in China as workers have more money to purchase goods (although it is not clear to me how much this helps if a lot of the money goes into buying foreign goods as the article suggests could happen).

The current and projected jumps in labor costs are dramatic:

“…wage income for urban households rose 13% year-on-year in the first half, and average monthly income for migrant workers rose 14.9%, according to data from China’s National Bureau of Statistics. A labor ministry survey of 91 cities in the first quarter showed demand for workers outstripping supply by a record amount, pointing to low unemployment…

…At current rates, China’s private-sector manufacturing wages will double from their 2011 levels by 2015, and triple by 2017, eroding competitiveness and denting the exports that have played a key part in China’s early growth.”

These wage hikes are coming off low levels. For example, as of February of this year, Hon Hai Precision Industry Co, the company that manufactures Apple (AAPL) iPads, reported a 10% increase in base salary for its factory workers to 2,200 yuan ($345) per month.

Moreover, the supply of new, young workers will decrease thanks to China’s one-child policy:

“In 2005, there were 120.7 million Chinese people aged 15-19, according to United Nations estimates. By 2010, that had fallen to 105.3 million, and by 2015 it is expected to dip to 94.9 million.”

Finally the government is forcing the minimum wage and benefits higher:

“China is committed to sharply raising minimum wages, which puts pressure on employers to raise salaries for higher skilled workers. Beijing also has increased requirements for severance payments, which discourages layoffs unless business drops severely.”

It will be interesting to watch what happens to China’s economy as its manufacturing competitiveness declines slowly but surely with the increase in wages.

KB Home faces rising input costs

Posted: July 16, 2012 | Author: | Filed under: Housing | Tags: , , | Leave a comment

In its latest earnings report, KB Home (KBH) reported rising input costs. Prices for labor, material, and land are all on the increase. In “KB Home ‘On Offense’ As Its Housing Markets And Pricing Power Strengthen“, I reported the following, including quotes from the Seeking Alpha transcript:

“While KBH is bullish about its business, it is wary about its costs. Costs increased about $1,200 a house, but KBH was able to offset that with pricing. I was a bit surprised that business is strong enough that KBH can actually wield some pricing power, passing on increased costs to its customers. Here is how KBH described the source of the cost increases and their likely impact:

‘We are starting to experience higher costs for labor and direct construction materials such as lumber, concrete and drywall. Through the end of the second quarter, the impact of these higher costs has been offset by sales price increases, which we have implemented in a majority of our communities during the first 6 months of the year. We believe incremental price increases can continue to offset any further cost increases for the remainder of 2012, which should not result in margin erosion but maybe a headwind in relation to our margin expansion plans.’

Moreover, land prices are also on the rise. KBH says that land sellers were the first to detect the improvement in the housing market and they are now able to exert some pricing power:

‘While there’s no question the housing markets are getting better, the land sellers figured it out first. So land prices are going up every bit as fast, if not faster, than home prices are.’

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These are signs that the housing market is finally starting a sustained recovery, starting in select markets. For more details on earnings for KBH see “KB Home ‘On Offense’ As Its Housing Markets And Pricing Power Strengthen.”