Manufacturing
Minimum Efficient Scale, and Why Some Plants Have to Be Enormous
Certain processes are uneconomic below a size, and that size decides how many plants a whole world can support.
Rukmini Pathak
Contributing writer, Trade War China
Rukmini writes about shipping, ports and freight rates.
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8 articles
Shipping & Logistics
Why Freight Is Priced by Route Rather Than by Distance
Two journeys of equal length can cost very different amounts to ship. The reason is what the ship carries on the way back.
Shipping & Logistics
Incoterms: Three Letters That Decide Who Owns the Problem
The abbreviation in a sales contract determines who pays freight, who carries risk and who deals with customs. Most disputes trace…
Shipping & Logistics
Bigger Ships Need Bigger Everything
Vessel economics push relentlessly towards size. The costs of that push land mostly on infrastructure nobody on the ship pays for.
Shipping & Logistics
Air, Sea or Rail: Choosing a Mode Is Choosing a Risk Profile
Mode selection is usually presented as speed against cost. The more useful framing is what each mode does to your inventory and…
Shipping & Logistics
Demurrage and Detention: When a Container Becomes Expensive Standing Still
Two charges with similar names cover different periods and different equipment. Confusing them costs importers real money every…
Shipping & Logistics
Straits, Canals and the Cost of Going Around
A handful of narrow passages carry a disproportionate share of world trade. What matters structurally is what the alternative…
Shipping & Logistics
The Cold Chain and What It Cannot Forgive
Refrigerated freight is not ordinary freight with a temperature setting. It is a continuous obligation that a single gap can void…