Reshaping World Production

02 Jul Reshaping World Production

In the pre-container era, the re-organization of production was virtually impossible to sustain due to high transportation costs. These acted as trade barriers in a fashion very similar to high tariffs on imports. As the transportation costs associated with the globalization of production declined, however, the dispersal of production to geographically separate locations became more economical. This dispersal manifests itself today in novel manufacturing systems, such as the just-in-time system and far-flung supply-chains.  Commodity chains have been forged that are made up of integrated networks in which leather jackets, car parts, frozen meats and the like are constantly shipped in containers across oceans by shipping giants like Maersk Lines, and through the air by Federal Express. The supply-lines needed to deliver these components cheaply, to the right factory, and at the right time, are not highlighted by the transnational corporations—like Wal-Mart—that use them. They are not evident to consumers either. They form, however, the backbone to the entire global economy.