Background of Warehouses in the Pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic has revealed a dire need for medical equipment and PPE in the United States. Most products associated with fighting the crisis, such as masks, respirators, antibiotics, and over-the-counter pain medications are manufactured in American-owned factories and warehouses in China that outsource low-wage labor.
Even before the pandemic, many products including children’s toys and Apple iPhones have been outsourced to China due to a decreased cost in overhead production. This means the US companies, along with many other countries around the world, are highly dependent on China to produce products including medical supplies, even though the US and China are currently in a trade war because of tariffs.
Theoretically, if China was to retaliate against the US further by cutting off or limiting the supply of exports to the US, the results could be even drastic.
A Possible Solution: Move Supply Chains from China to the US
One possibility for the US to minimize China’s power over the supply chain is to move outsourced manufacturing and storage in Chinese factories back to the US. In doing so, it would expand and preserve domestic manufacturing capacity and jobs. In the US, the loss of manufacturing jobs due to offshoring in China has led to rising income inequality and has hurt the middle class in America.
History has shown that focusing too much on outsourcing, with the main priority being to lower costs creates tension, as well as serious commercial and strategic risks. If the US were to bring back domestic warehouse and manufacturing jobs, it could result in more higher-wage jobs as well as help the US fight the current coronavirus pandemic by having PPE created closer to their end destination.
It would also help the US maintain a competitive edge on the global scale in industries like artificial intelligence, semiconductors, and advanced technologies overall. One example of a company successfully moving production from overseas to solely in the US is Excel Dryer. The company started manufacturing their dryers completely in America due to the US tariffs overseas. Doing this significantly reduced production costs while improving the quality of their products. Excel Dryer was also able to create more jobs in their Tennessee manufacturing plant since there were more factories and warehouses available in the US.
That goes to show that although it may be difficult and more costly in the short-term to completely move the production of a company back to the US, in the long run, it will be beneficial to not only the company, but also the economy by ultimately reducing overhead costs and creating more domestic jobs.
In Need of a Warehousing Job?
COVID-19 pandemic is increasing the demand of US warehouse and manufacturing capabilities as more supply chains are moving to America.
As companies move production, it is creating more domestic manufacturing jobs and warehouse positions and there is a growing need for workers to help meet these demands. HapiGig is a company that functions on an app base platform to help warehouse workers find jobs. If you have experience in a warehouse and are in need of a job or extra shifts, the app allows you to create a profile, and warehouse managers will be able to contact you with available schedules. To learn more about how to use this app, visit the website and speak to one of their team members.