Selective Investments Pay Off in Overseas Manufacturing
U.S. food manufacturers have invested heavily overseas during the past five years but have little to show for it. Yet selective investment continues despite foreign economic turmoil.
The "Asian flu" is contagious, the ruble is "rubble," Brazil is on the brink of financial collapse, China is slowing down, Japanese banks are bankrupt and Mexican banks close to it.
It's a bad time to invest overseas. Yet U.S. food manufacturers
continue to invest abroad, selectively targeting opportunities, weighing risks and benefits. Consolidation follows as trade barriers fall, with fewer but bigger plants serving wider marketing areas.