The reshoring trend is picking up steam. A new report provides several examples of manufacturers that are moving assembly lines back to the States.
The reshoring trend appears to be picking up steam. During the last few months, we’ve reported on a handful of manufacturers that have packed up their assembly lines in China and headed back to the States.
Today, The Boston Consulting Group Inc. (BCG) issued a report that confirms this trend and predicts it will continue for the next few years. “Made in America, Again: Why Manufacturing Will Return to the U.S.” provides several examples of U.S. companies that have come to similar conclusions.
Peerless Industries, for instance, is consolidating all manufacturing of audio-visual mounting systems in Illinois. The company is moving work from China to achieve cost efficiencies, shorten lead times and gain greater control over manufacturing processes.
Outdoor Greatroom Co. recently moved production of its fire pits and some outdoor shelters from China to the U.S., citing the inconvenience of having to book orders from Chinese contractors nine months in advance. And, rising shipping expenses, along with manufacturing costs, are behind Coleman Co.’s decision to move production of its 16-quart wheeled plastic coolers from China to Wichita, KS.
According to BCG, a return of manufacturing to the United States will accelerate as companies take into account the full costs of outsourcing to China and the strategic advantages of making products closer to consumers in North America.
“For the past few decades, China has been the opposite of a perfect storm for the manufacturing world,” says Harold Sirkin, a BCG senior partner and lead author of the study. “It offered a total package that is unlikely to be matched by any other low-cost nation. It is time for companies to fundamentally rethink their global sourcing strategies.”