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Automation on the Docks
From time to time, I’m lucky enough to be able to visit container terminals: some of the people who run them are familiar with my books, and they are kind…
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Nearshoring in Mexico Is Mainly an Aspiration
There’s been much talk about “nearshoring,” the idea that manufacturers are reducing risk in their supply chains by bringing production closer to their end markets. Mexico is supposedly one of…
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What Makes a High Performer?
The World Bank puts immense effort into its Container Port Performance Index. The index, compiled annually with the help of S&P Global Market Intelligence, ranks ports based on how much…
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The Population Bust
The notion that demographic change will slow the flow of trade in manufactured goods met some resistance when I suggested it a few years ago in Outside the Box. Some…
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Piling On
If there’s one thing the political types in Washington can agree on today, it’s this: let’s go after China. Just about everything is seen as part of a nefarious Chinese…
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More than Cheap Labor
It’s been no secret that Chinese companies have been building factories in Mexico to protect their access to the United States market in the face of high U.S. tariffs on…