Study: "Reshoring" trend gains strength

More U.S. manufacturers are thinking about "reshoring"—bringing production back to the United States from overseas, according to the results of a new CSCMP-sponsored study on manufacturing-location decisions. Forty percent of the 319 respondents said they perceived a trend toward reshoring in their industries; the trend appears to be strongest in aerospace and defense, industrial parts and equipment, electronics, and medical and surgical supplies.

More than 60 percent of respondents said the stability of transportation costs would become more important in their location choices in the next three years. Other logistics-related factors respondents expect to become more important include the availability of knowledgeable logistics service providers, the availability of transportation, and transportation reliability.

The research was conducted by Lisa Ellram of Miami University (Ohio), Wendy Tate and Kenneth Petersen of the University of Tennessee, and Tobias Schoenherr of Michigan State University. Detailed findings of the study will be presented at CSCMP's 2012 Annual Global Conference.