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The spread of globalization, which benefited capitalism by intensifying world trade, is now being pushed into reverse. The extensive supply chains, the just-in-time production lines, face massive disruption. All the factors that promoted the boom are dialectically turning into their opposite.
According to Resilinc, a California-based group that tracks millions of parts to map the supply chain, discovered that some 1,800 manufactured components were made in the quarantined areas of China.
“The scariest thing we see is the highest numbers of parts [made in and around Hubei] are caps and resistors — tiny things nobody cares about — plus thermal components, plastics and resins, and sheet metals,” said Bindiya Vakil, Resilinc’s chief executive
This is the modern equivalent of throwing a spanner into the works. Or the flapping of butterfly wings that creates a hurricane at the other end of the world.
She warned that “no supply chain will be unscathed” and went on to predict that 70 percent of global manufacturing companies could be cut off from supplies of incidental parts. Ford was in this position in 2011 and was forced, alongside others, to shut down factories.
Read the complete article from Rob Sewell at In defence of Marxism>>
