Global supply chains being rethought
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yup, I think that article is correct
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No shit.
Sometimes, I think the people who sit on company boards are as dumb as a bag of hair. Ad you can add in government to that.
Example...All you need is another Cat 4 in the Baytown area and you have major refinery disruptions. Likewise, a nice Katrina-style storm plowing through the Baton Rouge - New Orleans corridor would knock out half the chemical production in America.
Speaking of chemicals...BIL is a ChemE, spending most of his career fixing problems in paper and pulp mills. The last couple of years have been a Godsend and a nightmare for him. A Godsend in the fact that a lot of companies are getting rid of higher salary guys like him in favor of younger, cheaper talent, A nightmare in the fact that he has juggled chemicals and/or processes for over 600 plants in the last couple of years.
Reason? Most of the bulk chemicals come from China and SE Asia.
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Now, having said all that, I'm reminded of Axe's comment on the aluminum mill thread...The one which talked about aluminum and steel mills shutting down because of energy costs. America can compete on a level playing field without having cheap labor, if they have cheap energy.
Without one or the other, the U.S. has a hard time fighting off subsidized steel or other metals.
But...Just like computer chips, things like steel, oil, lithium, titanium, etc., are all strategic materials. The question becomes what should we do about materials we must have?
Yes, we can create jobs in sectors that look good on the unemployment numbers, but nobody works in commercial aviation, when you don't have the materials to build the planes. Nobody works in the hospitality industry when there is not steel or lumber to build the hotels. And nobody works in the computer industry without chips and copper.
