Growth

Animation isn't just expanding in the U.S. of A.

China's animation industry generated 87 billion yuan (14 billion U.S. dollars) in revenue last year, according to the ongoing 10th China International Cartoon and Game Expo in Shanghai.

The industry has expanded by 10 billion yuan in each of the past three years.

Animation product exports reached 1.02 billion yuan in 2013, up 22.8 percent year on year. About 220,000 people are working in 4,600 animation enterprises in China.

Last year, 29 domestic animation films were screened in China.

The total box office of China's domestic animated films hit 646 million yuan in 2013, up 48 percent. ...

The global animation business takes in a wide stretch of territory. There's video games, television product, theatrical features, interstitials, phone apps, broadcast graphics, and visual effects.

Then there's the profitability factor. Animation has higher margins than just about any other form of motion picture entertainment.

The global animation and gaming market is expected to grow from $122.20 billion in 2010 to $242.92 billion by 2016. The gaming market is the fastest growing, with a Y-O-Y of 17.46% by 2016. ...

The global animation and gaming market is growing at a Compounded Annual Growth Rate of 12.94% from 2011 to 2016. The major factors driving the animation and gaming market are expansion of target market, government initiatives, greater penetration, and accessibility of broadband internet, growth in the mobile subscriber base. ...

The question is, will more wage cartels spring up to hold down wages?