High-tech companies grapple with rising costs in China

SAN JOSE, Calif - SAN JOSE, Calif. - The price to make Silicon Valley gadgets and computers in China - the assembly line for the global tech industry - is going up, forcing tech companies to rejigger supply chains to contain costs and to consider charging more for electronic devices.

With millions of Americans out of work, some hope the soaring salaries and other rising costs across the Pacific will trigger a renaissance in low-cost manufacturing in the United States. That is not expected to happen any time soon, experts say. But there is mounting concern among tech executives in the fiercely competitive gadget and PC markets.

"Costs are rising across the board," said Sung Won Sohn, an economics professor at California State University-Channel Islands.

Prices of imports from China rose 3.6 percent in 2011, the highest uptick on record, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

"This is a long-term shift, and it's going to continue," said Shaun Rein, managing director of Shanghai-based China Market Research Group, who just published a new book, "The End of Cheap China." Read More