TIKTOK FOODIES BEING ‘LIKE MIKE’ SEND IN THE BACTERIA A FAST TRACK JORDAN EVOLVES GRIME-EATING BUGS SAVE TO STARDOM AT HORNETS’ HELM AGING MICHELANGELOS PAGE 15 | LIVING PAGE 12 | SPORTS PAGE 13 | CULTURE

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INTERNATIONAL EDITION | THURSDAY, JUNE 3, 2021 Diversifying Shortages beyond just bedevil oil and gas economies worldwide Just-in-time system falls victim to chaos Thomas L. Friedman caused by pandemic

BY PETER S. GOODMAN AND NIRAJ CHOKSHI OPINION In the story of how the modern world Since the 1990s, the wisest oil-producing was constructed, Toyota stands out as countries and companies have regu- the mastermind of a monumental ad- larly reminded themselves of the oil vance in industrial efficiency. The Japa- patch adage that the Stone Age did not nese automaker pioneered so-called end because we ran out of stones; it just-in-time manufacturing, in which ended because we invented bronze parts are delivered to factories right as tools. When we did, stone tools became they are required, minimizing the need worthless — even though there were to stockpile them. still plenty on the ground. Over the last half-century, this ap- And so it will be with oil: The petro- proach has captivated global business in leum age will end because we invent industries far beyond automobiles. superior technology that coexists har- From fashion to food processing to phar- moniously with nature. When we do, maceuticals, companies have embraced there will be plenty of oil left in the just-in-time to stay nimble, allowing ground. them to adapt to changing market de- So be careful, wise producers tell mands, while cutting costs. themselves, don’t bet the vitality of your But the tumultuous events of the past company, community year have challenged the merits of par- The “mean or country on the ing inventories, while reinvigorating greens” are assumption that oil concerns that some industries have will be like Maxwell gone too far, leaving them vulnerable to forcing House Coffee — PHOTOGRAPHS BY SAMUEL ARANDA FOR THE NEW YORK TIMES disruption. As the pandemic has ham- Exxon to “Good to the last Migrants in Ceuta, a small peninsula on Morocco’s northern coast governed by Spain. Migrant-related tensions between Spain and Morocco have worsened during the pandemic. pered factory operations and sown cha- clean up drop” — and pumped os in global shipping, many economies its act. from every last well. around the world have been bedeviled Remember Kodak? It by shortages of a vast variety of goods underestimated the — from electronics to lumber to cloth- speed at which digital photography ing. would make film obsolete. It didn’t go ‘Come on in, boys’ In a time of extraordinary upheaval in well for Kodak or Kodachrome. the global economy, just-in-time is run- Alas, though, not every oil company ning late. got the memo. “It’s sort of like supply chain run One that most glaringly did not is the In allowing migrants to flood a tiny Spanish enclave, amok,” said Willy C. Shih, an interna- one that in 2013 was the biggest public tional trade expert at Harvard Business company in the world! It’s ExxonMobil. Morocco makes a calculated financial and political play School. “In a race to get to the lowest Today, it is no longer the biggest. As a cost, I have concentrated my risk. We result of its head-in-the-oil-sands-drill- BY NICHOLAS CASEY with the European Union under which it are at the logical conclusion of all that.” baby-drill-we-are-still-not-at-peak-oil AND JOSÉ BAUTISTA was paid to stem the flood of migrants The most prominent manifestation of business model, Exxon lost over $20 onto European shores after the Arab too much reliance on just-in-time is billion last year, suffered a credit rating Daouda Faye, a 25-year-old migrant Spring and decades of turmoil in Af- found in the very industry that invented downgrade, might have to borrow from Senegal, was elated when he heard ghanistan. it: Automakers have been crippled by a billions just to pay its dividend, has seen that Moroccan border guards had sud- For years, Morocco has been a stag- shortage of computer chips — vital car its share price over the last decade denly started waving undocumented ing ground for migrants and refugees components produced mostly in Asia. produce a minus-30 percent return and migrants across the border to Ceuta, a coming from North and West Africa, Without enough chips on hand, auto fac- was booted from the Dow Jones indus- fenced-off Spanish enclave on the North seeking to start anew in Europe. As tories in countries as diverse as Brazil, trial average. African coast. many as 40,000 undocumented mi- India and the United States have been But last week — finally — Exxon got “Come on in, boys,” the guards told grants from other countries are in Mo- forced to halt assembly lines. the memo, in the form of a shareholder him and others as they reached the bor- rocco, according to the International Or- But the breadth and persistence of the revolt in what was one of the most con- der on May 17, Mr. Faye said. ganization for Migration, a United Na- shortages reveal the extent to which the sequential weeks in the history of the oil And in they went — by the thousands. tions agency. just-in-time idea has come to dominate and gas industry and shareholder capi- Normally, Morocco tightly controls Moroccan security forces are often commercial life. This helps explain why talism. the fenced borders around Ceuta, a six- one of the last obstacles in an arduous Nike and other apparel brands struggle I’ve long argued that if environmen- mile-long peninsula on Morocco’s north- journey, patrolling the land and water to stock retail outlets with their wares. talists want to have an impact on the ern coast that Spain has governed since borders and taking back many depor- It’s one of the reasons construction com- climate they can’t be “nice greens.” the 1600s. But on a Monday in mid-May, tees who escape into Ceuta and Melilla, panies are having trouble purchasing They have to be “mean greens.” They the Moroccan military began allowing another Spanish enclave on its coast, paints and sealants. It was a principal have to be as mean and tough, as dili- migrants into this toehold of Europe. under an agreement between the coun- contributor to the tragic shortages of gent and vigilant, as the industry Over two days, as many as 12,000 people The border separating Ceuta from Morocco is usually tightly controlled. On a tries. personal protective equipment early in they’re trying to change. flowed over the border to Ceuta in hopes Monday in mid-May, the Moroccan military began allowing migrants to cross. But tensions between the two coun- the pandemic, which left frontline medi- Well, last week a little hedge fund of reaching mainland Spain, engulfing tries over migrants have worsened dur- cal workers without adequate gear. called Engine No. 1 delivered an unprec- the city of 80,000. ing the pandemic, which has crippled Just-in-time has amounted to no less FRIEDMAN, PAGE 9 The crisis laid bare a pressure point to extract financial and political prizes prime minister, said this week. economies on both sides of the border. than a revolution in the business world. that Morocco has over Spain on migra- from Spain. Hours after the migrants began pour- Morocco has already received an esti- By keeping inventories thin, major re- The New York Times publishes opinion tion. Spanish government officials and “It’s not acceptable that a govern- ing into Ceuta, Spain approved 30 mil- mated €13 billion in development funds tailers have been able to use more of from a wide range of perspectives in other experts say Morocco increasingly ment allows for attacks on their bor- lion euros, about $37 million, in aid to from the European Union since 2007 in their space to display a wider array of hopes of promoting constructive debate sees the migrants as a kind of currency ders” because of disagreements over Morocco for border policing. The trans- exchange for strict border controls. Ex- goods. Just-in-time has enabled manu- about consequential questions. and is leveraging its control over them foreign policy, Pedro Sánchez, Spain’s action was reminiscent of Turkey’s deal MOROCCO, PAGE 4 SHORTAGES, PAGE 7

They sniff out Covid (for belly rubs)

BANGKOK like grilled meat for us,” said Dr. Kay- walee Chatdarong, deputy dean of re- search and innovation for the faculty of The weekend paper that veterinary science at Chulalongkorn Dogs are being trained University, which runs the Bangkok lightens the load. across the globe to join clinic. The hope is that dogs can be deployed Award-winning news, opinion, lifestyle, the front lines of detection in crowded public spaces, like stadiums or transportation hubs, to identify peo- culture and more. In one concise paper. ple carrying the virus. Their skills are BY HANNAH BEECH Pick up the Weekend Edition. being developed in Thailand, the United Bobby was a good boy. So was Bravo. States, France, Britain, Chile, Australia, Angel was a good girl, and when she Belgium and Germany, among other sat, furry hindquarters sliding a little on countries. They have patrolled airports the tile floor, she raised a paw for em- in Finland, Lebanon and the United phasis, as if to say it’s this cotton ball Arab Emirates, and private companies that my keen nose has identified, the one have used them at American sporting that smells like Covid-19. events. The three Labradors, operating out of Angel, a pale blonde with incipient a university clinic in Bangkok, are part jowls and a fondness for crunching plas- of a global corps of dogs being trained to tic bottles, is the star of the pack at Chu- sniff out Covid-19 in people. Preliminary lalongkorn University. But as a group, studies, conducted in multiple coun- the dogs being trained in Thailand — tries, suggest that their detection rate Angel, Bobby, Bravo and three others, may surpass that of the rapid antigen Apollo, Tiger and Nasa — accurately de- ADAM DEAN FOR THE NEW YORK TIMES testing often used in airports and other tected the virus 96.2 percent of the time Bobby the Labrador, at a Bangkok clinic, is part of a global corps of dogs learning to public places. in controlled settings, according to uni- detect Covid-19 in people by smell. “For dogs, the smell is obvious,” a researcher said. “For dogs, the smell is obvious, just DOGS, PAGE 2

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