The article considers the problem of international supply chains in machinery-building. The meanings of appropriate terms are specified (outsourcing, international production sharing, vertical specialization). It is clarified (following D. Hummels et al.) the definition of vertical specialization as a structure of supply chain when a country is using imported inputs to produce goods for exports. It is emphasized that countries exporting raw materials usually show high share of vertical specialization-based trade in their exports but not in imports. Developed industrial countries (excluding Japan) usually show high content of vertical specialization-based trade in both exports and imports. Statistical analysis of the intra-industry labor division in the office, accounting and computing machinery of Asia and Pacific is made. In China and Japan most inputs consumed by office, accounting and computing machinery are of domestic origin. The larger share of intermediate production of the office, accounting and computing machinery, consumed by the same branch, in China is of domestic origin, too. It means that a queue of successive components of supply chains is placed on the territory of China. At the same time, what concerns the territory of Korea assembling industries are prevailing. In USA and Japan the branch is using as inputs mostly intermediate production of domestic origin. Still, a larger fraction of the intermediate production of the computer industry itself is imported. In the four from five countries reviewed (USA, Japan, Republic of Korea, Thailand) the imported intermediate production for computer industry used by the respective industry as inputs is larger than the domestic production. This proves high degree of internationalization of this industry in Asia and Pacific.
Computer Industry as a National Task
