COLUMNS

The Rise of Manufacturing Marks the Fall of Globalization

Jun 7, 2016 | 08:00 GMT

Just as technology spurred globalization, so, too, will it revolutionize how countries do business with one another once again. Automation, advanced robotics and software-driven technologies are ushering in a new era that will leave fewer opportunities for the developing world.
A workshop uses automated welding machines to assemble automobiles at a Toyota Motor Corp. plant in Japan. Automation, advanced robotics and software-driven technologies are ushering in a new industrial revolution.

(KAZUHIRO NOGI/AFP/Getty Images)

Whether you're reading this article on a smartphone, tablet or laptop, chances are the device in front of you contains components from at least six countries spanning three or more continents. Its sleek exterior belies the complicated and intricate set of parts inside that only a global supply chain can provide. Over the past century, finished products made in a single country have become increasingly hard to find as globalization -- weighted a term as it is -- has stretched supply chains to the ends of the Earth. Now, anything from planes, trains and automobiles to computers, cellphones and appliances can trace its hundreds of pieces to nearly as many companies around the world. Its assembly might take place in a different country still. As avenues for producing and assembling products' parts have spread worldwide, countries have found it easier to climb the production value ladder. States at the bottom, extracting...

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