The rise of automation, along with tariffs and the trade war between China and the U.S., has led to a “tectonic shift in global supply chains,” according to Bank of America’s global research team.
The team surveyed analysts working on over 3,000 companies from Bank of American Securities, and this survey was later obtained by Axios. It shows that in 12 global sectors, about four-in-five companies that account for $22 trillion of market capitalization in North American, Europe and Asia-Pacific, with the exception of China, already have "implemented or announced plans to shift at least a portion of their supply chains from current locations." Axios notes that Bank of America put emphasis on the words “at least.”
More than 90% of respondents said that automation was a key reason for moving supply chains, because it’s made the benefits of outsourcing work to other countries less cost effective. Companies also have grown more concerned about national security and environmental, social and governance, or ESG, "concerns of high carbon footprints associated with long supply chains and potentially problematic employment practices."
The report found that although many companies were looking into new locations in Southeast Asia and India, those in about half of all the global sectors in North America have stated that they intend to “reshore” their business.
"This was particularly true for high-tech sectors and industries for which energy is a key input. If borne out, this could represent the first reversal in a multi-decade trend," the Bank of America global research team added in a note.
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