[rdl]

There are a lot of issues other than just wages in a lot of this manufacturing. I think environmental and other compliance costs are a major factor for a lot of manufacturing, and for many forms of electronics, being near your suppliers is a big deal -- and now china has reached a critical mass of subcontractors and suppliers, such that it's easier to build in china.

I actually have some hardware projects I want to build over the next decade, and I'd prefer to produce them in the US or UK if at all possible (they're security devices). Should be interesting seeing exactly what can be done. I believe if you can solve the subcontractor/parts problem, modern automation should make US production competitive, as long as your production process isn't terribly polluting or regulated (which I wouldn't want to be responsible for even if it happened in China). Some place like eastern WA or TN or something might be a great place to manufacture high value products again.