Earlier this month, I traveled to Portland, Ore., to try to answer a simple question: How is the trade war affecting the electronics manufacturing industry? Portland probably isn't at the top of your mental list of manufacturing hubs. But Oregon is a heavyweight when it comes to electronics -- Intel employs 20,000 people in the state, and thousands more people work for other related businesses. Electronics manufacturing is perhaps uniquely global. It is not unheard-of for a product or its components to cross the Pacific three or even four times before showing up on retail shelves. If anywhere is going to feel the effect of the trade war, it's Oregon. So what did I find? Many companies said they had tried to hold off on making any big decisions in anticipation of a quick deal between the U.S. and China. But with the trade war dragging on (and even intensifying), they're nearing the limits of their patience. They are being forced to make big changes to their supply chains -- changes that wont reverse just because there's a deal. For more on how the trade war is starting to affect the broader economy, see my story in the Times. #economy #trade #tradewar #electronicsmanufacturing …see more