The decline of stuff: Why manufactured goods are becoming less important to the global economy

Marc Levinson is a historian and economist in Washington. His books include The Box: How the Shipping Container Made the World Smaller and Outside the Box: How Globalization Changed from Moving Stuff to Spreading Ideas. Iran's seizure of an Israeli-linked container ship near the Strait of Hormuz on April 13 is just another ill wind buffeting the world economy. Houthi attacks on vessels navigating the Red Sea, drought-related reductions in the number of vessels that pass daily through the Panama Canal, and renewed piracy in the Indian Ocean also highlight the vulnerabilities of the long-distance supply chains on which the…