Ever notice how we have blissfully buried our heads in the sand when it comes to the effect of climate chaos on our economy and our country?
It is obvious that the prospect of climate chaos doesn’t figure prominently in our economic planning. Why, it’s just business as usual – though there is some recognition that our economy is too dependent on exports. For the most part, however, we are still stuck in the mould of trying to increase our exports to places like the US and the EU.
Well think again, those of you who think climate change has nothing to do with the way we do business. To cope with higher transport costs and to reduce their carbon footprint, firms in the West are now turning to suppliers closer to home. This is a major development, considering Malaysia’s traditional reliance on export-oriented manufacturing to drive our economy.
Check out this report in the Financial Times:
Crisis and climate force supply chain shift
By Richard Milne in Amsterdam
Published: August 9 2009 18:43 | Last updated: August 9 2009 18:43
Manufacturers are abandoning global supply chains for regional ones in a big shift brought about by the financial crisis and climate change concerns, according to executives and analysts. Full report here.
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There is a limit to this. Because of the introduction of VVLCC (Very Very Large Container Carriers), its actually economical to put in a nuclear engine which is actually much cheaper although nuclear waste becomes an issue..
Trade is here to stay, growth is temporarily challenged, although for a while more at least..
I think there is probably more than reason they are shifting more regionally than globally. Liquidity and credit are also affecting inventories, specifically lower than before. I work for a huge supply chain management company, Con-way, and we are seeing this shift for many reasons – climate is a major one.
Thanks…
Justin Davis