In his upcoming book, Willy Shih explains how foundational economic principles keep international supply chains deeply entrenched despite political interventions. The United States still cannot produce advanced consumer devices like the iPhone because it lacks the necessary domestic supply networks. For instance, Foxconn's promised Wisconsin LCD panel plant fell through because the area lacked basic necessities such as a dedicated glass facility, concrete, and structural steel. Meanwhile, China maintains its position as the dominant manufacturing hub, particularly in critical sectors like LCD production.
Key points
Political efforts to reshore high-tech manufacturing continue to falter against the reali…: Political efforts to reshore high-tech manufacturing continue to falter against the reality of missing domestic supplier ecosystems.
China maintains strong dominance over vital manufacturing segments, including the product…: China maintains strong dominance over vital manufacturing segments, including the production of LCD panels.
Massive infrastructure demands driven by artificial intelligence are intensifying pressur…: Massive infrastructure demands driven by artificial intelligence are intensifying pressures on already entrenched international supply networks.
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Today, I’m talking with Willy Shih, an economist, a professor of management practice at Harvard Business School, and the author of the upcoming book, Where Does My Stuff Come From? The Powerful Economics Behind Global Supply Chains.
The hidden supply chain costs of the AI boom
Economist Willy Shih on his new book Where Does My Stuff Come From?, RAMageddon, and why we still can’t make the iPhone in America.
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Willy is one of my all-time favorite Decoder guests — his way of looking at the world through our supply chains is just a fascinating way of making sense of the global economy. I first met Willy in 2019, while The Verge was covering Foxconn’s promise to build an LCD fab in Wisconsin. That obviously never happened, but Willy called it right away because he could see the supply chain to support a fab simply wasn’t in place. We also had Willy on the show in 2021 to talk about what was then…
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