Zhejiang'S Economy Turns Hard

It's good news, but it seems to be bad news more often than ever. After the hottest summer, Wenzhou's frequent power cuts in the past few years.

Before the final heat subsided, the Wenzhou merchants' rare footsteps slowed down in the night.

On the most famous poetry Island, the lights on the banks of the river are dim and charming.

Neon, the most upscale entertainment block in the newly upgraded area, is still shining and shining.

But we have no intention of appreciating it.

Thousands of enterprises in Wenzhou stop working or fail.

A survey conducted by the Wenzhou Municipal Economic and Trade Commission in early July showed that among the 15521 small and medium-sized enterprises in 31 industrial strong towns and development zones in Wenzhou, there are now 1259 enterprises that are closed down, semi closed down and closed down, accounting for 8.1% of the total number of investigations.

The white wall, the empty factory area, the locked factory gate, the equipment materials scattered in the workshop, the caretakers left behind in twos and threes, the listless fruit and food hawkers in the industrial park, the real scene is revealed as soon as the sky is clear.

"Many factories have shut down."

Zhou Dewen, President of Wenzhou SME Promotion Association, said that this summer is far ahead of the difficulties that could be imagined at the beginning of the year.

From Wenzhou along the coastline to the east or directly north, in Taizhou, in Yiwu, in Cixi and Ninghai in Ningbo, Shengzhou in Shaoxing, and Keqiao Textile City, depression is like a faucet that can not be closed.

Zhejiang's industrial economy is "in a tight running state", "the enterprise weighs the weight ahead", the Zhejiang economic and Trade Commission's July industrial economic analysis report wrote in a rare tone.

The latest statistics show that in the first half of 2008, the industrial added value of Enterprises above Designated Size in Zhejiang increased by 12.2% over the same period last year, an increase of 5.5 percentage points compared with the same period last year. In the first five months, the total profit of enterprises increased by 14.1%, an increase of 17.8 percentage points over the same period last year.

"In the second half of this year, the economic operation is still facing greater uncertainty and development trend is grim."

The report is pessimistic.

A survey conducted by the Wenzhou Municipal Economic and Trade Commission in early July showed that among the 15521 small and medium-sized enterprises in 31 industrial strong towns and development zones in Wenzhou, there are now 1259 enterprises that are closed down, semi closed down and closed down, accounting for 8.1% of the total survey, an increase of 2.1 percentage points over the first quarter.

The withering of "shoe capital"

Some enterprises began to migrate, preferring to stop working to build new factories in the mainland.

On the major media in Wenzhou, information about "rent seeking" for plant or production equipment has now been changed to "pfer".

"The original rental plant of 25 yuan per square meter can not be rented for 6 yuan now."

Out of the city of Wenzhou, by train, westbound, the big shoe factories on both sides of the railway can be seen everywhere. The signs of "China Shoes Capital" remind each other of the legend once created. When the shoe making industry in Wenzhou is at its best, it produces 40% of the world's shoes, 60% of which are exported abroad.

But now, in the industrial zone of the shoe industry, shoe leather and shoe factories, the shutdown has swept the whole park.

There are only a few guards in the factories, and they are gloomy and disoriented.

"I simply can't live."

Lin Jinbiao, chairman of Wenzhou shoe material association and chairman of good shoe material, said.

Because of soaring raw material prices, RMB appreciation, export tax rebate rate reduction, interest rate adjustment, labor force price rise and logistics cost increase, profit margins are being further compressed.

A $more than 10 sole has a profit of about 1 yuan in the past.

Under the impact of increased costs, it has been almost completely offset.

"Before net profit 5%, now 1% is good."

"Orders are either not, they are afraid to do."

Lin Jinbiao said that on the first floor of his factory, 5 production lines for sole production have been suspended.

As the price of iron increased, the cost of making shoe soles increased from 2000 to 3000 yuan per piece; oil prices rose, the raw material of shoe materials increased by more than 3000 yuan (the raw materials of shoe materials were mainly petrochemical products), and the polish oil was also expensive. Before each pair of shoes, it was 8 yuan, and now it was at least 1.5 yuan; and, of course, pportation fees also rose.

Meanwhile, wages for workers are also rising.

In the past few years, the basic salary for the odd jobs with no technical requirements was 850 yuan, and now it is 1200 yuan.

Lin Jinbiao's strategy is to reduce the number of contract workers, from more than 100 to more than 50 at the height of the contract.

"We can only recruit a small number of workers, and take fewer orders to ensure the stability of the teams we have recruited."

But even if it does not start, the basic salary of workers is enough to overwhelm a small business that is not prepared.

Lin Jinbiao introduced that he knew a larger shoemaking enterprise with only one worker's salary, and the monthly expenditure was about one million.

The largest shoe manufacturer in Wenzhou has about 20000 employees and pays tens of millions of dollars a month. "If you don't have a list for three months, you can't live at all."

The appreciation of RMB has aggravated difficulties.

Foreign trade orders are mostly denominated in US dollars. Over the past year, the renminbi has appreciated nearly 10% against the US dollar. If it was signed a year ago, it would have no profit after it has been completed.

"Not losing money is pretty good."

Lin Jinbiao said.

Environmental control measures are also a factor.

Lin Jinbiao said that in the same sense, more than 100 enterprises that provided shoe upper leather for shoe enterprises were all closed because they could not bear the cost of controlling pollution.

Some enterprises began to migrate, preferring to stop working to build new factories in the mainland.

On the major media in Wenzhou, information about "rent seeking" for plant or production equipment has now been changed to "pfer".

"The original rental plant of 25 yuan per square meter can not be rented for 6 yuan now."

The large depression has exacerbated the tension of the capital chain.

"Even the foreign trade list has debts.

The Koreans owe us about one million or more than three months.

Lin Jinbiao is worrying about his about three million receivables. "Factories are always padding money, they simply can't afford it."

Most people have abandoned the main business of manufacturing.

A shoe owner made a mortgage with 60 million of his factory and housing loan, all of which went to Sichuan to invest in real estate.

Lin Jinbiao believes that this is a helpless move, "if borrowing expands production, it is a vicious circle".

Job seekers played poker in the labor market.

A survey conducted by the Zhejiang Bureau of statistics shows that for the first time since the fourth quarter of 2005, Zhejiang's 9 consecutive quarter of labor shortage continued to rise for the first time.

In addition to shoemaking, Wenzhou is also a famous spectacle production base.

However, it is also facing a cold current.

Ye Jianbo, general manager of Wenzhou true feeling glasses Co., Ltd. just attended the Wenzhou exhibition just a few days ago.

But the 100 thousand yuan exhibition fee was smashed, but no single list was received.

"No one came to see the factory."

Ye Jianbo recalled that this is something that has never happened in the past few years. "In the past, it was too busy to be busy."

Ye Jianbo said that since May, the company's profits have long been completely empty.

All the problems encountered by the shoe industry are the same as those in the eyeglasses industry. The difference is that the raw materials used for shoes are petrochemical products while glasses are copper.

"Everything is rising."

Ye Jianbo said.

Xie Rongfang, Secretary General of Wenzhou shoe and leather industry association, admitted that the cost of products increased by about 20% to 30% due to the reduction of orders and the difficulty of recruiting employees. Wenzhou's small shoe enterprises were struggling, especially "the impact on export oriented shoe enterprises".

Since the end of 2007, as of the end of June, more than 120 enterprises in its association have closed down, and more than 50 enterprises have to pfer production bases to Chengdu, Chongqing, Subei and Jiangxi.

Xie Chengren, this figure does not include half stop business figures.

"It should be heavier now, and the whole second half of the year will definitely decline."

The downturn in business has already affected the labour market.

A survey conducted by the Zhejiang Bureau of statistics shows that for the first time since the fourth quarter of 2005, Zhejiang's 9 consecutive quarter of labor shortage continued to rise for the first time.

In the Wenzhou labor market on Niu Shan North Road, there is still a large group of migrant workers looking for jobs as usual.

The display information on the hall is constantly rolling up employment information, and the employment demand of an enterprise is between 1 and 4, and basically it is mainly skilled workers and skilled workers.

Because there is no suitable position, bored job seekers simply play poker in front of the narrow road.

Li Jin, a migrant worker from Nanchong, Sichuan, said that due to the lack of technical advantages, he had been dismissed for three unfinished probation in half a year, and now he is unemployed again.

In Ye Jianbo's company, "more than 200 of the original workers, 60% have been allowed to take a rest, 600 yuan per month for living expenses, and have orders to come back to do".

But the pressure is still great.

Ye Jianbo decided to find more orders as soon as possible to ensure the start of the project. "First Guangzhou exhibition, Beijing exhibition, Beijing exhibition no longer improve, only to the United States, to Hongkong."

"Business is not as bad as it is now."

It takes at least a month for a container to float across the sea. Anyone who wants to do Christmas business must place an order before September.

But in September, during the golden period of trade, a steady stream of Christmas orders suddenly disappeared.

Starting from Wenzhou, along the highway northward, this was the pride of Zhejiang, the most active economy in China.

On both sides of the road, there is a world of manufacturing hall.

The best leather shoes you can buy in Ou Bei town in Yongjia; in Ouhai District, the unique styling metal lighters are assembled continuously from the production line; only tens of thousands of people's Qiaotou town will produce more than 70% buttons for China; in Wenling of Taizhou, the advertising of the pump factory is all everywhere; in Wuyi, Jinhua, the small county town produces about one billion pairs of cards every year, enough for Chinese people to hand, help to solve 2/3 socks production problems in the world of Yiwu and Zhuji; the 40% tie comes from the Shengzhou; if you want to pick the most complete leather clothes, you can come Haining or Tongxiang...

All the products are sold in Yiwu.

This leads to every corner of the world.

"The sea of commodities, the paradise of shoppers."

Walking around the streets of Yiwu, you will see the epitome of the most dynamic manufacturing plant in the world.

This remote city in Zhejiang Province is a pit place for cheap goods in the world, supermarkets in supermarkets.

People from all over the world come here and there, from the United Arab Emirates, from war to Iraq, with Russian, Arabic, English, German, Korean and all kinds of languages.

Commodity information in the global economy converges and redistribus to stores around the world.

It takes at least a month for a container to float across the sea. Anyone who wants to do Christmas business must place an order before September.

But in September, during the golden period of trade, a steady stream of Christmas orders suddenly disappeared.

But today, the most famous small commodity distributing center in the world is not as popular as the commercial street in Shanghai or a provincial capital city.

"Business is not as bad as it is now."

Ms. Chu, who specializes in mask export, sighs at the door of the small commodity city shop. Her only thought now is not to drop too much.

"The follow-up effect of last year's foreign trade policy has begun to ferment."

The official unification of Yiwu