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 /ˌɪndɪˈspensəbl/ 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. 汽车已成了我们生活中必不可少的一部分。

pinch /pɪntʃ/ （用拇指和手指 ）1.捏，拧，掐；揑住，夹紧；掐掉；（穿的鞋等）夹痛，挤痛；<非正式>偷窃；<非正式>逮捕，拘捕；节约，节省；使经济拮据；捏拉缩放；（由于担心或紧张）抿（嘴唇）；（航海）使（帆船）紧抢风；n. 捏，掐，拧；一撮；偷窃；（棒球）紧要时刻，紧要关头；adj. 替代的，替补的；由替补击球手完成的

pinch-point：剑桥英语有两种释义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。交通变窄的地方，或者经常出现交通堵塞需要减速或者停车。2. a point in a process where there are difficulties and the process slows down or stops.第二种是第一种释义的衍生，事情发展遇到了难处，进程减慢或者停止。在此文章中可以理解为困难或者是症结。

afflict /əˈflɪkt/ v. 折磨；使痛苦 • About 40% of the country's population is afflicted with the disease. 全国40%左右的人口患有这种疾病。

intact /ɪnˈtækt/ adj. 完好无损；完整 • Most of the house remains intact even after two hundred years. 虽然过了两百年，这房子的大部分还保持完好。

amid /əˈmɪd/ prep. 1. 在…过程中；在…中 •He finished his speech amid tremendous applause. 他在雷鸣般的掌声中结束了演讲。 2.在…中；四周是•The hotel was in a beautiful position amid lemon groves. 旅馆位于柠檬树丛之中，优美宜人

wrought /rɔːt/ v. (仅用于过去时 )[ VN ] 使发生了，造成了（尤指变化）。 wrought是work过去式的旧式。 • This century wrought major changes in our society. 本世纪给我们的社会带来了重大变革。

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 /ˈfɜːnɪʃ/ v. 1.布置家具 •The room was furnished with antiques. 房间里摆放了古董。 2.~ sb/sth with sth ，~ sth  向（某人╱某事物）供应，提供 •She furnished him with the facts surrounding the case. 她向他提供了与案件有关的事实。

laser sensor：激光传感器

 inspection kit：成套/全套检验器材

Keyence：基恩士，传感器和测量仪器的主要供应商

Fanuc：发那科，世界上数控系统科研、设计、制造、销售实力最强大的企业

SMC：世界知名的气动和自动化元件研发制造商。

Lasertec：主要产品是检测设备，其产品能够在基于EUV技术的芯片生产过程中进行早期测试。目前，Lasertec是该领域唯一一家制造商。从2019年初以来，Lasertec股价已经飙升520%。

Flamboyant /flæmˈbɔɪənt/ adj.1. (人或行为 ) 炫耀的；卖弄的•a flamboyant gesture/style /personality 炫耀的手势╱作风╱个性2.艳丽的；绚丽夺目的 •flamboyant clothes/designs 艳丽的衣服；华丽的设计

mission-critical：关键任务

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 /spɔːn/ 动词：1. (鱼、蛙等 )产卵；2. ( often disapproving ) 引发；引起；导致；造成 •The band's album spawned a string of hit singles. 这支乐队的专辑繁衍出一连串走红的单曲唱片。名词：（鱼、蛙等的）卵

dotage /ˈdəʊtɪdʒ/n. BE IN YOUR DOTAGE 年老昏聩；年老糊涂

demographic dotage：人口老龄化

derive/dɪˈraɪv/  v. 1. derive from sth /be derived from sth从…衍生出；起源于；来自•The word ‘politics’ is derived from a Greek word meaning ‘city’. politics一词源自希腊语，意思是city。2. derive sth from sth  (1) （从…中）得到，获得•He derived great pleasure from painting. 他从绘画中得到极大的乐趣。 (2) (术语 ) （从…中）提取•The new drug is derived from fish oil. 这种新药是从鱼油中提炼出来的。 

译文

为什么日本自动化企业是全球工业不可缺少的部分？

——全球供应链窄点一瞥

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.

       在备受新冠疫情折磨的两年间，短缺和瓶颈对于全球制造业从业者来说一直是他们持续感到挫败的原因。只有为数不多的制造业企业能够保持工厂运转和供应链完成，而那些短缺和瓶颈的挫败在这里却成为愉悦和利润。特别是日本工业设备制造企业，订单急速增加。由于已经完成自动化，日本制造企业首先避免了新冠疫情带来的人力资源短缺变化，其次是人力短缺带来的人力紧俏市场及提高的人力成本。

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.

       全球工业机器人数量在近十年增加了2倍。根据国际机器人同盟（一家贸易组织）数据，日本每年贡献了全球45%的新机器人。日本也生产非常多自动化设备，从激光传感器到成套检验器材。甚至在经历最近科技股票抛售之后，日本四大代表性装备生产商--基恩士、发那科、SMC、Lasertec市值全部都是五年前的2.5倍（看图表）。去年，基恩士创始人滝崎武光(Takemitsu Takizaki)一度成为日本最富有之人，290亿美元的身价达到全球最知名的日本企业面孔、高调的科技投资者孙正义财富的一半。滝崎武光先生的公司和它的设备制造伙伴并不是家喻户晓的名字。 但它们生产的硬件对许多工业供应链来说正变得像半导体一样至关重要。  

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，这个闻名世界的机器人爱好者国家，培育出强大的自动化企业一点也不奇怪。数十年来，车企丰田和电器企业松下公司等在内的日本企业致力于效率提升，倡导使用零库存生产战略，其中包括使用机器取代人。自上世纪90年代，日本劳动人口缩减之后，这一竞争优势的来源成为国内制造商生存的必要条件。如今，随着其他富裕国家进入人口老龄化，这也成为了一个国家问题。基恩士和SMC从海外市场获得了超过企业半数的收益。发那科和Lasertec更加国际化，超过80%的市场份额来自海外。

英文原文《经济学人·商论》3月刊