jun 20, 2032 - The Recession of the Poorest

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The US economy dramatically drops. Its the global recession that hit the world's largest, developing-nation based manufacturing economies, caused by developed nations moving away from importing manufactured goods towards the new, technologically enabled system of local manufacture.

Local manufacture refers to the shift of the world's largest economies away from importing manufactured goods cheaply from abroad and instead moving towards producing goods at home. This was made possible by the rise of advanced 3D printing during the first quarter of the 21st century. 3D printers could now incorporate multiple different materials into a single 'construction run' and even the capability to print electronic circuits directly into a finished product, allowing for more complex and sophisticated items to be produced.

With the addition of subtractive printing methods, it became possible to move away from simply printing individual components and towards complete, working machines. For the first time since the Industrial Revolution, the entire production line could be compressed down into a singular unit which required little to no human intervention to operate.

international shipping had become increasingly expensive - tariffs on fuel by oceanic freighters rose sharply as the effects of climate change began to cause extreme weather conditions and rising sea levels. With foreign import costs continuing to increase and mature 3D printing technology now available, it became obvious for the wealthy, technologically developed countries to pursue local manufacture instead, switching to the production of manufactured goods at home and away from the historic practice of cheaper imports.

This caused international trade to decline substantially - between 2030 and 2040, the global freight industry contracted by 60%. Developing nations, who depended upon export-based growth and lacked a strong, internal market for domestic consumption, thus fell into recession as their goods were no longer in demand. Even China suffered as orders from the West declined, while global trade hubs such as Singapore, Shanghai, Rotterdam and Hamburg collapsed and suffered mass unemployment as their freight facilities fell into disuse and disrepair.

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