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African Manufacturing Jobs Could be Threatened by US Based Robots, Report Says (bbc.com)
Within less than two decades it will be cheaper to operate robots in US factories than hire workers in Africa, a new report warns. From the report: Falling automation costs are predicted to cause job losses as manufacturers return to richer economies. Some analysts say poorer countries could be less impacted by this trend, however the Overseas Development Institute (ODI) suggests otherwise. But its report adds African nations have time to prepare for the change. "African countries must not shy away from manufacturing, but instead prepare by increasing access to internet, investing in technical skills and promoting technological innovation," said Karishma Banga a senior research officer at ODI. "If done well, automation can present important opportunities for African countries by improving labour productivity in manufacturing," she said. It has been suggested that poorer countries will not as be affected by automation because they have less money to invest in it.
Within less than two decades it will be cheaper to operate robots in US factories than hire workers in Africa
Speaking as someone who runs a manufacturing plant and who has bought robots, this is complete bullshit. Anyone who actually believes this has no idea of the costs involved or the capabilities of robots or manufacturing automation. There is PLENTY of headroom in labor intensive industries for people to be employed in manufacturing including in Africa. Robots simply are not that cheap or capable and are in no danger of becoming so any time soon for most tasks.
Robots are economically viable for high volume and/or dangerous work. They are not nearly as flexible or capable as many people imagine them to be and they certainly aren't cheap. There are some industries and products where they make a lot of sense and many more (especially low volume production) where they are not economically viable. Most automation actually doesn't come in robot form either for that matter.
The problem Africa has in getting into manufacturing comes in several parts. 1) A lot of corruption, 2) extremely bad infrastructure, 3) An inexperienced talent pool for workers. All these are solvable problems but aren't easy ones either. Automation is far down the list of obstacles to manufacturing in Africa.
Not if you take into account shipping to the US. If you want to sell in Africa, you'll produce in Africa, but if you want to sell in the US, you'll produce in the US.
Sorry but it's not remotely that simple. US labor is among the most expensive in the world so labor intensive goods tend to be produced elsewhere, even for items consumed by the US. But even that doesn't capture it all. Supply chain location matters too. East Asia dominates electronics manufacturing in large part because that is where the supply chain is located. It's FAR cheaper to make the products there and then ship them to the US in most cases and that isn't really a function of labor rates for the most part. Japanese labor isn't much cheaper than US labor but Japan exports a huge amount of stuff to the US. Conversely the US has a HUGE export sector too even though the US is a net consumer.
you frequently need to ship the raw materials from somewhere, but producing at either the material source or the selling destination is cheaper than involving a third intermediary location for production.
The calculation isn't that simple. It depends on relative labor rates, tariffs, exchange rates, local supply chains, infrastructure, lead times, communication costs, administrative costs, and a host of other considerations. All other things being equal you would be right but things are rarely equal like that.