By John Richardson
JUST 5% of US companies with revenues of more than $500m plan to relocate operations out of China, according to the latest survey by the American Chamber of Commerce in Shanghai. This partly reflects highly networked manufacturing clusters, wrote the Australian Strategic Policy Institute in this excellent article.
“Automotive and electronics clusters are increasingly important in Chongqing, smartphones come from Shenzhen, and a quarter of the world’s optical fibre comes from Wuhan,” said the same article.
Network clusters generate advantages including increased productivity through specialised inputs and more rapid innovation through cooperative research; also, in business speak, what is called “competitive striving”. New business formation is more likely to take place inside rather than outside clusters because of the above benefits.
Cotton import grows despite pandemic
Bangladesh s cotton imports grew by about 9 per cent to 75 lakh bales in the 2019-20 marketing year (MY) despite the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, according to data from the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA).
The cotton marketing year begins in August and ends in July and one bale equals to 480 pounds.
The high demand for cotton during the first half of the year combined with the country s success in combating Covid-19 has allowed the garment sector to maintain operations despite a few short-term disruptions.
US cotton exports to Bangladesh in MY2019-20 reached 1.06 lakh bales, up 28.9 per cent from MY2018-19. The US cotton market share was approximately 14 per cent in MY2019-20, which is second to India s 23 per cent market share.
By John Richardson
THERE SEEMS to be few risks ahead for the global polyethylene (PE) market over the next five years. The internet sales boom, despite all the talk about using less plastic for sustainability reasons, promises to provide strong support for consumption. The average internet sale is dropped 17 times before delivery, providing a strong motive to maximise protective packaging.
While the progress on vaccines looks likely to be a lot quicker than I had anticipated, the precautionary principle will likely provide continued firm support for PE into hygiene applications.
Until, or perhaps unless, we achieve global herd immunity, few people, companies or institutions will be willing to skimp on bottles of disinfectant made form high-density PE (HDPE) or disinfectant wipes packaged in linear-low density PE (LLDPE).