Consultants See China Dominating Cell Phone Production

ByTonya Vinas By 2008, China will be manufacturing 46% of all cell phone handsets, according to Boston-based consultants Strategy Analytics Inc.'s global wireless practice. The Newton, Mass.-based group recently issued a report stating its views on China, already the market leader of handsets with 27% market share. All of Asia will account for 61% of the market by 2008, when about 700 million cell phones are expected to be produced. "China is becoming known as the electronics workshop of the world," says Neil Mawston, senior analyst with the global wireless practice. "Its very low labor rates and massive potential market make it the No. 1 worldwide location for long-term, mass-market handset production." The report also states that Central and Latin America, particularly Brazil and Mexico, can expect to see solid growth in handset production.