| From: | Jill jmenning@*******.com |
|---|---|
| Subject: | Decentralization and Trade (Was: Re: Marseille and city |
| Date: | Mon, 01 May 2000 06:05:50 -0500 |
>More on the subject: all the troubles causing 'relocalization' (no
>better word) happened from 2005 to 2035. In 2060, delocalization may
>have restarted since the 40s, not yet full-fledge but with more defended
>ships (I discard air transport for large quantities). A few events (a
>comet and big magic mess ?) may merrily send a few quirks in the
>well-oiled international trade machinery.
I suppose a lot of it would depend on how much real estate costs in urban
centers as opposed to the cost of protecting large quantities of shipped
goods. Obviously, huge corporations such as Ares and the like are not going
to produce everything everywhere, so there's going to be no lack of
shipping traffic. The question would be which costs more - the land you are
building it on (including taxes, fees, etc), or the cost of defending it as
you ship it to the consumer. Distance is still going to matter more than it
does now - now you can mail something from New York to LA for the same as
you can send it to the next county. If you have to guard it from serious
attack every step of the way, an extra couple thousand miles could make a
significant difference.
Air transport could - could is operative - actually become a more viable
option in those conditions - you'd only have to guard it on either end. If
civilian shipping companies start using planes comparable to those huge
military cargo planes, they could ship a heck of a lot of stuff relatively
quickly, and only have to guard it on either end. Granted, that would not
be practical for large machinery or automobiles and the like, but for the
smaller items - from cyberware to the latest in Armani to Ares' current
SOTA shock-laser-grenade launcher - it could work. Again, it would depend
on weighing the costs of the various options, and might differ from company
to company as they take into account overhead and risk and whatever else
they talk about - not my field, can you tell?
<SNIP>
>And if you're pointing at the bluntness of my tone, well I still have to
>master subtlety in english. I probably have too much faith in those
>handy 'IMHO'...
Nah. I was just a bit depressed, and it came through in my writing. There
was nothing in your words to prompt it, just my mood.
Jill
