(2) special report: Global Supply Chains; The world is not flat. I will highlight just three of seven reports in the series.
(a) Slowbolisaion | Bumpy New World; After several decades of getting longer, global supply chains are contracting.
(the first 1 1/2 paragraphs: "IN THE BOOM years of globalisation from 1990, one of the ideas that became gospel, spread by authors such as Thomas Friedman, was that the world had become flat. National boundaries mattered very little in terms of sourcing and manufacturing, went the argument. 'The idea was so pervasive, says Hau Lee of Stanford University, that 'companies just built anywhere' ")
The "contracting" in the subtitle means offshoring is no more.
(b) Three industries | Loving China, Leaving China; A look at where clothes, cars and computers are made reveals differing patterns of supply fragmentation.
https://www.economist.com/specia ... g-in-different-ways
Excerpt in the window of print: Many firms are discovering that leaving China is not so easy [not due to Beijing's hiderance but because China is head and shoulders above the rest, in supply chains, and its workforce].
Quotation after the first 2 paragraphs: "Big parts of the clothing and footwear business involve labour-intensive tasks such as stitching, so cost-conscious bosses are always chasing low-cost markets. * * * Today's hot spot is Ethiopia * * * With labour costs of just $26 a month [in Ethiopia] * * * Clothing bosses are increasingly preoccupied with speed more than cost, says Suresh Dalai, a supply-chain expert based in Asia. 'In speed, China still has the edge,' he says, pointing to its world-beating online retailers, 'social-commerce' innovators and nimble manufacturers. * * * Unlike those cut0rate competitors, say experts, Chinese factories have the specialised machinery and experienced operators that are needed to make seamless fabrics and other high-value textiles. Pravin Rangachari of Haggard, a leading manufacturer of men's trousers, has no plan to abandon China's highly automated fabric mills, which he finds 'very competitive.' He adds that compliance with child-labour laws is strong in China, which cannot always be said about other markets. China's share in big clothes-importing markets such as Japan and Europe has declined since 2010 as they have been buying cheaper clothes made in South-East Asia instead. However, China's share in every textile-import [textile = fabric; versus clothing] market in Asia has soared because many of those workshop still bought [sic; I think it should be 'buy'] fabrics from the mainland. Its export share into Vietnam, for example, more than doubled to 50% from 2005 to 2017. The upshot is that although China's once-dominant role in this industry has diminished, it remains strong in important niches.
My comment: I skip over the other two industries: cars and computers. It is hard to believe that "China's share in big clothes-importing markets * * * has declined since 2010" when in 200s, China seemed to be unstoppable.
(c) Security | Safe or Sorry” Comapnies must get ready for a riskier world.
("The Huawei fallout could lead to the bifurcation of global markets into two incompatible 5G camps. Paul Triolo of Eurasia Group thinks it will 'force countries and companies to choose sides between America and China in the tech cold war.' In this scenario, Sweden's ericsson, Finland's Nokia and South Korea's Samsung would supply a pricier network comprised of kit made outside of China to serve customers allied with the United States. * * * Huawei would build a cheaper network for those countries less worried about China.
Note: This report is all about Huawei.
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发表于 7-18-2019 15:34:01
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