中國勞動力成本“升三倍以上”TDK在秋田建兩工場

A few weeks ago the Yomiuri News on-line reported the following:

中国の人件費「３倍以上に」ＴＤＫ秋田に２工場

2015年02月28日 16時19分

　電子部品大手ＴＤＫ（東京都）は２６日、秋田県由利本荘、にかほ市の２か所に約２５０億円をかけて新工場を建設すると発表した。

　スマートフォンや自動車向けの電子部品の需要が世界的に伸びる中、円安や中国の人件費の高騰などを背景に、戦略的生産拠点を国内に構えることにした。災害リスクの回避で生産体制を分散する企業もあり、秋田県内への進出計画が相次いでいる。

　ＴＤＫによると、新工場は由利本荘市万願寺の本荘工場と、にかほ市象潟町の稲倉工場の敷地内に建設する。本荘の新工場は鉄骨２階、延べ５万平方メートル。高周波部品や電子部品を開発、製造する。稲倉の新工場は鉄骨一部２階、延べ１万５０００平方メートルで、主に磁性材料のフェライトなどを生産する。いずれも今年７月に着工の予定で、来年末の操業開始を目指している。

　これに伴い、同社は両工場を「秋田地区の電子部品生産を集中的、効率的に行う戦略的な生産拠点」と位置づけ、高い技術力や開発力を備えたマザー工場に育てる考えだ。製造ラインはロボットなどで自動化されるとみられ、当面、新規雇用の予定はないものの、「マザー工場化に伴い、生産技術や製品の開発に必要な人材は採用していきたい」（本社広報グループ）という。

　新工場建設の背景には、アベノミクスで円安が定着し、国内生産の方が低コストになったことや、「過去１０年間で３倍以上に跳ね上がった」（日中経済協会調べ）とされる中国の人件費などが指摘されている。

(試譯文)

 TDK (Tokyo capital), a major electronic component company, announced on the 26^th (February) the construction of new factories in locations in Nikaho city and Yuri Honjo of Akita prefecture at about 25,000 million yen.

   As the demand for smart phones and electronic components in cars had increased worldwide, it decided to keep a strategic production base in the country against the background of a cheaper yen and the soaring of personnel expenses in China. In order to avoid risking mishaps, the enterprise would scatter its production system and the plans to advance into Akita prefecture were in succession.

   According to TDK, one factory would be constructed at the site of the Honjo factory in Manganji of Yurihonjo city, the other one would be at the Shinagura factory site at Nikaho city of the Kisakata district. The new factory in Honjo would have a two-floor steel frame and 50,000 square meters in total. High frequency parts and electronic components would be developed and produced. Regarding the new factory in Shinagura, in a portion on the 2nd floor of a steel frame with 15,000 square meters, it would mainly produce magnetic ferrite materials. Both were planned to start construction in July this year, aiming at starting operations by the end of next year.

   With this, the said company had the idea to position the two factories to "centralize electronic component production in Akita area, and to make it a strategic production base to produce efficiently"; and to consider developing it as a mother factory with high technical ability and development power. A manufacturing line automated by robots was being considered, and there were no schedules on new jobs for the time being. But it (headquarters public relations group) said that "while turning it into a mother factory, we would like to employ the necessary talent on production technique and products development".

   Regarding the background on new factories construction, a fall in yen value kicked in by the Abenomics, domestic production became low in cost, and the personnel expenses in China "had soared more than 3 times in the past 10 years" (Japan-China Economic Association survey) were pointed out.

The observation that personnel expenses in China had "soared more than 3 times in the past 10 years" is shocking.