[Zhang Fei]

I hope more manufacturers change sources. Is Malaysia THAT expensive?

Labor costs are triple those in China. Thailand's are twice. China is the preferred destination today because labor is cheap. The problem they'll start to run into is that land costs are starting to get a little crazy because of communist controls on land use, and Chinese land speculation.

[Dr. Sivana]

Labor costs are triple those in China. Thailand's are twice.

I didn't realize the gap was that large. Even so, let's say a U.S. worker gets $20/hour (include medical, etc.), the Chinese worker gets .50 hour, and the Malaysian gets $1/hour. You are still cutting 95% of the labor costs. Isn't it worth it? Of course, some of the sneaker companies don't even bother to obey the Chinese minimum wage! There must be a special place for those who won't even meet minimum Chicom standards to make a tiny fraction more money.