Shipping stuff across the world isn't as bad as you think it is. The per-ton fuel efficiency of a modern cargo ship is astoundingly high; far, far better than

Shipping stuff across the world isn't as bad as you think it is. The per-ton fuel efficiency of a modern cargo ship is astoundingly high; far, far better than a tractor-trailer or even a train. Concentrating manufacturing of a particular thing in one place is more efficient; we've been doing this for millennia now (stuff was being traded between Asia and Europe even in Roman times).