What Is the Reason for This Growth in Class?

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In the before times, it would cost you maybe two thousand dollars to transport a shipping container. Now on the spot market, it'll cost you 16 thousands dollars or 20000 dollars. As much as anything, we have a supply of shipping crunch and an explosion in demand for shipping. This is because lock downs led so many more of us to s by things vya,. Commerce supply chains are biased toward goods coming from china and east asia and south asia and southeast asia.

As the holidays approach, we are being reminded of the fragility of the global supply chain. But at the same time, the supply chain itself is a truly impressive and fascinating structure, made as it is from multiple components that must work together in synchrony. From building an item in a factory and shipping it worldwide to transporting it locally, processing it in a distribution center, and finally delivering it to an address, the system is simultaneously awe-inspiring and deeply dehumanizing. I talk with Christopher Mims about how things are made, how they get to us, and what it all means for the present and future of our work and our lives.

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Christopher Mims received a bachelor’s degree in neuroscience and behavioral biology from Emory University. He is currently a technology columnist at The Wall Street Journal. He has previously written for publications such as Wired, Scientific American, The Atlantic, and Smithsonian. His new book is Arriving Today: From Factory to Front Door — Why Everything Has Changed About How and What We Buy.

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