Thank you Lindi, that’s very nice of you to say : )
I’m in Ventura County, so it would be quite a drive, but maybe next time I will make it.
I also do business with China, but I’m a manufacturer / exporter. Shocking, I know! But I see it the same as you.
For example, take the packing foam we use to package our products; the cost of this is directly tied to the cost of petroleum. My business has slowed down in the last couple of months, so I am purchasing less packing foam, thereby consuming less petroleum. Then I start thinking about all of the other things I purchase that are tied to petroleum…EVERYTHING. Then I start thinking about all the things that are manufactured in China. These are not necessarily the consumer goods labeled “Made In China”. I think about printed circuit boards and material, ICs, those plastic knobs in your Toyota, Honda, etc. It is mind-boggling to consider how many products we buy from China, even though we may never know it. Another example is a Gateway computer. How much of that comes from China? I don’t know exactly, but I would bet a huge portion. Many PC mother boards are made in Taiwan…but guess what that means? In most cases it means the board was assembled, and tested, in Taiwan, with electronic components largely manufactured in China.
Then, if one is of the belief that USA consumption is a significant driver of manufacturing production in China, directly or indirectly, AND one believes we are headed into an economic slowdown, then it would follow that China would consume less petroleum.
Maybe. I’m often very, very wrong. And I love it, because then I get to learn something new.
