Shinzo Abe probably made another attempt to persuade the US to buy bullet trains when he met Donald Trump. But he may have more luck with another Japanese export: robots.
Since Mr Trump’s victory last November, shares in Japanese robot-maker Fanuc have risen 20 per cent. Yaskawa Electric recently hit a year high. Factory automation specialists such as Siemens and Emerson have upgraded profit forecasts for 2017.
Plain old dollar appreciation explains some of that movement. But so too does the idea that Mr Trump’s “hire American” policy will be a bonanza for robot-makers and automation specialists. Rather than take on US workers on relatively high wages, manufacturers will simply replace cheap labour in emerging markets with robots in the rust belt.
Robots were on a roll even before last year; sales of industrial robots hit a record in 2015. As their dexterity improves, their use is spreading from traditional strongholds such as automotive into consumer industries; Adidas is now using them to make trainers.
