The shift of manufacturing and outsourcing to China, which started after the mainland joined the World Trade Organisation in 2001, has probably ended.
But the scale of the move back to production in Europe and the Americas has been exaggerated, a senior shipping executive says.
Andy Tung Lieh-cheung, the chief executive of Orient Overseas Container Line, said: "China will still remain competitive, at least for a period of time."
"There is a supply chain infrastructure in China which is not easily replicated [in other markets']," Tung told shipping executives at the Sea Asia conference in Singapore yesterday. Onshoring - the relocation of manufacturing back to countries closer to key Western markets - "is a bit overhyped".
Tung's views were echoed by other container shipping industry executives.
Teo Siong Seng, the managing director of Pacific International Lines, said a meeting of company managers in Shanghai two weeks ago found some cargo production was returning to China after being shifted outside the country. This was because the total cost in terms of logistics and shipment reliability was cheaper in China.
But Kenneth Glenn, the president of Singapore box line APL, said: "I think Latin America is already [benefiting] and will continue to benefit from near-sourcing. Manufacturing in Latin America for North America and some domestic markets is clearly on the rise. The Middle East near-sourcing market is also developing."
