They contend that factories are spinning out many more products than consumers can buy. Steel, auto and semiconductor makers have been grappling with surpluses for years. But now they are being joined by a long list of other manufacturers producing goods as diverse as Cold War weaponry and jewelry. Thailand has an embarrassment of idle golf courses, while Hawaii is swamped by an overcapacity of hotel rooms and South African mines produce more gold and diamonds than the moneyed classes can buy. Overcapacity has created oversupply, some economists contend.
Some observers think the first phase of that process is now underway.
The producers who will survive are those who run low-cost efficient operations, economists predict.