Why Japan’s Automation Inc is indispensable to global industry

A little-known pinch-point in the world’s supply chains

SHORTAGES AND bottlenecks have been a source of constant frustration for manufacturers around the world for two pandemic-afflicted?years. For a handful of companies in the business of keeping factories running and supply chains intact, these frustrations have been a source of cheer—and profits. Japanese makers of industrial equipment, in particular, have seen orders surge as companies turned to automation, first amid the disruption wrought on human workforces by covid-19, then as a result of tight labour markets and rising wage costs.

indispensable /??nd??spens?bl/?adj. ~ (to sb/sth)~ (for sth/for doing sth) ?不可或缺的；必不可少的?? Cars have become an indispensable part of our lives. 汽車已成了我們生活中必不可少的一部分。

pinch /p?nt?/ （用拇指和手指?）1.捏，擰，掐；揑住，夾緊；掐掉；（穿的鞋等）夾痛，擠痛；<非正式>偷竊；<非正式>逮捕，拘捕；節(jié)約，節(jié)??；使經(jīng)濟(jì)拮據(jù)；捏拉縮放；（由于擔(dān)心或緊張）抿（嘴唇）；（航海）使（帆船）緊搶風(fēng)；n. 捏，掐，擰；一撮；偷竊；（棒球）緊要時(shí)刻，緊要關(guān)頭；adj. 替代的，替補(bǔ)的；由替補(bǔ)擊球手完成的

pinch-point：劍橋英語有兩種釋義1.a place where a road or path becomes narrow, or a place where there is often a lot of traffic, causing the traffic to slow down or stop。交通變窄的地方，或者經(jīng)常出現(xiàn)交通堵塞需要減速或者停車。2. a?point?in?a?process?where there are?difficulties?and the?process?slows?down or?stops.第二種是第一種釋義的衍生，事情發(fā)展遇到了難處，進(jìn)程減慢或者停止。在此文章中可以理解為困難或者是癥結(jié)。

afflict /??fl?kt/ v. 折磨；使痛苦?? About 40% of the country's population is afflicted with the disease. 全國40%左右的人口患有這種疾病。

intact /?n?t?kt/ adj. 完好無損；完整?? Most of the house remains intact even after two hundred years. 雖然過了兩百年，這房子的大部分還保持完好。

amid /??m?d/ prep. 1. 在…過程中；在…中??He finished his speech amid tremendous applause. 他在雷鳴般的掌聲中結(jié)束了演講。 2.在…中；四周是?The hotel was in a beautiful position amid lemon groves. 旅館位于檸檬樹叢之中，優(yōu)美宜人

wrought /r??t/ v. (僅用于過去時(shí) )[ VN ] 使發(fā)生了，造成了（尤指變化）。?wrought是work過去式的舊式。?? This century wrought major changes in our society. 本世紀(jì)給我們的社會(huì)帶來了重大變革。

The world’s stock of industrial robots has tripled in the past decade. According to the International Federation of Robotics, a trade group, Japan furnishes?45% of new ones each year. It also produces lots of other automation equipment, from laser sensors to inspection kit. Even after the recent sell-off in tech stocks, Japan’s four standout gear producers—Keyence, Fanuc, SMC, and Lasertec—are collectively worth two and a half times what they were five years ago (see chart). Last year the founder of Keyence, Takizaki Takemitsu, briefly became Japan’s richest man. His $29bn fortune is half as large again as that of Son Masayoshi, a flamboyant?tech investor who is corporate Japan’s most globally recognizable?face. Mr Takizaki’s firm and its fellow equipment-makers are hardly household names. But the hardware they produce is becoming as mission-critical?to many industrial supply chains as semiconductors are.

furnish?/?f??n??/?v. 1.布置家具??The room was furnished with antiques. 房間里擺放了古董。 2.~ sb/sth with sth?，~ sth ?向（某人╱某事物）供應(yīng)，提供??She furnished him with the facts surrounding the case. 她向他提供了與案件有關(guān)的事實(shí)。

laser sensor：激光傳感器

?inspection kit：成套/全套檢驗(yàn)器材

Keyence：基恩士，傳感器和測(cè)量儀器的主要供應(yīng)商

Fanuc：發(fā)那科，世界上數(shù)控系統(tǒng)科研、設(shè)計(jì)、制造、銷售實(shí)力最強(qiáng)大的企業(yè)

SMC：世界知名的氣動(dòng)和自動(dòng)化元件研發(fā)制造商。

Lasertec：主要產(chǎn)品是檢測(cè)設(shè)備，其產(chǎn)品能夠在基于EUV技術(shù)的芯片生產(chǎn)過程中進(jìn)行早期測(cè)試。目前，Lasertec是該領(lǐng)域唯一一家制造商。從2019年初以來，Lasertec股價(jià)已經(jīng)飆升520%。

Flamboyant /fl?m?b???nt/ adj.1. (人或行為 ) 炫耀的；賣弄的?a flamboyant?gesture/style?/personality?炫耀的手勢(shì)╱作風(fēng)╱個(gè)性2.艷麗的；絢麗奪目的??flamboyant clothes/designs 艷麗的衣服；華麗的設(shè)計(jì)

mission-critical：關(guān)鍵任務(wù)

It is no surprise that?Japan, a famously robot-loving place, has spawned?a strong Automation Inc. Just-in-time manufacturing, pioneered by?efficiency-obsessed Japanese companies such as Toyota in car?making or Panasonic in consumer electronics, has involved replacing humans with machines for decades. This source of competitive advantage became an existential necessity for domestic manufacturers after Japan's working-age population began to shrink in the 1990s.Today it is becoming one for other rich countries as they enter demographic?dotage.?Keyence and SMC now?derive more than half their revenues from abroad. Fanuc and Lasertec are even more international, with more than 80%of sales coming from overseas.

spawn /sp??n/ 動(dòng)詞：1. (魚、蛙等 )產(chǎn)卵；2. ( often disapproving ) 引發(fā)；引起；導(dǎo)致；造成??The band's album spawned a string of hit singles. 這支樂隊(duì)的專輯繁衍出一連串走紅的單曲唱片。名詞：（魚、蛙等的）卵

dotage /?d??t?d?/n. BE IN YOUR DOTAGE 年老昏聵；年老糊涂

demographic?dotage：人口老齡化

derive/d??ra?v/ ?v. 1.?derive from sth?/be derived from sth從…衍生出；起源于；來自?The word ‘politics’ is derived from a Greek word meaning ‘city’. politics一詞源自希臘語，意思是city。2. derive sth from sth??(1) （從…中）得到，獲得?He derived great pleasure from painting. 他從繪畫中得到極大的樂趣。 (2) (術(shù)語 ) （從…中）提取?The new drug is derived from fish oil. 這種新藥是從魚油中提煉出來的。?

譯文

為什么日本自動(dòng)化企業(yè)是全球工業(yè)不可缺少的部分？

——全球供應(yīng)鏈窄點(diǎn)一瞥

SHORTAGES AND bottlenecks have been a source of constant frustration for manufacturers around the world for two pandemic-afflicted?years. For a handful of companies in the business of keeping factories running and supply chains intact, these frustrations have been a source of cheer—and profits. Japanese makers of industrial equipment, in particular, have seen orders surge as companies turned to automation, first amid the disruption wrought on human workforces by covid-19, then as a result of tight labour markets and rising wage costs.

? ? ? ?在備受新冠疫情折磨的兩年間，短缺和瓶頸對(duì)于全球制造業(yè)從業(yè)者來說一直是他們持續(xù)感到挫敗的原因。只有為數(shù)不多的制造業(yè)企業(yè)能夠保持工廠運(yùn)轉(zhuǎn)和供應(yīng)鏈完成，而那些短缺和瓶頸的挫敗在這里卻成為愉悅和利潤。特別是日本工業(yè)設(shè)備制造企業(yè)，訂單急速增加。由于已經(jīng)完成自動(dòng)化，日本制造企業(yè)首先避免了新冠疫情帶來的人力資源短缺變化，其次是人力短缺帶來的人力緊俏市場(chǎng)及提高的人力成本。

The world’s stock of industrial robots has tripled in the past decade. According to the International Federation of Robotics, a trade group, Japan furnishes?45% of new ones each year. It also produces lots of other automation equipment, from laser sensors to inspection kit. Even after the recent sell-off in tech stocks, Japan’s four standout gear producers—Keyence, Fanuc, SMC, and Lasertec—are collectively worth two and a half times what they were five years ago (see chart). Last year the founder of Keyence, Takizaki Takemitsu, briefly became Japan’s richest man. His $29bn fortune is half as large again as that of Son Masayoshi, a flamboyant?tech investor who is corporate Japan’s most globally recognizable?face. Mr Takizaki’s firm and its fellow equipment-makers are hardly household names. But the hardware they produce is becoming as mission-critical?to many industrial supply chains as semiconductors are.

? ? ? ?全球工業(yè)機(jī)器人數(shù)量在近十年增加了2倍。根據(jù)國際機(jī)器人同盟（一家貿(mào)易組織）數(shù)據(jù)，日本每年貢獻(xiàn)了全球45%的新機(jī)器人。日本也生產(chǎn)非常多自動(dòng)化設(shè)備，從激光傳感器到成套檢驗(yàn)器材。甚至在經(jīng)歷最近科技股票拋售之后，日本四大代表性裝備生產(chǎn)商--基恩士、發(fā)那科、SMC、Lasertec市值全部都是五年前的2.5倍（看圖表）。去年，基恩士創(chuàng)始人滝崎武光(Takemitsu Takizaki)一度成為日本最富有之人，290億美元的身價(jià)達(dá)到全球最知名的日本企業(yè)面孔、高調(diào)的科技投資者孫正義財(cái)富的一半。滝崎武光先生的公司和它的設(shè)備制造伙伴并不是家喻戶曉的名字。 但它們生產(chǎn)的硬件對(duì)許多工業(yè)供應(yīng)鏈來說正變得像半導(dǎo)體一樣至關(guān)重要。??

It is no surprise that?Japan, a famously robot-loving place, has spawned?a strong Automation Inc. Just-in-time manufacturing, pioneered by?efficiency-obsessed Japanese companies such as Toyota in car?making or Panasonic in consumer electronics, has involved replacing humans with machines for decades. This source of competitive advantage became an existential necessity for domestic manufacturers after Japan's working-age population began to shrink in the 199os.Today it is becoming one for other rich countries as they enter demographic?dotage.?Keyence and SMC now?derive more than half their revenues from abroad. Fanuc and Lasertec are even more international, with more than 8o%of sales coming from overseas.

? ? ? ?日本，這個(gè)聞名世界的機(jī)器人愛好者國家，培育出強(qiáng)大的自動(dòng)化企業(yè)一點(diǎn)也不奇怪。數(shù)十年來，車企豐田和電器企業(yè)松下公司等在內(nèi)的日本企業(yè)致力于效率提升，倡導(dǎo)使用零庫存生產(chǎn)戰(zhàn)略，其中包括使用機(jī)器取代人。自上世紀(jì)90年代，日本勞動(dòng)人口縮減之后，這一競(jìng)爭優(yōu)勢(shì)的來源成為國內(nèi)制造商生存的必要條件。如今，隨著其他富裕國家進(jìn)入人口老齡化，這也成為了一個(gè)國家問題?；魇亢蚐MC從海外市場(chǎng)獲得了超過企業(yè)半數(shù)的收益。發(fā)那科和Lasertec更加國際化，超過80%的市場(chǎng)份額來自海外。

英文原文《經(jīng)濟(jì)學(xué)人·商論》3月刊