Because I think it’s bad economics to try to transport finished goods over long distances quickly. It’s better to transport raw materials long distances slowly (ship and rail) and employ people to manufacture things near where they are needed.
What’s the advantage to transporting raw materials as opposed to finished goods? You’re giving up economies of scale and support infrastructure, I’m not clear what you are getting in return.
When our clothes and electronics or whatever mostly or exclusively come from the other side of the world, I don’t think it’s because corporations are taking advantage of economies of scale so much as they are doing arbitrage for labor and environmental protections. If we bring production closer to the people who need the products, then we get jobs, autonomy, and accountability. We can still have economies of scale at the regional level. Not every town needs the same set of factories of course.
Because I think it’s bad economics to try to transport finished goods over long distances quickly. It’s better to transport raw materials long distances slowly (ship and rail) and employ people to manufacture things near where they are needed.
What’s the advantage to transporting raw materials as opposed to finished goods? You’re giving up economies of scale and support infrastructure, I’m not clear what you are getting in return.
When our clothes and electronics or whatever mostly or exclusively come from the other side of the world, I don’t think it’s because corporations are taking advantage of economies of scale so much as they are doing arbitrage for labor and environmental protections. If we bring production closer to the people who need the products, then we get jobs, autonomy, and accountability. We can still have economies of scale at the regional level. Not every town needs the same set of factories of course.
This guy factorios