Supply chains may be moving out of China and into Asia — but they aren't really decoupling from the country

• Supply chains are diversifying away from China, causing a shift in global-trade patterns.
• Analyses of trade data suggest Chinese manufacturers are assembling fewer end products at home.
• Instead, they're shipping materials and intermediate products to Southeast Asia for final assembly.

Supply chains are shifting away from China — the world's factory floor for the last four decades — toward other low-cost manufacturing hubs in Asia.