America should benchmark itself against rest of the world to boost its global competitiveness
While I am proud Siemens will build America’s first high-speed train in my home state New York, the train’s name American Pioneer 220 leaves me perplexed.
This train may be a PIONEER within the US, which never built or operated many high-speed trains (except the Acela train in East Coast), but not on GLOBAL stage.
Exactly 60 years ago (yes, in 1964 !!), Japan launched the world’s first high-speed rail system, the Tōkaidō Shinkansen, began operations in Honshu, Japan.
Due to the streamlined spitzer-shaped nose cone of the locomotive, the system became known by its English nickname bullet train.
This truly-pioneering train with a design speed of 210 km/h, was developed and built within Japan. It was a 100% Japanese indigenous innovation.
Read this well-researched article that chronicles the GLOBAL history of high-speed train manufacturing.
In 2025, Chinese manufacturer CRCC will launch CR450 Fuxing, a high-speed train that runs at 450 kilometers (280 miles) per hour, which is faster than the American “Pioneer” 220.
The graphic below shows how China is leading the global race to build the world’s fastest trains:
China today operates the world’s largest high-speed train network.
Russia is also joining the race to build high-speed trains.
I mean no disrespect to America.
But, when it comes to building next-gen innovative and sustainable products and services, the US needs to be careful not to BENCHMARK against ITSELF, but against GLOBAL competition.
You can’t claim to be WORLD-CLASS if you don’t measure up against WORLD standards.
As I show in my upcoming book The Frugal Economy, if the US wants to become a truly disruptive innovator, it should focus equally on innovating the WHAT of manufacturing as well as the HOW.
Innovating the WHAT of manufacturing means building faster/bigger products.
Innovating the HOW of manufacturing involves rethinking end-to-end value chains (novel production processes and supply chain configurations) to make them efficient, agile, sustainable.
For instance, I find it strange that American Pioneer 220 trains will be built in the East Coast but will be deployed in the… West Coast to connect LasVegas and LosAngeles !
Wouldn’t it be more sustainable to build high-speed trains AS CLOSE AS possible to the regional markets where they would be deployed ?
I published today an article in Sustainable Brands on the new distributed manufacturing paradigm and show how US firms can SCALE OUT production of US-made industrial goods closer to markets to maximize local impact.
Rather than obsess about making American Great AGAIN, let’s focus on build the Great American Manufacturing of the Future.
