為什麼全世界都在缺貨？: 跨越全球的供應鏈風暴，揭開穩定生活的幻象

by Peter S. Goodman, 楊芩雯 (Translator)

★《外交政策》雜誌、亞斯本研究所年度最佳書籍★
川普關稅戰如何引爆全球供應鏈重組？「美國製造」為何再次被喚起？
台積電赴美設廠又如何捲入地緣政治漩渦？
從港口癱瘓到勞工罷工，從效率神話到成本壓榨，
這是一部揭開物流幻象、直指全球化脆弱核心的第一手調查報導。

　　穩定的供應鏈只是幻覺，全球化早已變質！
　　當物流癱瘓、價格飆升、貨架空空如也，
　　口罩、雞蛋、奶粉、晶片與醫療設備全面短缺，
　　我們才驚覺，過去信以為真的經濟秩序正在瓦解。
　　《紐約時報》得獎記者深入全球各個角落幕後，
　　全面檢視這條被奉為效率奇蹟的供應鏈，其實建構在壟斷與剝削之上。

　　在充滿不確定性的現代生活中，我們總以為還有一件事可控：只要動動手指在網路下單，商品就會如期抵達自家門口。但這幾年，我們連這點都無法再確定了：

　　★為什麼川普不惜大打關稅戰，也要讓製造業回流美國？
　　★為什麼地球上最富有的國家，會在COVID-19風暴中連最基本防護裝備都無法自給自足？
　　★為什麼全球最大企業花費數十億製造出的汽車，卻因為缺乏晶片而無法上路？

　　當世紀大疫爆發、海上巨輪卡關、晶片斷鏈，超市貨架空無一物時，我們才赫然發現，原來自己生活在一個極度依賴他人、且幾乎毫無備案的世界。《為什麼全世界都在缺貨？》正是一部解構這場供應鏈災難的權威之作。屢獲獎項肯定的《紐約時報》資深全球經濟特派員彼得・古德曼，親身走訪中國工廠、美國中西部的貨車司機車隊，一路追蹤物品如何從製造產地、穿越海洋，最終抵達我們家門口。更挖掘出一個早已存在的事實：這套系統隨時可能失控崩潰，風險至今未除。在財務利益驅動、資訊透明度喪失與勞動條件惡化的多重壓力下，全球供應鏈始終搖搖欲墜。

　　過去我們以為的全球化，是建立在脆弱且不公平的分工體系之上。從蘋果手機的組裝工廠到美國加州的杏仁園，從美國鐵路罷工潮到長賜輪卡在蘇伊士運河，每一個斷點都提醒我們，這不只是供應鏈危機，更是全球資本主義過度追求效率與壓榨勞動的報應。本書是一部精準犀利、資訊豐富的當代經濟紀實，帶你重新認識供應鏈的真實樣貌，並說明為什麼改革刻不容緩──不只是為了避免生活不便，更是為了守住整個世界的未來。

　　供應鏈觸及我們生活的各個方面，並與許多社會問題交匯，如醫療保健、財富分配、勞工權利、社會不平等、政治等。《為什麼全世界都在缺貨？》有無盡的視角，提供了大量細緻、真實且令人深思的第一手觀察與系統性分析。這不只是一本揭露危機的書，更是對未來發出預警的警世之作。

Genres: Nonfiction, Economics, Business, History, Politics, Audiobook, Finance

447 pages, Kindle Edition

First published June 11, 2024

Reviews

[Lyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

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.

[Agnes · Rating 2 out of 5]

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.).

[Todor · Rating 4 out of 5]

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.

[CatReader · Rating 4 out of 5]

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

[Chris P · Rating 5 out of 5]

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.

[Seattle Soul · Rating 4 out of 5]

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.

[John Behle · Rating 3 out of 5]

Peter Goodman goes in the field to bring the reader the gritty reality of how the world's supply system functions. It involves hard, sweaty, often just unbearable toil.

From entrepreneurs waiting for late container ships, to rail track maintenance crews to over-the-road truckers, the reader feels the relentless burden of delivering the goods.

The hardest hitting segment for me is the life of long distance truck drivers. These dedicated men and women so often live by the next text, email, phone call for a hauling job that can take days and thousands of miles to accomplish. Goodman rides with drivers for trips across the lonely plains of America to capture the essence of this family time draining mission.

A solid economics, with human muscle, lesson of a book.

[Walter U. · Rating 3 out of 5]

"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:

“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)

[Aileen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Up from 4.5.

Gonna start a tag called “burn. it. all. down”

[Leila · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good, good book.
I didn't 100% agree with all of the analysis in this book, I don't think I ever really could with a book this economy focused.
It is kind of similar to Wasteland just in the ways it really shows the complexity in a system most would otherwise take for granted

[Charles Reed · Rating 1 out of 5]

Adjusted from 0% to 4%

Disclaimer, this is a dictation, so there will be errors present and it will not necessarily be edited for clarity. I looked at the author's profile because this was stupid after reading the whole thing and he's a journalist. I was just wondering when he wrote this if he's paid by an interested party to write this or if he's actually just fucking stupid. He's a global economist, so he's probably paid to write this. This is the fucking stupidest thing. He does not understand economics, does not understand sector shifts, does not understand global supply chains in a meaningful way. He did inform me a little bit about some localized factors of issues with supplying America. By the way, America is the one that we're talking about running out of things in this book, not everything necessarily, but some things during the global pandemic. I say snickering a bit because that actually might happen, some supply chain disruption during a global pandemic. There's a reason that we don't manufacture anything and we continue to not manufacture anything because it's more economical for us to not do that and overall contributes to Americans having a better quality of life by not manufacturing most things. I say rolling my eyes, but this guy, I hope that he was paid to write this book and isn't actually this stupid because the book doesn't understand economics but also doesn't understand that America isn't the whole fucking world.The funny thing is, there's not even a specific hit piece on anything tangible or a person. Except for China, I guess. If you wanted to make China a person, China's a terrible person, according to this book. Which is a very widespread narrative in America, but whatever. What's really funny here is just advocating for manufacturing locally in America more. Why? Who's paying you to say that? Who the hell benefits from that? I mean, you could argue to have some small-scale manufacturing thing. If you're going to make that argument, just make the argument to have some emergency facilities for manufacturing around. That could be an argument you could make. It's like, okay, we'll open up this factory since it's a fucking emergency. But I could see it, because we do have a lot of empty buildings in various places. So that could make sense. This whole book, though, is a fucking mess. It does not account for sector reallocation or anything. It's pathetic. Just emotional drivel.

[Reading · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.25 Deeply researched, and remarkably accessable analysis and critique of the global supply chain that went into far more detail than I had anticipated. Mr Goodman creates a compelling and effective throughline, using the journey of a single item as his narrative framework to dissect and examine the history of and various challenges related globalization and 'just in time' supply chains. Of particular note is how relevant the majority of the content is to present circumstances related to Pres Trump's tariff war. The last section of the book is prescient in describing a world transitioning to post globalization and it's incredibly helpful as means of understanding what's at stake and where we are heading.

The book provides a fantastic, reasonably authoritative overview of each element of trade - from manufacture (availability of labor/factories/material, costs, mechanization, etc.) to transport & distribution (tariffs, sea, rail, truck, warehousing, etc.), and throughout the author brings the material back to the impact on individuals (from laborers in factories to drivers/mechanics within the delivery chain). Looming over the entire story are governments (esp US), captured by corporations, who place the imperatives of their shareholders above the welfare of their employees. Too often their overarching modus operadi is the ultimate sacrifice of their workers, be they engaged at a slaughterhouse or long haul truckers, in the service of boosting their profits.

The authors commitment to immersing himself in the lives of those he is documenting is commendable and clearly reflected by the intimate stories he shares about drivers, business owners, longshoreman, Union reps, manufacturers, etc. Along with testimonials and lived experiences, the author also cites and details extensive studies & surveys from governments, universities, corporations, etc.

This is the rare book that manages to broadly cover a complex topic in a nuanced and balanced manner, while still making the material engaging. Much of the book is framed following the journey of one manufacturers product and the challenges related to dealing with COVID's impact on trade and manufacturing. Some reviews criticized the author claiming they are biased yet presented no details to back up their claim. I found the presentation of the material very even handed; he takes both Reagan and Carter to task for poorly considered deregulation and he credits Trump with positive actions a time or two!

Throughout the book we find that corporations (esp big box stores) hunger for profit and their deep ties to government continually arise as drivers of the 'crisis' in why the "just in time" model often breaks down, but there's so much more covered. Do you want to know who invented the shipping container, did you think there was a meat shortage during COVID that necessitated Trump use the Defense Production Act to compel workers to carry on despite major outbreaks where they worked? Want to gain insight into the life of long & short distance truckers? Are you a believer in 'free markets' and deregulation? If you read this book then you will get answers and information for all of the above and, if you keep an open mind then your beliefs will likely be challenged and your journey down a grocery aisle or purchase from an online behemoth will forever be altered... in a positive way.

[Michael · Rating 3 out of 5]

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.

[Daniel · Rating 5 out of 5]

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.

[Jim Parker · Rating 4 out of 5]

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.

[Celine Prell · Rating 4 out of 5]

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...

[Edward Carrington · Rating 3 out of 5]

The first 20 pages effectively answer the book’s central question: How did the world run out of everything? Goodman points to the rise of just-in-time delivery and lean inventory management, systems designed to satisfy Wall Street metrics and shareholder primacy at the expense of supply chain resilience.

The next section pivots into a historical account of government deregulation, monopolistic consolidation, and anti-union sentiment — all of which contributed to the fragility of global production and distribution.

While this historical analysis is important, it’s drawn out by anecdotal stories that feel unnecessary. The core argument — that shareholder primacy, offshoring, and inventory slashing created a fragile system primed for collapse — is compelling, but it’s buried under too much narrative padding. Well researched but felt like homework to get through the final 80%.

[Alan Johnson · Rating 5 out of 5]

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

[Randall · Rating 3 out of 5]

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.

[Laurie · Rating 5 out of 5]

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.

[An · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.25

If I had to take a shot every time I read a nonfiction book that’s wholly US centric, I’d probably die of alcohol poisoning (thankfully I’m a teetotaler, so that’s just a hypothetical). This 450-ish page book barely scratched the surface of the global supply chain system’s root mechanics.
The initial chapters on how China became a manufacturing hub, enabled in no small part by the U.S. were genuinely informative. I also appreciated the focus on how artificial shortages of essential products are created to drive up prices, as well as the exploitative dynamics where workers in shipping and manufacturing struggle to earn minimum wage, all while shareholders rake in massive profits. The book also touched on attempts (and failures) to diversify manufacturing hubs away from China.
BUT, the book felt too narrowly focused and failed to deliver a comprehensive understanding of the global supply chain. It left me wanting more depth and clarity on the systemic issues.

[Eva Brungard · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was very well written and easy to understand with someone having limited knowledge of global supply chains. It incorporated economics, business, environment, and social concepts. My one ding is how overwhelmingly biased the book was as being extremely anti-capitalism, which is very fair, but took away from some of the findings of the author by making it seem too aggressive and like he could be exaggerating to prove his point that all corporations are evils and hurt workers and consumers. I think he could’ve had a more objective tone and the findings would have been more impactful.

[jasper · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5: this read for me like a series of written-out Reveal episodes, which is to say nominally individualized narratives that contextualize a deeper story about something getting systematically fucked up in the course of regulatory backsliding and also offer the vaguest hint that you will someday soon be quizzed on the material. it has a pretty good thesis about the consequences of pursuing efficiency over all else but does not get explicitly socialist enough to offer a compelling way forward, which is understandable but sort of feels like a waste of a lot of great reporting. would be right at home on an economic anthro syllabus

[Ted · Rating 3 out of 5]

Too partisan to be an effective history. One gets the drift that the author is a proud Democrat who views himself as part of the "light side" of the Force.

I laughed when he attacked Trump for keeping slaughterhouses open based on the existing stores of frozen pork; can you imagine his thoughts if poor little Muslims and Hindus couldn't get their appropriate meat choices?

Also, JBS is apparently a heartless company for giving a refugee family ONLY 6k for their funeral expenses.

[Erin · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really liked all the information. It was a combination of data, interviews/case examples of real people, and historical information.
A lot of things I didn't know, some I did. I highly recommend even if you aren't interested in supply chain. Definitely if you have interest in the good if the "working class"

[Rachel-RN · Rating 4 out of 5]

The supply chain is dependent on so many individuals. Individuals who are mostly low-wage and are treated as disposable "costs to be contained." The lack of regulations to protect those workers also plays a role.
A lot goes into trucking; truckers only get paid for the number of miles they drive. However there is much more that goes into it. They have to pick up their rig (which may have a wait time- unpaid), they have to have the rig loaded & many times there may be a wait for that (again unpaid time), and when on the road they have to plan for stops, especially at night to park and sleep. Then there is the time away from family.
Very interesting.

[Nick Bond · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pick up this book for the anecdotes. We all lived through the higher prices and big ideas, but what this book does well is interview with real people on the supply side. These anecdotes reveal a hidden mechanism by which our economy screeched to a halt in 2021-22. Definitely worth the read.

[Ann Herrold · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was incredibly well researched and gives insight into something that impacts our everyday lives that we tend to not think about until it breaks down. It's another way to look at how Capitalism only serves those on top, and that they get more rich while making the system unnecessarily worse.

[David Streb · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fascinating read about the various elements of global shipping. Trucking, shipping, containers, warehousing. And a refreshing human perspective is always there. Interesting stuff!

[Mona S · Rating 5 out of 5]

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.