I know it's popular to say that Wal-Mart is killing U.S. manufacturing because of its insistence in driving manufacturers to China.
Here is some interesting data from today's Wall St. Journal though.
The People's Republic exported $593.4 billion in merchandise last year. China makes 80% of the world's toys, half its DVD players and nearly half its socks. That's a lot to lay on the Bentonville colossus, which sips up just 3.5% of China's manufactured exports, or $20 billion worth a year.
It's easier to look at data than it is to assign blame or root cause. It's much more complicated than “it's Wal-Mart's fault”. Has Wal-Mart impacted your manufacturing company? Click “comments” to participate in the discussion.
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Yes Wally World has cost my previous company and the 2400 people like myself their jobs after laying in bed with the retail giant. However, I do see that Wal-Mart is not the root cause. The world itself is changing, other countries are entering their industrial revolutions just like we did a century ago. We can cry about it or do something. The US holds a vast amount of natural resources, so we have an advantage. They key may lie in the way we use this advantage. Let the games begin!