In two different assignments for The Wall Street Journal, one in 2016 and the second in 2020, I was able to follow Century furniture company in Hickory, North Carolina. The 2016 article, “China Shock,” explained how the competitive challenges of cheaper labor in China has driven most NC furniture companies (a once thriving industry) out of business. Then in 2020 I revisited the company as they struggled to stay in business during the Covid 19 pandemic amid temporary shut downs of the manufacturing facilities.
