Shoemakers churning out masks. Auto giants manufacturing ventilators. This is how the private sector goes to battle against a pandemic.
By Greg Ip April 16, 2020 10:00 am ET True Value Co. heard from its more than 4,500 affiliated hardware stores last month that hand sanitizer was flying off the shelves, leaving store staff with none for themselves.
And where that arsenal was orchestrated by the federal government, this one has been largely the spontaneous, uncoordinated effort of businesses, entrepreneurs and innovators driven as much by the urge to contribute as by future profit. Joel Mokyr, an economic historian at Northwestern University, said national crises such as wars and pandemics historically generate a hive of entrepreneurial innovation, from the late 18th century search in England for a treatment for smallpox to a German drive in the run-up to World War I to use atmospheric nitrogen for explosives.
He teamed up with Delve, a local design firm, and Midwest Prototyping, a contract manufacturer, to design their own “Badger Shield,” named after the University of Wisconsin mascot. They expected to use 3-D printers, then concluded that wouldn’t achieve the necessary scale. They uploaded the design to their website along with the necessary parts for anyone to download. A few days later Ford Motor Co. did, and, with tweaks of its own, began turning out face shields for Detroit-area hospitals.
Washington’s hand was everywhere. Agencies such as the War Production Board and the U.S. Maritime Commission decided what should be produced and which companies would get contracts, which generally had a guaranteed profit margin. It barred the production of civilian products like passenger cars to free up capacity for military trucks and tanks. It also coordinated production with allies Britain and Canada.
Mr. Trump has invoked the Defense Production Act, a Korean War-era law allowing the federal government to commandeer private production, but mostly to facilitate efforts that were already under way. Another difference is that World War II strained the economy’s capacity as military-age men were drafted and business struggled to fill both civilian and military demand. By contrast, huge swaths of the economy are now idle because of government-mandated closures or lack of demand. That leaves some businesses with spare capacity that can be devoted to the pandemic.
After the Pennsylvania governor recommended everyone wear masks in public, Kepner Scott began selling theirs to the public online, which “will help us keep the lights on and also continue to make donations of masks.”
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