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Will free shipping on online purchases be a thing of the past? It already is for many online shops. But what about the global supply chain, where something is sourced from Australia, assembled in China and shipped to the US? According to this NY Times article, the high costs of fuel are forcing companies to bring production closer to their customers. I don’t think we’ll see the return of thousands of manufacturing jobs to Europe and the US because labor abroad is just too cheap. Some manufacturing will come back, but most goods will still be produced in developing countries. Those, however, will be more expensive.
This is the personal blog of Esme Vos, founder of Muniwireless.com, Mapplr.com and Shopplr.com. It's about technology, travel, style, fashion, sports, current events and design.
Glenn Fleishman
August 3rd, 2008 at 10:20
It never made sense to me that it could be in the best interests of either capitalism or the environment to ship stuff 50,000 miles during its production and delivery stage. It only happened because of artificially suppressed real costs, in which governments in developing countries ignored the side effects of gas, essentially destroying their future; and in developed nations, paid off those costs, destroying their present and future. Chickens meet roost.