Have you ever bought a product that was labeled Made in America and then found out later that most of it actually wasn't? The label should have read, Made in Taiwan, the Philippines, China, Germany and South Africa but assembled in America.
This is particularly true of electronics. Most electronic equipment that you buy is made up of components that are manufactured in different countries and then assembled in the U.S. or elsewhere before being shipped to the retailer. International shipping companies very rarely ship finished products.
International shipping is an industry that has helped companies in other industries grow at a rapid rate in the past century. The ability to service a world-wide market is what separates the major players from the mom and pop shops. Being able to manufacture in different nations to take advantage of lower labor costs has turned million dollar companies into billion dollar empires in the electronics industry.
Outsourcing is a big part of the reason why international shipping has become so important in the sale and distribution of electronics. Products are often created, or prototyped, in a research and development lab and then the design is sent to a manufacturer somewhere in the Philippines or mainland China where it can be produced for less than what it would cost to manufacture in the United States or Western Europe. Sometimes individual components are outsourced to a variety of different places and then assembled at a central distribution point either before or after international shipping to the retail market.
International shipping companies transport radios, televisions, computers, cell phones, palm pilots and GPS systems across the Pacific Ocean from Asia daily. The volume of electronic merchandise that is sold in the United States and manufactured in Asia is astronomical and is growing every year. The profits that are going back to Asia are helping nations that were once poor turn into world trade powers.
Electronics have increased communication and brought the world closer together. Email and video conferencing have made it possible to communicate with people on the other side of the world and establish business relationships in markets that were once impossible to open. International shipping companies have computerized their operations and are able to ship different components from multiple locations and
have them all end up in the same place for assembly.
The international shipping industry as a whole has expanded as a result of the electronics they deliver. Bringing technology to formerly undeveloped nations helps to develop new industry in that country that will bring more business for international shipping.
The science fiction of the 1960's and 1970's has become the reality of today. Technology seen on Star Trek that seemed far-fetched back then has become common in every household in the 21st Century. We already have video conferencing, wireless cell phones and laser technology. What's next? Maybe someone will invent a transporter to beam us up to a place where there's intelligent life that can teach us the proper way to use all our new toys. |
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