Since 2010, more than 4,700 companies have brought back some or all of their manufacturing operations and sourcing to the U.S. Despite COVID-19, reshoring was up in 2020. The projected job total for 2020 is 110,000, which will bring the total to more than 1 million U.S. manufacturing jobs added from offshore since 2010.
Since March 2020, 60 percent of companies that are reshoring have mentioned COVID-19 as the reason for coming here. Some manufacturers saw problems due to shortages. Others saw new opportunities. For example, Gentry Plastics expanded production at its factory in Gastonia, NC, adding 12 jobs due to increased demand for plastics for sanitization, clean rooms and personal protective equipment.