NumBytes 27: Toying With US

China makes 64% of all toys exported in 2010 and the country has the largest toy part and toy packaging network in the world, according to Global Trade Information Services. Some manufacturers, troubled by rising costs, are looking elsewhere, for example, Vietnam and India. However, while wages are 10% or lower, that lack of a toy infrastructure means increased costs for moving supplies, not to mention navigating undeveloped transportation infrastructure -- bad roads, substandard ports, and inadequate warehousing facilities -- and rising shipping costs.

A Boston Consulting Group report noted average Chinese wages were 52 cents per hour in 2000, but will rise to an estimated $4.41 per hour by 2015. Imagine what toys will cost if China had environmental and factory safety laws -- something workers are increasingly demanding in addition to better wages.