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How the World Ran Out of Everything: Inside the Global Supply Chain
"A tale that will change how you look at the world." —Mark Leibovich
Part Michael Lewis, part The Way Things Work: From the New York Times’s Global Economics Correspondent, an extraordinary journey revealing the worldwide supply chain—exposing both the fascinating pathways of manufacturing and transportation that bring products to your doorstep, and the ruthless business logic that has left local communities at the mercy of a complex and fragile network for their basic necessities.
?One of Foreign Policy's "Most Anticipated Books of 2024"
How does the wealthiest country on earth run out of protective gear in the middle of a public health catastrophe? How do its parents find themselves unable to locate crucially needed infant formula? How do its largest companies spend billions of dollars making cars that no one can drive for a lack of chips?
The last few years have radically highlighted the intricacy and fragility of the global supply chain. Enormous ships were stuck at sea, warehouses overflowed, and delivery trucks stalled. The result was a scarcity of everything from breakfast cereal to medical devices, from frivolous goods to lifesaving necessities. And while the scale of the pandemic shock was unprecedented, it underscored the troubling reality that the system was fundamentally at risk of descending into chaos all along. And it still is. Sabotaged by financial interests, loss of transparency in markets, and worsening working conditions for the people tasked with keeping the gears turning, our global supply chain has become perpetually on the brink of collapse.
In How the World Ran Out of Everything, award-winning journalist Peter S. Goodman reveals the fascinating innerworkings of our supply chain and the factors that have led to its constant, dangerous vulnerability. His reporting takes readers deep into the elaborate system, showcasing the triumphs and struggles of the human players who operate it—from factories in Asia and an almond grower in Northern California, to a group of striking railroad workers in Texas, to a truck driver who Goodman accompanies across hundreds of miles of the Great Plains. Through their stories, Goodman weaves a powerful argument for reforming a supply chain to become truly reliable and resilient, demanding a radical redrawing of the bargain between labor and shareholders, and deeper attention paid to how we get the things we need.
From one of the most respected economic journalists working today, How the World Ran Out of Everything is a fiercely smart, deeply informative look at how our supply chain operates, and why its reform is crucial—not only to avoid dysfunction in our day to day lives, but to protect the fate of our global fortunes.
Part Michael Lewis, part The Way Things Work: From the New York Times’s Global Economics Correspondent, an extraordinary journey revealing the worldwide supply chain—exposing both the fascinating pathways of manufacturing and transportation that bring products to your doorstep, and the ruthless business logic that has left local communities at the mercy of a complex and fragile network for their basic necessities.
?One of Foreign Policy's "Most Anticipated Books of 2024"
How does the wealthiest country on earth run out of protective gear in the middle of a public health catastrophe? How do its parents find themselves unable to locate crucially needed infant formula? How do its largest companies spend billions of dollars making cars that no one can drive for a lack of chips?
The last few years have radically highlighted the intricacy and fragility of the global supply chain. Enormous ships were stuck at sea, warehouses overflowed, and delivery trucks stalled. The result was a scarcity of everything from breakfast cereal to medical devices, from frivolous goods to lifesaving necessities. And while the scale of the pandemic shock was unprecedented, it underscored the troubling reality that the system was fundamentally at risk of descending into chaos all along. And it still is. Sabotaged by financial interests, loss of transparency in markets, and worsening working conditions for the people tasked with keeping the gears turning, our global supply chain has become perpetually on the brink of collapse.
In How the World Ran Out of Everything, award-winning journalist Peter S. Goodman reveals the fascinating innerworkings of our supply chain and the factors that have led to its constant, dangerous vulnerability. His reporting takes readers deep into the elaborate system, showcasing the triumphs and struggles of the human players who operate it—from factories in Asia and an almond grower in Northern California, to a group of striking railroad workers in Texas, to a truck driver who Goodman accompanies across hundreds of miles of the Great Plains. Through their stories, Goodman weaves a powerful argument for reforming a supply chain to become truly reliable and resilient, demanding a radical redrawing of the bargain between labor and shareholders, and deeper attention paid to how we get the things we need.
From one of the most respected economic journalists working today, How the World Ran Out of Everything is a fiercely smart, deeply informative look at how our supply chain operates, and why its reform is crucial—not only to avoid dysfunction in our day to day lives, but to protect the fate of our global fortunes.
412 pages, Kindle Edition
Published June 11, 2024
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 99 reviews
September 14, 2024
I don't say this often but this is a must read. I wish all the middle and working class people would read this because there's so much in here that will make your blood boil. Goodman has done some incredibly important reporting here and we need more journalists like him.
Some points that really stuck with me:
1) During Covid, meat packing plant workers were not actually mandatory to keep our grocery stores stocked. The nation had a stock of meat stores to keep us going for a while. These workers did not need to be exposed to covid so carelessly. The US actually increased exports of meat products during the pandemic. So what did these people die for? It wasn't to feed the nation but to feed the pockets of stockholders.
2) There is no shortage of CDL drivers in the US. There's a shortage or actively working truckers because they've gotten sick of companies treating them like shit for so little pay.
3) Freight cargo companies are getting away with robbery due to extremely poor or non-existent regulations. Big companies win while smaller companies are left completely out of luck or worse, being charged ridiculous and unfair fees.
4) The gap between executive compensation and worker wages is beyond ridiculous and the gap will only continue to widen unless something's done about it.
Please go read this book and see just how the working class are being trampled into the dust and sacrificed for your convenience. It's heartbreaking and infuriating.
Some points that really stuck with me:
1) During Covid, meat packing plant workers were not actually mandatory to keep our grocery stores stocked. The nation had a stock of meat stores to keep us going for a while. These workers did not need to be exposed to covid so carelessly. The US actually increased exports of meat products during the pandemic. So what did these people die for? It wasn't to feed the nation but to feed the pockets of stockholders.
2) There is no shortage of CDL drivers in the US. There's a shortage or actively working truckers because they've gotten sick of companies treating them like shit for so little pay.
3) Freight cargo companies are getting away with robbery due to extremely poor or non-existent regulations. Big companies win while smaller companies are left completely out of luck or worse, being charged ridiculous and unfair fees.
4) The gap between executive compensation and worker wages is beyond ridiculous and the gap will only continue to widen unless something's done about it.
Please go read this book and see just how the working class are being trampled into the dust and sacrificed for your convenience. It's heartbreaking and infuriating.
August 9, 2024
If you think you will get a clear, reasoned expose of what went wrong during the pandemic (and caused global supply chain disruptions), you are in for a disappointment. Instead, you will find an opinionated manifest from a decisively left-wing author, for whom any problem is caused by a mix of Just in Time, McKinsey and corporate greed.
The book is not specifically focused on the pandemic, instead it is a long history of the supply chain, a bit like if a high schooler had just discovered how manufacturing and globalisation work.
The author constantly asserts causality and connection between events, without really backing them with data, to advance his agenda. Or he provides data, but without proper context, purposely misleading the reader (e.g, the author claims that meat producers actively created fake scarcity during the pandemic to force workers to continue production. To defend the notion of fake scarcity he notably cites that one leading company still had ~600 million pounds of frozen pork to feed the country, but omits to clarify that this represents only ~2 weeks of consumption in the US.).
The book is not specifically focused on the pandemic, instead it is a long history of the supply chain, a bit like if a high schooler had just discovered how manufacturing and globalisation work.
The author constantly asserts causality and connection between events, without really backing them with data, to advance his agenda. Or he provides data, but without proper context, purposely misleading the reader (e.g, the author claims that meat producers actively created fake scarcity during the pandemic to force workers to continue production. To defend the notion of fake scarcity he notably cites that one leading company still had ~600 million pounds of frozen pork to feed the country, but omits to clarify that this represents only ~2 weeks of consumption in the US.).
August 11, 2024
This is an eye opening read to how interconnected our modern conveniences make us. And how open to exploitation that makes most people. The historical and practical perspective is very valuable. I also appreciated the policy based reporting of what was being said politically at the times of these shortages. It shows that both parties are really serving the same ends. Well worth the time.
July 22, 2024
Should be required reading to understand how the supply chain works or doesn’t work and how it affects our economy and well being when it does not.
November 10, 2024
Peter Goodman is a journalist specializing in economics. His latest book, How the World Ran Out of Everything, is the comprehensive supply chain book I've been looking for for a long time - interesting, well-researched, and very timely (though definitely also politically tilted). Goodman tells the story of how the abrupt challenge of the COVID-19 pandemic led to global supply chain shortages by exposing weaknesses in infrastructure, business and manufacturing practices, tenuousness in relationships between the global East and the global West, and labor practices. Many of these issues are told using the microcosmic story of one American small business owner whose products are manufactured in China, and the harrowing journey he navigated trying to get the latest shipment of his products from China to the Southeastern US in fall 2021 to meet the Black Friday/holiday season shopping rush. Goodman also zooms in and out throughout the history of manufacturing and atmosphere of increasingly global commerce, enabled through innovations like container size standardization, and West-to-East-to-West transfer and implementation-to-extremes of business practices like lean manufacturing and just-in-time inventory management (for examples, see Liker's The Toyota Way: 14 Management Principles from the World's Greatest Manufacturer and even Goldratt's classic '80s business fable The Goal: A Process of Ongoing Improvement). The book also exposes the cracks in these processes, such as Carter-era deregulation, how the West became so dependent on the East, how just-in-time inventory management led so many manufacturers to be short of supplies for extended periods of time during the pandemic, and burnout-inducing labor practices in the US in industries ranging from factories to trucking to trains. Goodman doesn't really delve into similarly awful (or worse) labor practices in the East, though, and this is the part of the book where his political leanings were on full display.
Though Goodman spends some time toward the end of the book going through possible solutions or easements to the current problems (like strengthening manufacturing capabilities within the US or within North America more broadly), there are no easy or perfect solutions. At this point in time, the US simply doesn't have the infrastructure for manufacturing everything in-house with the economies of scale that would make American-made goods competitive in pricing with imported goods. Take for example, American Roots apparel (as profiled extensively in Rachel Slade's book Making It in America: The Almost Impossible Quest to Manufacture in the U.S.A. - see my review), an American small business specializing in hoodies and tops where all materials are sourced in the US and workers are unionized, but price points for basic items (i.e., $129 for a hoodie) are on par with luxury brands and out-of-reach for many consumers. We all vote with our dollars, and as noble as it would be to preferentially support American businesses and companies that practice fair labor and sustainability, not many of us have enough income to make those choices for our clothing, our food, our utilities, our service industry vendors, and the rest of our lives.
Overall, I'd recommend this book to anyone interested in global economics and business, along with the following:
Sold Out: How Broken Supply Chains, Surging Inflation, and Political Instability Will Sink the Global Economy by James Rickards - similar topic, different political viewpoint | my review
Ninety Percent of Everything: Inside Shipping, the Invisible Industry That Puts Clothes on Your Back, Gas in Your Car, and Food on Your Plate by Rose George - everything you've ever wanted to know about container ships and modern-day ocean pirates (I'm not kidding!)
Arriving Today: From Factory to Front Door-Why Everything Has Changed About How and What We Buy by Christopher Mims - a similar book, published in the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, and focusing on the role of behemoth companies like Amazon | my review
Never Out of Season: How Having the Food We Want When We Want It Threatens Our Food Supply and Our Future by Rob Dunn - a similar book, but pre-pandemic and focused on the global food supply
To Dye For: How Toxic Fashion Is Making Us Sick--and How We Can Fight Back by Alden Wicker - for its exposition into awful working conditions overseas | my review
Wasteland: The Secret World of Waste and the Urgent Search for a Cleaner Future by Oliver Franklin-Wallace, about one end result of the global supply chain and overconsumption -- the global waste problem | my review
My statistics:
Book 271 for 2024
Book 1874 cumulatively
Though Goodman spends some time toward the end of the book going through possible solutions or easements to the current problems (like strengthening manufacturing capabilities within the US or within North America more broadly), there are no easy or perfect solutions. At this point in time, the US simply doesn't have the infrastructure for manufacturing everything in-house with the economies of scale that would make American-made goods competitive in pricing with imported goods. Take for example, American Roots apparel (as profiled extensively in Rachel Slade's book Making It in America: The Almost Impossible Quest to Manufacture in the U.S.A. - see my review), an American small business specializing in hoodies and tops where all materials are sourced in the US and workers are unionized, but price points for basic items (i.e., $129 for a hoodie) are on par with luxury brands and out-of-reach for many consumers. We all vote with our dollars, and as noble as it would be to preferentially support American businesses and companies that practice fair labor and sustainability, not many of us have enough income to make those choices for our clothing, our food, our utilities, our service industry vendors, and the rest of our lives.
Overall, I'd recommend this book to anyone interested in global economics and business, along with the following:
Sold Out: How Broken Supply Chains, Surging Inflation, and Political Instability Will Sink the Global Economy by James Rickards - similar topic, different political viewpoint | my review
Ninety Percent of Everything: Inside Shipping, the Invisible Industry That Puts Clothes on Your Back, Gas in Your Car, and Food on Your Plate by Rose George - everything you've ever wanted to know about container ships and modern-day ocean pirates (I'm not kidding!)
Arriving Today: From Factory to Front Door-Why Everything Has Changed About How and What We Buy by Christopher Mims - a similar book, published in the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, and focusing on the role of behemoth companies like Amazon | my review
Never Out of Season: How Having the Food We Want When We Want It Threatens Our Food Supply and Our Future by Rob Dunn - a similar book, but pre-pandemic and focused on the global food supply
To Dye For: How Toxic Fashion Is Making Us Sick--and How We Can Fight Back by Alden Wicker - for its exposition into awful working conditions overseas | my review
Wasteland: The Secret World of Waste and the Urgent Search for a Cleaner Future by Oliver Franklin-Wallace, about one end result of the global supply chain and overconsumption -- the global waste problem | my review
My statistics:
Book 271 for 2024
Book 1874 cumulatively
July 24, 2024
I recently listened to this book on Audible. While it contains some valuable insights, most key points could have been efficiently captured in a series of blog posts. The book is filled with various stories meant to illustrate its ideas, but they often feel more like fillers than essential narrative components.
September 29, 2024
PETER S. GOODMAN, HOW THE WORLD RAN OUT OF EVERYTHING: INSIDE THE GLOBAL SUPPLY CHAIN (New York: Mariner Books, 2024), https://www.amazon.com/How-World-Ran-...
This is an excellent book, which I have just finished reading. Although I don’t have time right now to review it, see the review by HarperAcademic at https://www.harperacademic.com/book/9....
Alan E. Johnson
Independent Philosopher, Historian, Political Scientist, and Legal Scholar
This is an excellent book, which I have just finished reading. Although I don’t have time right now to review it, see the review by HarperAcademic at https://www.harperacademic.com/book/9....
Alan E. Johnson
Independent Philosopher, Historian, Political Scientist, and Legal Scholar
July 31, 2024
Uncomfortable but unsurprising truths as to how American politicians, influenced by corporate lobbyists, leveraged proclamations for democracy and free trade in order to bolster corporate interests... sounds like a sentences I've heard before, but which certainly warrants repeating. The real novelty here, as Goodman tracks China's entry into the WTO and how this transformed global enterprise, is the context of the pandemic. Goodman places heavy emphasis on pathos to trace this modern history by using individuals' stories. He uses the stories of the labourers, the ship-yard workers, the truck drivers, and their families to highlight how neoliberalism, trickle-down economics, and trade deregulation affect those at the bottom. Through leveraging humanism, he develops compassion for these workers, and contempt for policy makers and corporate leadership. A little too heavy on the pathos...but maybe that was the point. Real stories, real consequences...
July 28, 2024
I enjoyed seeing Peter Goodman in interviews so got the book. For me it was too boringly technical. About have way through I skimmed to the end.
September 18, 2024
Loved it! I don’t know that I ever really studied economics in school. I probably should have. This is a look at the global supply chain and why it broke down during the pandemic. Not only that, it goes through the history of many different aspects of the supply chain, different industries, government, etc.
There are so many aspects of the supply chain that I and I assume most people never think about. You expect if you need something you can go to a store and get it or order it online and it will be delivered in a timely manner. You don’t think about all of the ways that the supply chain can break down. What we don’t see is that so many things are manufactured overseas, that even parts of things come from many different countries to be assembled in one place and then shipped out to the USA. Once here they need to be unloaded and then transported by plane, train, or truck across the country to its destination.
The book takes us on the journey of how things move through the supply chain. It also gives us a history lesson in how companies work in deciding how to manufacture their goods. We learn about the government’s role in regulating manufacturing and shipping and global trade.
Ford and Toyota are examples of ways that manufacturing and the supply chain were improved, though they weren’t perfect, and their ideas in some cases have been taken to extremes.
We see where the break downs occurred during the pandemic. Factories shut down due to Covid or in other cases didn’t shutdown and many people got sick and died. Lack of dockworkers and truck drivers. Shipping containers not being moved properly. Ships and trucks stuck in long lines. In almost every case, companies put profits over workers. The executives got richer and the working class paid the price.
Remember when people were saying “nobody wants to work anymore “, so many job openings in restaurants, grocery stores, trucking, delivery drivers, etc. it wasn’t that people didn’t want to work it was that people wanted and needed higher pay for the hours they were putting in. People found higher paying, better work environment jobs, and the companies that weren’t willing to up wages or provide benefits were losing out.
A lot of the supply chain disruption could have been prevented. Companies were using Just In Time manufacturing so they didn’t have to have as much warehouse space. Many regulations that had been in place since around the beginning of the 20th century were removed starting with President Carter and continued to be deregulated up through Trump. Trump added additional tariffs to Chinese goods. All of these things hurt workers but helped the profits of shareholders.
The pandemic did show us that maybe having so much manufacturing in China isn’t the best way to go. Some companies are now manufacturing in the US or Mexico or at least other countries outside of China. Unions are becoming more popular again. Some government regulations are being put back in place. Also we have more innovation and technology to improve processes while also being able to improve worker productivity.
What we need to understand is that we need both fair and transparent markets for all participants in the supply chain, for the commodities, for the shipping industry, and for the laborers. Until this happens, we’re bound to have more supply chain issues in the future.
There are so many aspects of the supply chain that I and I assume most people never think about. You expect if you need something you can go to a store and get it or order it online and it will be delivered in a timely manner. You don’t think about all of the ways that the supply chain can break down. What we don’t see is that so many things are manufactured overseas, that even parts of things come from many different countries to be assembled in one place and then shipped out to the USA. Once here they need to be unloaded and then transported by plane, train, or truck across the country to its destination.
The book takes us on the journey of how things move through the supply chain. It also gives us a history lesson in how companies work in deciding how to manufacture their goods. We learn about the government’s role in regulating manufacturing and shipping and global trade.
Ford and Toyota are examples of ways that manufacturing and the supply chain were improved, though they weren’t perfect, and their ideas in some cases have been taken to extremes.
We see where the break downs occurred during the pandemic. Factories shut down due to Covid or in other cases didn’t shutdown and many people got sick and died. Lack of dockworkers and truck drivers. Shipping containers not being moved properly. Ships and trucks stuck in long lines. In almost every case, companies put profits over workers. The executives got richer and the working class paid the price.
Remember when people were saying “nobody wants to work anymore “, so many job openings in restaurants, grocery stores, trucking, delivery drivers, etc. it wasn’t that people didn’t want to work it was that people wanted and needed higher pay for the hours they were putting in. People found higher paying, better work environment jobs, and the companies that weren’t willing to up wages or provide benefits were losing out.
A lot of the supply chain disruption could have been prevented. Companies were using Just In Time manufacturing so they didn’t have to have as much warehouse space. Many regulations that had been in place since around the beginning of the 20th century were removed starting with President Carter and continued to be deregulated up through Trump. Trump added additional tariffs to Chinese goods. All of these things hurt workers but helped the profits of shareholders.
The pandemic did show us that maybe having so much manufacturing in China isn’t the best way to go. Some companies are now manufacturing in the US or Mexico or at least other countries outside of China. Unions are becoming more popular again. Some government regulations are being put back in place. Also we have more innovation and technology to improve processes while also being able to improve worker productivity.
What we need to understand is that we need both fair and transparent markets for all participants in the supply chain, for the commodities, for the shipping industry, and for the laborers. Until this happens, we’re bound to have more supply chain issues in the future.
December 18, 2024
Peter Goodman does a good job pointing out the disparities or the inequalities of outcome in the capitalist system. He also paints a clear picture for the reader how fragile our global supply chains are. Yes, there are problems in the "growth-to-nowhere" model, but Goodman likes to flag his politics in his argument using hyper-leftist buzzwords mentioning concerns with climate change, racism, or rants regarding Donald Trump's policies. While I applaud Goodman's research and willingness to interview those that are negatively affected by the model, he removes all personal responsibility as a factor while taking shots at the system. I've heard so much of it in the past few years that I'm now getting annoyed at the lack of real solutions.
A professor once told us in a class, "get with the system we are in or you'll lose." He's right. Public companies are compelled to serve shareholders, so citizens need to become shareholders themselves. Employees need to recognize that they are a line item on a balance sheet. The company does not exist to serve their needs. I'm not arguing that this is right or wrong, but I am promoting a change in perspective. A real solution would be teaching our system in high schools across the nation instead of training future employees in classes that will mean nothing for their future. Black Rock and Vanguard have become monopolistic behemoths because they have taken power of markets through owning shares and voting the way they want companies to behave. Goodman's not-so-subtle enjoyment of ESG policies will never give power back to the people. It's another farce. While I do not believe regearing the supply chain to prioritize Americans will be an easy task, I think its cheap to criticize the errors of leaders along the way to are trying to build American resolve in the capitalist system and decouple our economy from other nations that mean us harm. Goodman fails to offer a better solution other than "we need to give our workers a living wage." That is a vague cop-out and means nothing. In capitalism, there is a good side and very dark side. You can pick up everyday products that give you awesome comfort never before experienced in human history while there also exist predatory loan sharks, food companies that produce poison/fatty/bullshit foods, and an executive class that does not care about their fellow humans.
I'm looking for a writer than can give me a better alternative with real solutions. The Socialist have proven their empathies only lead to oppression, control, and massive death. Capitalist are not without blame, but at least their system better deals with natural human incentives that allows for some prosperity if people choose to make good choices. I would argue to Goodman the republic for which we stand is just as fragile, if not more, than the supply chain. Choose liberty with all of its hardships over the siren song of security in our corporate and government overlords.
A professor once told us in a class, "get with the system we are in or you'll lose." He's right. Public companies are compelled to serve shareholders, so citizens need to become shareholders themselves. Employees need to recognize that they are a line item on a balance sheet. The company does not exist to serve their needs. I'm not arguing that this is right or wrong, but I am promoting a change in perspective. A real solution would be teaching our system in high schools across the nation instead of training future employees in classes that will mean nothing for their future. Black Rock and Vanguard have become monopolistic behemoths because they have taken power of markets through owning shares and voting the way they want companies to behave. Goodman's not-so-subtle enjoyment of ESG policies will never give power back to the people. It's another farce. While I do not believe regearing the supply chain to prioritize Americans will be an easy task, I think its cheap to criticize the errors of leaders along the way to are trying to build American resolve in the capitalist system and decouple our economy from other nations that mean us harm. Goodman fails to offer a better solution other than "we need to give our workers a living wage." That is a vague cop-out and means nothing. In capitalism, there is a good side and very dark side. You can pick up everyday products that give you awesome comfort never before experienced in human history while there also exist predatory loan sharks, food companies that produce poison/fatty/bullshit foods, and an executive class that does not care about their fellow humans.
I'm looking for a writer than can give me a better alternative with real solutions. The Socialist have proven their empathies only lead to oppression, control, and massive death. Capitalist are not without blame, but at least their system better deals with natural human incentives that allows for some prosperity if people choose to make good choices. I would argue to Goodman the republic for which we stand is just as fragile, if not more, than the supply chain. Choose liberty with all of its hardships over the siren song of security in our corporate and government overlords.
August 10, 2024
Why do the world ran out of everything? Blame greedy capitalism. Really.
1. In the beginning, China joined WTO, creating the world’s biggest factory. Ono from Toyota advocated Lean Manufacturing, cutting the cost of inventory and increasing profits.
2. The shipping cartel controls shipping. They cut capacity when COVID hit, thinking there would be a recession.
3. The rail industry has been cutting down on repair and workers pay.
4. The trucking industry has also been cutting down on workers pay. So 100% turnover rate.
5. The meat packing cartel has also been cutting down on workers pay and price of beef. Farmers are struggling
6. When Covid hit, Americans bought more. But workers got sick so decreasing supply of supply-chain labor.
7. So the perfect storm happened. Goods could not be transported out of China. When they reached, the containers could not be loaded onto trucks.
8. One solution is to increase warehousing. From ‘Just in time’ to ‘Just in case’. And diversity from China to Vietnam, and Mexico. However the underlying greedy capitalism had not changed so the future is not bright.
1. In the beginning, China joined WTO, creating the world’s biggest factory. Ono from Toyota advocated Lean Manufacturing, cutting the cost of inventory and increasing profits.
2. The shipping cartel controls shipping. They cut capacity when COVID hit, thinking there would be a recession.
3. The rail industry has been cutting down on repair and workers pay.
4. The trucking industry has also been cutting down on workers pay. So 100% turnover rate.
5. The meat packing cartel has also been cutting down on workers pay and price of beef. Farmers are struggling
6. When Covid hit, Americans bought more. But workers got sick so decreasing supply of supply-chain labor.
7. So the perfect storm happened. Goods could not be transported out of China. When they reached, the containers could not be loaded onto trucks.
8. One solution is to increase warehousing. From ‘Just in time’ to ‘Just in case’. And diversity from China to Vietnam, and Mexico. However the underlying greedy capitalism had not changed so the future is not bright.
August 18, 2024
Fascinating read about the various elements of global shipping. Trucking, shipping, containers, warehousing. And a refreshing human perspective is always there. Interesting stuff!
October 6, 2024
For everyone interested in how the goods we buy reach our homes.
It answered many questions on how goods could get delayed even after the pandemic ended.
It answered many questions on how goods could get delayed even after the pandemic ended.
November 21, 2024
Should be required reading for all workers.
November 6, 2024
Baby Boomers really were born on the top rung and still pulled the ladder up behind them. Lots of interesting economic history, though a bit long for what it is (basically a 350 page Slate article).
November 22, 2024
"How the World Ran Out of Everything" is a truly sobering account of the shortcomings of the global supply-chain as seen through the eyes of a decidedly biased and one-sided economic reporter. There, I said it.
Don't get me wrong, there's lots to like about this book, which at times, totally consumed me. If you were not totally aware of the risks, complexity, reach, and major players of the global supply chain, then rest assured that you have come to the right place. Goodman does a stellar job in crafting his narrative to underscore the importance of each component, while lionizing the efforts of the everyday men and women who keep the whole thing running. Nothing to knock down here.
But the problems start almost right away. Let's just focus on two of the main villains in Goodman's story: Lean Manufacturing (a.k.a. "just-in-time" manufacturing) and Containerization (as in the large steel boxes that are moved on giant cargo ships and that truck drivers haul around to the final destination).
According to the author, Lean Manufacturing was the primary culprit in the shortage of goods that just about everyone experienced during the global pandemic. Why? Because Lean Manufacturing seeks to reduce waste and optimize inventory by keeping just enough capital goods/raw materials to meet the demands of the market. No more, no less. This manufacturing philosophy was taken to its artful extreme by the likes of McKinsey, Bain & Co., and other consulting firms who often took a cut of the savings after implementing these techniques for their clients.
The advent of Lean Manufacturing mean that, yes, the supply chain did become more brittle and susceptible to large, unforeseen, exogenous shocks, such as a GLOBAL PANDEMIC. So we get lots of pages of preaching the evils of optimization while completely disregarding the other, equally important side of the story.
Lean Manufacturing was born in post-war Japan as way to ensure factories could keep producing valuable goods in a world that was still recovering from the effects of the war. When it was brought to the US somewhere in the 1970's, companies from all walks picked it up and ran with it, to great success.
Now, what the author just couldn't be bothered to contemplate is what the alternative could have been. Lean Manufacturing eliminates a lot of waste and pollution by ensuring that just the right amount goods are produced/inventoried. It is one of the main reasons why goods are more affordable and why there's more variety of them, since presumably the better use of resources ensures they can put to use where need or demand arises (or by redirecting capital to R&D to make better, more efficient machines, etc.). Sometimes this demand has to be forecasted, and as we all know, forecasts are oftentimes wrong, but this is no reason to lambast "just-in-time" techniques wholesale. So that was strike one for me.
Strike two comes in the way of his critique of "containerization" as force that disrupted the honest and hardworking lives of longshoremen, truck drivers, warehouse workers, and producers, just to name a few. If Lean Manufacturing gave us more variety of goods, of greater quality, faster, at better prices, then containerization is what ensured that it could get to our doors.
The market will converge to and reward the solution that best meets its demands, and the fact that containers caught on like wildfire tells us something important about the pivotal role of said technology in getting us to this unprecedented level of prosperity the world over. Don't take my word for it, just read Factfulness: Ten Reasons We're Wrong About the World – and Why Things Are Better Than You Think.
But the author's stance on these two technologies is pretty much the same - it's all about greed, creating stakeholder value, massive profits, and optimization for its own sake. Damned be the small fries working their fingers to the bone, eh? YEAH, OK! As if consumers are blameless in their pursuit of lower prices, better quality, and faster shipping. I thought economics was his thing...
To top it all off, he has the audacity to quote Barbara Ehrenreich (of Nickel and Dimed fame, who famously pretended to be poor for a bit...) in a last-ditch attempt to vilify the technologies and industries that got us into, and more pointedly, out of this condition:
Is the above really true? Do they really do it out of the goodness of their own heart? Sacrifice so much so that others might consume and live happily? Do they really endure privation for stock prices? Methinks they would not if given half a chance. And that's precisely the problem, they don't have a half a chance, and lacking opportunities must take what they can get. But that's an entirely different issue that should not be so barefacedly conflated. But this is precisely the type of stuff the author resorts to make a point.
At the very end, the biggest irony in this book is that the very structures and systems Goodman criticizes for failing during the COVID-19 pandemic, are the ones that facilitated the production and distribution of PPEs, vaccines, baby formula, and other goods needed to get the world back to some semblance or normality. Things could have been much, much worse.
An easy and informative read, nonetheless - 2.5 stars (rounded to 3)
Don't get me wrong, there's lots to like about this book, which at times, totally consumed me. If you were not totally aware of the risks, complexity, reach, and major players of the global supply chain, then rest assured that you have come to the right place. Goodman does a stellar job in crafting his narrative to underscore the importance of each component, while lionizing the efforts of the everyday men and women who keep the whole thing running. Nothing to knock down here.
But the problems start almost right away. Let's just focus on two of the main villains in Goodman's story: Lean Manufacturing (a.k.a. "just-in-time" manufacturing) and Containerization (as in the large steel boxes that are moved on giant cargo ships and that truck drivers haul around to the final destination).
According to the author, Lean Manufacturing was the primary culprit in the shortage of goods that just about everyone experienced during the global pandemic. Why? Because Lean Manufacturing seeks to reduce waste and optimize inventory by keeping just enough capital goods/raw materials to meet the demands of the market. No more, no less. This manufacturing philosophy was taken to its artful extreme by the likes of McKinsey, Bain & Co., and other consulting firms who often took a cut of the savings after implementing these techniques for their clients.
The advent of Lean Manufacturing mean that, yes, the supply chain did become more brittle and susceptible to large, unforeseen, exogenous shocks, such as a GLOBAL PANDEMIC. So we get lots of pages of preaching the evils of optimization while completely disregarding the other, equally important side of the story.
Lean Manufacturing was born in post-war Japan as way to ensure factories could keep producing valuable goods in a world that was still recovering from the effects of the war. When it was brought to the US somewhere in the 1970's, companies from all walks picked it up and ran with it, to great success.
Now, what the author just couldn't be bothered to contemplate is what the alternative could have been. Lean Manufacturing eliminates a lot of waste and pollution by ensuring that just the right amount goods are produced/inventoried. It is one of the main reasons why goods are more affordable and why there's more variety of them, since presumably the better use of resources ensures they can put to use where need or demand arises (or by redirecting capital to R&D to make better, more efficient machines, etc.). Sometimes this demand has to be forecasted, and as we all know, forecasts are oftentimes wrong, but this is no reason to lambast "just-in-time" techniques wholesale. So that was strike one for me.
Strike two comes in the way of his critique of "containerization" as force that disrupted the honest and hardworking lives of longshoremen, truck drivers, warehouse workers, and producers, just to name a few. If Lean Manufacturing gave us more variety of goods, of greater quality, faster, at better prices, then containerization is what ensured that it could get to our doors.
The market will converge to and reward the solution that best meets its demands, and the fact that containers caught on like wildfire tells us something important about the pivotal role of said technology in getting us to this unprecedented level of prosperity the world over. Don't take my word for it, just read Factfulness: Ten Reasons We're Wrong About the World – and Why Things Are Better Than You Think.
But the author's stance on these two technologies is pretty much the same - it's all about greed, creating stakeholder value, massive profits, and optimization for its own sake. Damned be the small fries working their fingers to the bone, eh? YEAH, OK! As if consumers are blameless in their pursuit of lower prices, better quality, and faster shipping. I thought economics was his thing...
To top it all off, he has the audacity to quote Barbara Ehrenreich (of Nickel and Dimed fame, who famously pretended to be poor for a bit...) in a last-ditch attempt to vilify the technologies and industries that got us into, and more pointedly, out of this condition:
“The working poor,” as they are approvingly termed, are in fact the major philanthropists of our society. They neglect their own children so that the children of others will be cared for; they live in substandard housing so that other homes will be shiny and perfect; they endure privation so that inflation will be low and stock prices high. To be a member of the working poor is to be an anonymous donor, a nameless benefactor, to everyone else. As Gail, one of my restaurant coworkers put it, “you give and you give.
Is the above really true? Do they really do it out of the goodness of their own heart? Sacrifice so much so that others might consume and live happily? Do they really endure privation for stock prices? Methinks they would not if given half a chance. And that's precisely the problem, they don't have a half a chance, and lacking opportunities must take what they can get. But that's an entirely different issue that should not be so barefacedly conflated. But this is precisely the type of stuff the author resorts to make a point.
At the very end, the biggest irony in this book is that the very structures and systems Goodman criticizes for failing during the COVID-19 pandemic, are the ones that facilitated the production and distribution of PPEs, vaccines, baby formula, and other goods needed to get the world back to some semblance or normality. Things could have been much, much worse.
An easy and informative read, nonetheless - 2.5 stars (rounded to 3)
December 5, 2024
Peter Goodman's analysis of how forty-plus years of corporate deregulation, manufacturing outsourcing, abandonment of antitrust laws, trade deals, worker exploitation and a once-in-a-century pandemic caused a brief blip of inflation, outraging spoiled American consumers hooked on cheap Chinese goods, makes for absorbing reading. He goes a bit heavy on his condemnations of shareholder greed, but he leaves you understanding that the primary (sole?) aim of corporations is to earn profits for their investors and that they will do whatever it takes to drive down costs and boost earnings. For a long time, that has meant moving manufacturing overseas, primarily to China, because, as one of the business owners profiled in the book learned, it costs about twelve times as much money to make a product in the US than it does to manufacture it in China. For corporations, that's a no-brainer. Close up those US factories and outsource manufacturing to China. This process was eased by the popularity of trade deals, sold to American voters as creating additional markets for US products. No one wanted to talk about the losing jobs to foreign countries part.
Goodman follows goods all of the way through the supply chain. We learn how most large companies adopted Toyota's "Just in Time"practices (eschewing inventories in favor of acquiring necessary components immediately before they are needed, saving the cost of storing parts and inventories), how the invention of the shipping container drove down the costs of shipping goods across oceans, and how abusing and underpaying employees, and breaking any attempt to unionize them, and creating monopolies, made trucking and railroad shipping more lucrative for their corporate owners while employees struggled to survive.
One of the side benefits of the book was its exposure of how idiotic the American process for choosing its leaders is. The 2024 election was a perfect example. The inflation that occurred as a result of supply chain issues arising from the Covid-19 pandemic was worldwide and was the product of decades of industrial policy, mostly unaffected by the decisions of Presidents or other governmental actors, except when it comes to facilitating the desires of multi-national corporations (mostly by getting out of the way so that corporations can do what they want). Yet, based on interviews with voters, a substantial portion of the American public believes that Presidents actually set prices of goods and energy. Every four years, voters decide whether the economy is "good" or "bad," based almost solely on prices, and then rewards or punishes whoever happens to be in office. Inflation occurred during Joe Biden's time in office (never mind that the pandemic started during the administration of his predecessor), so he became spectacularly unpopular and his predecessor was returned to office.
Candidates play a similar game, pretending that their economic plans will quickly address all of the concerns of the voters. They would be better off leveling with the public (or we would be). Everybody claims to want to "bring those good jobs home." But that's pretty complicated, as the book illustrates. It's expensive to make things in the US. When some manufacturing left China because of tariffs, tensions among countries or a desire to be less dependent on a single source of a product located on the other side of the world, the manufacturing jobs didn't come to the US. They went to Vietnam, or Indonesia, or Thailand, or Mexico. Why? Labor is cheap there, unions are non-existent and workers are easily exploited.
One wonders whether American consumers would even want to bring jobs back to the US, once they learned the financial consequences. Do you want to pay $1000 for a microwave when a Chinese-made unit cost $300? The extreme unhappiness expressed by US voters over prices in the 2024 election doesn't bode well for Donald Trump and the Republicans if they actually abandon their pro-business philosophy and used tariffs to force manufacturing back to the US (you know this is never going to happen).
Goodman makes an impassioned case for improving the economy by lessening income inequality, empowering workers and unions, paying better wages and restoring the dignity of workers who would, by the way, be in a better position to pay the higher prices that would result from bringing more manufacturing back to the US. It seems unrealistic, given the corporate dominance of American politics since the election of Ronald Reagan in 1980. And, if that's what people really want, they blundered badly in the 2024 election. Biden actually supported unions, sought to more aggressively enforce the antitrust laws, and brought some high tech manufacturing jobs back to the US, mostly through generous subsidies to corporations. His thanks for that was to be run out of office and his Vice President was defeated in the election. Instead, the voters chose to hand the Presidency and both houses of Congress to Republicans - you know, the party that is anti-union, pro free-trade, anti-regulation, pro-merger, and opposed to antitrust enforcement.
As Goodman points out, the supply chain issues eased, and so did inflation. But corporations are corporations and they are always going to be looking at the bottom line. Changing trends that have persisted for decades is a long and arduous process especially when no one understands the issues and politicians running for office don't clearly and honestly explain what their plans are. This book is a good start for anyone who wants to understand the process, but it may leave you wondering just what it was that you were signing up for you when you checked the boxes on your election ballot.
Goodman follows goods all of the way through the supply chain. We learn how most large companies adopted Toyota's "Just in Time"practices (eschewing inventories in favor of acquiring necessary components immediately before they are needed, saving the cost of storing parts and inventories), how the invention of the shipping container drove down the costs of shipping goods across oceans, and how abusing and underpaying employees, and breaking any attempt to unionize them, and creating monopolies, made trucking and railroad shipping more lucrative for their corporate owners while employees struggled to survive.
One of the side benefits of the book was its exposure of how idiotic the American process for choosing its leaders is. The 2024 election was a perfect example. The inflation that occurred as a result of supply chain issues arising from the Covid-19 pandemic was worldwide and was the product of decades of industrial policy, mostly unaffected by the decisions of Presidents or other governmental actors, except when it comes to facilitating the desires of multi-national corporations (mostly by getting out of the way so that corporations can do what they want). Yet, based on interviews with voters, a substantial portion of the American public believes that Presidents actually set prices of goods and energy. Every four years, voters decide whether the economy is "good" or "bad," based almost solely on prices, and then rewards or punishes whoever happens to be in office. Inflation occurred during Joe Biden's time in office (never mind that the pandemic started during the administration of his predecessor), so he became spectacularly unpopular and his predecessor was returned to office.
Candidates play a similar game, pretending that their economic plans will quickly address all of the concerns of the voters. They would be better off leveling with the public (or we would be). Everybody claims to want to "bring those good jobs home." But that's pretty complicated, as the book illustrates. It's expensive to make things in the US. When some manufacturing left China because of tariffs, tensions among countries or a desire to be less dependent on a single source of a product located on the other side of the world, the manufacturing jobs didn't come to the US. They went to Vietnam, or Indonesia, or Thailand, or Mexico. Why? Labor is cheap there, unions are non-existent and workers are easily exploited.
One wonders whether American consumers would even want to bring jobs back to the US, once they learned the financial consequences. Do you want to pay $1000 for a microwave when a Chinese-made unit cost $300? The extreme unhappiness expressed by US voters over prices in the 2024 election doesn't bode well for Donald Trump and the Republicans if they actually abandon their pro-business philosophy and used tariffs to force manufacturing back to the US (you know this is never going to happen).
Goodman makes an impassioned case for improving the economy by lessening income inequality, empowering workers and unions, paying better wages and restoring the dignity of workers who would, by the way, be in a better position to pay the higher prices that would result from bringing more manufacturing back to the US. It seems unrealistic, given the corporate dominance of American politics since the election of Ronald Reagan in 1980. And, if that's what people really want, they blundered badly in the 2024 election. Biden actually supported unions, sought to more aggressively enforce the antitrust laws, and brought some high tech manufacturing jobs back to the US, mostly through generous subsidies to corporations. His thanks for that was to be run out of office and his Vice President was defeated in the election. Instead, the voters chose to hand the Presidency and both houses of Congress to Republicans - you know, the party that is anti-union, pro free-trade, anti-regulation, pro-merger, and opposed to antitrust enforcement.
As Goodman points out, the supply chain issues eased, and so did inflation. But corporations are corporations and they are always going to be looking at the bottom line. Changing trends that have persisted for decades is a long and arduous process especially when no one understands the issues and politicians running for office don't clearly and honestly explain what their plans are. This book is a good start for anyone who wants to understand the process, but it may leave you wondering just what it was that you were signing up for you when you checked the boxes on your election ballot.
Read
December 13, 2024Peter S. Goodman’s How the World Ran Out of Everything is a compelling examination of the vulnerabilities embedded in our global supply chains—a timely and essential read for anyone navigating today’s complex economic landscape. Goodman, with his characteristic clarity and depth, exposes how relentless efficiency, cost-cutting, and short-term thinking have undermined the resilience of systems that underpin our interconnected world.
As someone deeply invested in understanding how global systems operate—whether for business strategy, investing, or sheer curiosity—this book resonated on multiple levels. Goodman’s work reinforces a principle I hold dear: balance. Efficiency is critical, but when pushed to extremes, it creates fragility, leaving businesses and economies exposed to shocks that can ripple across industries and borders.
Goodman’s critique of just-in-time inventory management, outsourcing, and hyper-specialization aligns with my observations. These practices, while yielding immediate cost savings, have turned supply chains into brittle networks unable to adapt when the unexpected occurs. The COVID-19 pandemic starkly highlighted this fragility, and Goodman captures the cascading effects of these disruptions with precision. His analysis is a reminder of how even small shifts in one part of a system can trigger far-reaching consequences—a concept that mirrors the real-world challenges I’ve seen in navigating global business environments.
However, Goodman’s work also opens a broader conversation. Some reviewers note that while he critiques globalization, he doesn’t fully address its benefits, such as poverty alleviation and economic development in emerging markets. While I agree that these elements are worth considering, my focus remains pragmatic: understanding the trade-offs and preparing for the inherent risks of lean systems. Goodman’s emphasis on resilience aligns closely with my belief that strategic investments in redundancy and adaptability are not just luxuries—they’re necessities for thriving in a volatile world.
Reading this book reminded me of the importance of studying how things truly work rather than relying on oversimplified narratives. Supply chains are far more complex than many realize—an intricate web of interdependencies that extend across continents. Goodman’s exploration of reshoring efforts, such as domestic semiconductor fabrication, underscores the immense challenges of untangling these systems. It’s not as simple as redirecting production; the forces of nature—capital, expertise, and logistics—are not easily overcome. Understanding this complexity is critical for business leaders and policymakers alike, ensuring that strategies are grounded in reality rather than hyperbole.
What sets this book apart is its relevance to leadership. As a global business executive, I recognize that while I cannot control macroeconomic forces, I can navigate them. Goodman’s work highlights the importance of balancing immediate efficiencies with long-term resilience. It’s a principle I bring into every decision: how do we prepare for the unknown while delivering value today? This mindset extends beyond supply chains—it’s about leadership with integrity and pragmatism, understanding that sustainable success requires adaptability, strategic foresight, and a commitment to fundamental strengths.
Goodman’s insights also serve as a cautionary tale about the dangers of extremes. Whether in supply chains, policy, or business strategy, pushing any principle too far can undermine its very benefits. Resilience is not about rejecting efficiency; it’s about understanding its limits and ensuring that systems can withstand disruption. It’s a lesson for all of us, particularly in a world that increasingly demands agility and foresight.
Ultimately, How the World Ran Out of Everything is more than a book about supply chains—it’s a call to rethink how we build, operate, and sustain the systems we rely on. For business leaders, policymakers, and anyone curious about the forces shaping our global economy, this book offers invaluable insights. Goodman’s work challenges us to confront complexity with clarity, to balance efficiency with resilience, and to lead with purpose in an unpredictable world. I highly recommend it as a guide for navigating the challenges of today and building for a more stable and adaptable future.
As someone deeply invested in understanding how global systems operate—whether for business strategy, investing, or sheer curiosity—this book resonated on multiple levels. Goodman’s work reinforces a principle I hold dear: balance. Efficiency is critical, but when pushed to extremes, it creates fragility, leaving businesses and economies exposed to shocks that can ripple across industries and borders.
Goodman’s critique of just-in-time inventory management, outsourcing, and hyper-specialization aligns with my observations. These practices, while yielding immediate cost savings, have turned supply chains into brittle networks unable to adapt when the unexpected occurs. The COVID-19 pandemic starkly highlighted this fragility, and Goodman captures the cascading effects of these disruptions with precision. His analysis is a reminder of how even small shifts in one part of a system can trigger far-reaching consequences—a concept that mirrors the real-world challenges I’ve seen in navigating global business environments.
However, Goodman’s work also opens a broader conversation. Some reviewers note that while he critiques globalization, he doesn’t fully address its benefits, such as poverty alleviation and economic development in emerging markets. While I agree that these elements are worth considering, my focus remains pragmatic: understanding the trade-offs and preparing for the inherent risks of lean systems. Goodman’s emphasis on resilience aligns closely with my belief that strategic investments in redundancy and adaptability are not just luxuries—they’re necessities for thriving in a volatile world.
Reading this book reminded me of the importance of studying how things truly work rather than relying on oversimplified narratives. Supply chains are far more complex than many realize—an intricate web of interdependencies that extend across continents. Goodman’s exploration of reshoring efforts, such as domestic semiconductor fabrication, underscores the immense challenges of untangling these systems. It’s not as simple as redirecting production; the forces of nature—capital, expertise, and logistics—are not easily overcome. Understanding this complexity is critical for business leaders and policymakers alike, ensuring that strategies are grounded in reality rather than hyperbole.
What sets this book apart is its relevance to leadership. As a global business executive, I recognize that while I cannot control macroeconomic forces, I can navigate them. Goodman’s work highlights the importance of balancing immediate efficiencies with long-term resilience. It’s a principle I bring into every decision: how do we prepare for the unknown while delivering value today? This mindset extends beyond supply chains—it’s about leadership with integrity and pragmatism, understanding that sustainable success requires adaptability, strategic foresight, and a commitment to fundamental strengths.
Goodman’s insights also serve as a cautionary tale about the dangers of extremes. Whether in supply chains, policy, or business strategy, pushing any principle too far can undermine its very benefits. Resilience is not about rejecting efficiency; it’s about understanding its limits and ensuring that systems can withstand disruption. It’s a lesson for all of us, particularly in a world that increasingly demands agility and foresight.
Ultimately, How the World Ran Out of Everything is more than a book about supply chains—it’s a call to rethink how we build, operate, and sustain the systems we rely on. For business leaders, policymakers, and anyone curious about the forces shaping our global economy, this book offers invaluable insights. Goodman’s work challenges us to confront complexity with clarity, to balance efficiency with resilience, and to lead with purpose in an unpredictable world. I highly recommend it as a guide for navigating the challenges of today and building for a more stable and adaptable future.
September 22, 2024
Through a gripping exposé of actual events and people caught at every point along the array of the critical supply chain dysfunctions that have affected everyone, Peter S. Goodman brings to life for the reader the lives and suffering of multiple real people struggling with circumstances not of their own making. Goodman's presentation places these persons directly and personally in front of you—along with the sights, smells, and untenable tensions in the worlds they are compelled to try to exist in. This is a real world account of the impossible choices faced by manufacturers, shippers, truckers, railroads, and maritime shipping companies. This book contains story after story after story of the choices that no one should ever be forced to make—yet it's happening every day, crying out for someone to stop it.
Goodman demonstrates that the suffering of the real people chronicled in this book is not happening by accident or other forces of nature—certainly not by the mythical abstraction called the "free market." Although there are numerous real life heroic actions in this book (some done out of necessity), any solutions to the underlying causes are not immediately apparent. Globalization became established as a fact of life, with its conveniences and lower prices for consumers accompanied by job losses in the industrialized countries and sweat shop conditions in the producing countries—factors that are demonstrably interrelated. With consultants distorting the just in time logistics methodology to irrational extremes, the supply chain was already becoming stressed when the COVID-19 pandemic exposed its rupture points. Goodman illustrates clearly that the main cause for this dysfunction was and is finalcialization, with its unyielding demands for shareholder value above all other concerns. Even with partial trends toward onshoring or at least nearshoring, the uncertainties of nation state conflict (including war) add to the costs eventually paid by everyone just to prepare for contingencies—and these efforts in and of themselves provide no cure for financialization.
Against this backdrop is the dominant corporate arrangement, in which CEOs have little choice than to make their every move aimed toward making the books appear maximally profitable in the immediate moment—any executive failing to do so may expect to be replaced with someone willing and able to squeeze out more pennies (regardless of the means applied to do so). In the relentless effort to pursue shareholder value (ahead of greater moral values), corporate boards and executives are acting like private equity firms by cannibalizing their companies to feed the greed of their oligarchic masters—it's their own house they're eating (and our house too). With inequality at obscenely extreme levels, this behavior is unsustainable.
This book (perhaps unwittingly) conveys the tone and gist of the classic 1960s song, The Pusher (look up the song and its lyrics if you've never heard of it)—substituting "financializer" for "pusher" in the song provides a fair sense of Goodman's point about the immense damage produced by placing shareholder value and short term profits ahead of all other concerns. The consultants who are pushers of shareholder payouts over the health of companies, employees, customers, and communities are rightly damned for the losses and human suffering they've caused. Journalists, also, have become pushers in their own way—in a world where survivability requires surrendering any semblance of professionalism in return for access to news sources and the parties that have become essential to staying in the game. The lack of public outrage over the flagrant violations of human decency documented in this book is itself the result of Journalists (like social media algorithms) prioritizing clickbait over truth—Journalism is yet another profession hollowed out by the inhuman emphasis on shareholder value.
We need an effective no-nonsense industrial policy—something that is clearly lacking with the current oligarchic manipulation of the government. Although it is reasonable for investors to expect a fair return on their investments, no one has the right to do so using methods that destroy human lives along with the planet itself. Financialization should be classified as a "Schedule I" economic narcotic—and enforced as such.
Goodman demonstrates that the suffering of the real people chronicled in this book is not happening by accident or other forces of nature—certainly not by the mythical abstraction called the "free market." Although there are numerous real life heroic actions in this book (some done out of necessity), any solutions to the underlying causes are not immediately apparent. Globalization became established as a fact of life, with its conveniences and lower prices for consumers accompanied by job losses in the industrialized countries and sweat shop conditions in the producing countries—factors that are demonstrably interrelated. With consultants distorting the just in time logistics methodology to irrational extremes, the supply chain was already becoming stressed when the COVID-19 pandemic exposed its rupture points. Goodman illustrates clearly that the main cause for this dysfunction was and is finalcialization, with its unyielding demands for shareholder value above all other concerns. Even with partial trends toward onshoring or at least nearshoring, the uncertainties of nation state conflict (including war) add to the costs eventually paid by everyone just to prepare for contingencies—and these efforts in and of themselves provide no cure for financialization.
Against this backdrop is the dominant corporate arrangement, in which CEOs have little choice than to make their every move aimed toward making the books appear maximally profitable in the immediate moment—any executive failing to do so may expect to be replaced with someone willing and able to squeeze out more pennies (regardless of the means applied to do so). In the relentless effort to pursue shareholder value (ahead of greater moral values), corporate boards and executives are acting like private equity firms by cannibalizing their companies to feed the greed of their oligarchic masters—it's their own house they're eating (and our house too). With inequality at obscenely extreme levels, this behavior is unsustainable.
This book (perhaps unwittingly) conveys the tone and gist of the classic 1960s song, The Pusher (look up the song and its lyrics if you've never heard of it)—substituting "financializer" for "pusher" in the song provides a fair sense of Goodman's point about the immense damage produced by placing shareholder value and short term profits ahead of all other concerns. The consultants who are pushers of shareholder payouts over the health of companies, employees, customers, and communities are rightly damned for the losses and human suffering they've caused. Journalists, also, have become pushers in their own way—in a world where survivability requires surrendering any semblance of professionalism in return for access to news sources and the parties that have become essential to staying in the game. The lack of public outrage over the flagrant violations of human decency documented in this book is itself the result of Journalists (like social media algorithms) prioritizing clickbait over truth—Journalism is yet another profession hollowed out by the inhuman emphasis on shareholder value.
We need an effective no-nonsense industrial policy—something that is clearly lacking with the current oligarchic manipulation of the government. Although it is reasonable for investors to expect a fair return on their investments, no one has the right to do so using methods that destroy human lives along with the planet itself. Financialization should be classified as a "Schedule I" economic narcotic—and enforced as such.
July 16, 2024
It was interesting to learn the basis for the "supply chain problems" that caused everything to be oddly out of stock for a year during the COVID lockdown. As is usually the case in such situations, it was a combination of things. First there was the obvious - the fact that everything is made in China, the country that was at the same time the source of the virus and the location of the most draconian lock down. Then there was the miscalculation of demand - orders for everything were initially cancelled so that shippers had nothing to ship, but then orders for anything that could be used at home and ordered over the internet came roaring back higher than ever. There was no way to get all of this stuff into containers, onto ships and across the Pacific. And then there were the multipliers - an oligopolistic, unregulated international shipping business that was able to choose to concentrate all of its capacity on its most profitable routes where it could wildly gouge shippers and ignore the products of anyone whose goods needed to travel over less profitable routes. This problem was compounded by the "just in time" philosophy in which the capacity and inventory of every kind of company was kept impossibly thin so that everything could work just fine as long as the system ran perfectly but was entirely unable to absorb any shocks. And then there were the ground shippers - the railroads and trucking companies who again were monopolistic price gougers only serving the most profitable routes and not even able to do that because of no flexibility in capacity and terrible working conditions that made it impossible to recruit and retain employees. Well, you know the results -- no masks, no ventilators, no medicines, no toilet paper, no baby formula and empty shelves in every retail store. And of course, now that we have recovered, we have learned next to nothing from the experience. Maybe a little less dependence on China, with more manufacturing in places like Vietnam and Bangladesh, some "nearshoring" to Mexico and Central America, some fatter inventories and better inventory management, but none of this has really changed the system. It's still China centric; the shipping companies are still monopolies; the treatment of the employees is not very different; and management is still more focused on pumping the stock price than on long term stability and contingency plans for emergencies.
November 7, 2024
This book was really good and interesting, but utterly depressing.
Because of the pandemic we all know about the global supply chain and that it broke, big time. The author tells the reader why that happened. Putting manufacturing in China was great for the stockholders, but now the US doesn't even have the know-how to make stuff. People ordered a lot of stuff from China and most got stuck because of the shipping companies. Shipping across the Pacific was once cheap, but with the demand for more goods, shipping companies picked the most profitable routes. Big players like Amazon and Walmart could corner the market on shipping. Meanwhile almond growers couldn't get shipped to customers on other continents and start-up in Mississippi couldn't get their toys from China to the US in time for Christmas.
Shipping within the US is also screwed up. Most trucking companies have a 100% driver turnover. This is not because people don't want to work. They don't want to drive trucks with lousy hours and horrid pay. This has been a problem for at least a decade. Same with the railroad workers. They do dangerous work and get one day of sick leave and their wages have been falling. All of this for higher payouts to stockholders.
With the deregulation that started in during Jimmy Carter's presidency, there have been far more mergers. These companies get bigger and bigger and monopolize the market. There are 4 companies that make baby formula. When the Abbott factory had to shut down due to bacterial contamination which killed babies, that knocked out 43% of the baby formula made in the US. Order an large pizza, but take 40% of the pizza away before serving it to your family, you'll end up with not enough pizza.
All these things with Toyota's Just in Time theory of manufacturing, railroads using Precision to determine routes, and McKinsey consultants telling companies to get lean. The only winner has been the stockholders and top executives. The employees and the customers get screwed.
This book also make me think these four dreaded words TWICE - Henry Ford was right.
Because of the pandemic we all know about the global supply chain and that it broke, big time. The author tells the reader why that happened. Putting manufacturing in China was great for the stockholders, but now the US doesn't even have the know-how to make stuff. People ordered a lot of stuff from China and most got stuck because of the shipping companies. Shipping across the Pacific was once cheap, but with the demand for more goods, shipping companies picked the most profitable routes. Big players like Amazon and Walmart could corner the market on shipping. Meanwhile almond growers couldn't get shipped to customers on other continents and start-up in Mississippi couldn't get their toys from China to the US in time for Christmas.
Shipping within the US is also screwed up. Most trucking companies have a 100% driver turnover. This is not because people don't want to work. They don't want to drive trucks with lousy hours and horrid pay. This has been a problem for at least a decade. Same with the railroad workers. They do dangerous work and get one day of sick leave and their wages have been falling. All of this for higher payouts to stockholders.
With the deregulation that started in during Jimmy Carter's presidency, there have been far more mergers. These companies get bigger and bigger and monopolize the market. There are 4 companies that make baby formula. When the Abbott factory had to shut down due to bacterial contamination which killed babies, that knocked out 43% of the baby formula made in the US. Order an large pizza, but take 40% of the pizza away before serving it to your family, you'll end up with not enough pizza.
All these things with Toyota's Just in Time theory of manufacturing, railroads using Precision to determine routes, and McKinsey consultants telling companies to get lean. The only winner has been the stockholders and top executives. The employees and the customers get screwed.
This book also make me think these four dreaded words TWICE - Henry Ford was right.
August 24, 2024
This book goes beyond the common and obvious perception of our ubiquitous dependency on China-based manufacturing.
It provides insights into the monopolistic adverse effects across various industries, from oceanic container shipping and meatpacking to railroad logistics.
The book also addresses several other key factors that have made our supply chains vulnerable to disruptions such as pandemics, natural disasters, war, and geopolitical tensions:
The obsession with Just-In-Time inventory management in the relentless pursuit of higher profits
The exploitation of cheap labor, often at the unsustainable cost of workers' health and livelihoods
As a response to these vulnerabilities, companies are increasingly adopting re-shoring and near-shoring strategies to de-risk their supply chains and avoid being caught in geopolitical tensions. Whether in Eastern Europe, Mexico, or manufacturing hubs like Vietnam, India, and Cambodia, one objective is to shorten the distance between manufacturing sites and consumer markets. However, while this approach seems straightforward on the surface, the costs are often higher than those associated with China-based manufacturing. Additionally, it remains challenging to untangle the dependency on parts and raw materials from China. Ultimately, no single country is entirely self-sufficient.
For many of us who have grown up benefiting from the forces of globalisation, it is both daunting and difficult to imagine a future without it.
It provides insights into the monopolistic adverse effects across various industries, from oceanic container shipping and meatpacking to railroad logistics.
The book also addresses several other key factors that have made our supply chains vulnerable to disruptions such as pandemics, natural disasters, war, and geopolitical tensions:
The obsession with Just-In-Time inventory management in the relentless pursuit of higher profits
The exploitation of cheap labor, often at the unsustainable cost of workers' health and livelihoods
As a response to these vulnerabilities, companies are increasingly adopting re-shoring and near-shoring strategies to de-risk their supply chains and avoid being caught in geopolitical tensions. Whether in Eastern Europe, Mexico, or manufacturing hubs like Vietnam, India, and Cambodia, one objective is to shorten the distance between manufacturing sites and consumer markets. However, while this approach seems straightforward on the surface, the costs are often higher than those associated with China-based manufacturing. Additionally, it remains challenging to untangle the dependency on parts and raw materials from China. Ultimately, no single country is entirely self-sufficient.
For many of us who have grown up benefiting from the forces of globalisation, it is both daunting and difficult to imagine a future without it.
November 15, 2024
Goodman has written a well-researched book explaining not only how the U.S. came to have the massive shortages around the time of the pandemic, but also why inflation is baked into our economy. The basic principles are set forth clearly: way too much dependence on China to manufacture our goods, adoption of just in time (JIT) manufacturing here in order to minimize inventory costs (and thus inventory) and pay higher dividends, consolidation of many vital sectors to monopoly or near-monopoly status (ocean shipping, longshoremen, meatpacking, computer chips), weak antitrust enforcement, etc. The details are fascinating, although it does get somewhat repetitive as the same factors play out again and again. The author makes a wise choice of explaining step-by-step how one small toy manufacturer in Mississippi, Glo, had to get its product manufactured in China and shipped to the U.S. in time to fulfill orders for the Christmas season during the worst of the Covid pandemic. It was harrowing and the reader is cheering for Glo in the face of a dearth of shipping containers, overcrowded ships, broken contracts, a failing U.S. rail system, and so on. I was tempted to rate the book a 4, but it's a bit dry for the average reader. Still, I recommend it.
October 21, 2024
A genuinely interesting book. Covid-19 is often blamed for the shortages of cars, flour, diapers, etc., in 20-22. But Covid was just the tiny little straw that broke the enormous camel’s back: lack of inventory for manufacturing (the most popular business theory was “just in time” ordering of parts); sending manufacturing to China; high turnover among long-distance truck drivers; understaffed rail transport; and so on. One result of the shortage has been a resurgence of interest in “re-shoring” or moving manufacturing back to the US (or at least spreading it out in various Asian countries) and “near-shoring” or turning to Mexico as a new manufacturing partner. This book hammers home the old cliches: that the easy answer is usually wrong, and that accurate answers are far too complex to reduce to bumper stickers. A deeply researched book, the author interviewed everyone from business leaders to a truck driver. This should be must-reading for both manufacturers and their customers, who seem to want good prices but resent doing business with countries who make products and the prices we’re willing to pay.
December 19, 2024
Australia and many other mid-ranking countries are being consumed by domestic debates pointing the fingers at incumbent politicians for letting the inflation genie out of the bottle. It’s a shame our parochial journalists don’t read this analysis.
In ‘How the World Ran Out of Everything: Inside the Global Supply Chain’, New York Times’ Global Economics Correspondent Peter Goodman shows how the pandemic in 2020 exposed the fragility of how goods are shipped all over the world.
The inflation breakout was primarily because a breakdown in the ‘just in time’ inventory management used by greedy corporations to fatten their margins and reward shareholders at the expense of employees, customers and suppliers.
How, Goodman asks, does the wealthiest country on earth run out of protective gear in the middle of a public health catastrophe? How do its parents find themselves unable to locate crucially needed infant formula? How do its largest companies spend billions of dollars making cars that no one can drive for a lack of chips?
Read this and find out.
In ‘How the World Ran Out of Everything: Inside the Global Supply Chain’, New York Times’ Global Economics Correspondent Peter Goodman shows how the pandemic in 2020 exposed the fragility of how goods are shipped all over the world.
The inflation breakout was primarily because a breakdown in the ‘just in time’ inventory management used by greedy corporations to fatten their margins and reward shareholders at the expense of employees, customers and suppliers.
How, Goodman asks, does the wealthiest country on earth run out of protective gear in the middle of a public health catastrophe? How do its parents find themselves unable to locate crucially needed infant formula? How do its largest companies spend billions of dollars making cars that no one can drive for a lack of chips?
Read this and find out.
July 16, 2024
Written in inimitable NY Times editorial fashion, with every fact wrapped in emotional adjectives carefully selected to persuade.
Good coverage of the history of certain factors leading to the confluence of circumstances causing the massive supply chain disruptions during and after the Pandemic of 2020-2022.
The author blames the "investor class", "shareholder class" and "consultant class" as well as "wall street" for the mess. In particular, it seems the "just in time" supply chain model foisted on the world by greedy capitalists in search of higher profit set us all up for the pandemic black swan event.
In good Karl Marxian fashion, the solution is massive government regulation and oversightin conjunction with universal labor union membership.
An interesting read, recommended for those who are interested in examining the causes of our current supply chain issues AND can keep a cool head through emotional rhetoric.
Good coverage of the history of certain factors leading to the confluence of circumstances causing the massive supply chain disruptions during and after the Pandemic of 2020-2022.
The author blames the "investor class", "shareholder class" and "consultant class" as well as "wall street" for the mess. In particular, it seems the "just in time" supply chain model foisted on the world by greedy capitalists in search of higher profit set us all up for the pandemic black swan event.
In good Karl Marxian fashion, the solution is massive government regulation and oversightin conjunction with universal labor union membership.
An interesting read, recommended for those who are interested in examining the causes of our current supply chain issues AND can keep a cool head through emotional rhetoric.
September 12, 2024
The first half of the book questions why shipping sucks. The answer is, corporate greed. The second half of the book covers what other areas suck because of corporate greed. I knew before I picked up this book that corporate greed will be the end of us all, but it was informative to get the specific details on where things have gone wrong.
I will have to say that I really struggled to care about the shipment of glowing plastic cubes that the author used as a scaffolding to pin the tales of shipping woes onto. It was really hard to worry about a container full of plastic that will become yet more plastic trash.
It is customary in these sort of books to offer a solution after the author hammers home how bad everything is, and this book is no exception. I do, however, feel that the solutions are superficial and rely too much on an optimistic outlook. The issues are much more structural and would require a full on ‘culture’ change, which I do not foresee happening any time soon.
I will have to say that I really struggled to care about the shipment of glowing plastic cubes that the author used as a scaffolding to pin the tales of shipping woes onto. It was really hard to worry about a container full of plastic that will become yet more plastic trash.
It is customary in these sort of books to offer a solution after the author hammers home how bad everything is, and this book is no exception. I do, however, feel that the solutions are superficial and rely too much on an optimistic outlook. The issues are much more structural and would require a full on ‘culture’ change, which I do not foresee happening any time soon.
July 18, 2024
An interesting look into/screed about global supply chains and how they have become increasingly brittle and prone to cascading failures. At its best it provides fascinating snapshots into the machinery that makes the world move that most of us rarely if ever think about - the chapters on trucking and freight rail were fascinating and infuriating in equal measure. Perhaps this loses some stylistic points - it is really 20 NYT magazine articles in a trench coat and the air of sanctimony grated occasionally - but overall this was informative and well crafted. As something of a framing device, the book follows the shipment of one box of toys made in China for a small business in the States and I found myself genuinely relieved when after so many months of trials and tribulations the shipment actually comes in.
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