Japanese print technology manufacturer Ricoh has joined the exodus of companies moving some production facilities out of China in response to the ongoing US-China trade war, according to a US report.
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| Ricoh in China |
Ricoh, which exports printers from Shanghai and Shenzhen to the US, is said to be preparing to transfer its printer production line to Thailand to avoid US tariffs imposed on Chinese goods, including printer parts.
“On Jan. 5, Ricoh, the Japanese producer of electronics and office equipment, announced that it would be relocating a factory out of China, according to a report by Radio Free Asia (RFA), citing Japan’s Kyodo News,” says The Epoch Times, a New York-based newspaper that focuses on news about China.
“Once the decision comes into effect, Ricoh will be able to restart production in Thailand within two months.
“An employee who has worked at Ricoh’s Shenzhen branch for 10 years confirmed to RFA that some of the company’s factories are moving their production lines to Thailand. The employee, who did not want his name to be publicised, said the company relocated its factories for reasons of cost-effectiveness.”
The report notes that in July 2018, Ricoh announced it was planning to build a new factory for office printers in Dongguan, a Chinese city near Shenzhen.
Ricoh has made little official comment, but in its Quarterly Report in October 2018, the company confirmed the trade war had begun to hit its bottom line.
While there was a concern in China in relation to the trade friction issues with the U.S., there were some signs of an economic recovery in other developing countries…sales of Inkjet heads turned sluggish in China by the trade friction issues with the U.S. and expenses increased due to initial investment. As a result, operating loss in the Industrial Printing segment was ¥2.0 billion of loss.
400 US-funded companies have announced they will withdraw from China since the beginning of the trade war in order to avoid tariffs, according to the US report.
Japan’s Nikkei Asian Review said last year the US-China standoff was also driving Asian companies out of China.
“Japanese motor supplier Nidec...will move some production out of China, joining Panasonic and other companies, including Chinese ones, in an exodus to Southeast Asia and Mexico over concerns that U.S. tariffs will undercut the competitiveness of the Made-in-China model,” said Nikkei.
The Epoch Times is a multi-language newspaper founded in New York in 2000 by a group of Chinese Americans, with a focus on news about China and human rights issues. Its websites are blocked in mainland China but people can access the newspaper using VPNs that function in mainland China.
