MANUFACTURING ON THE RISE: GLOBAL DEMAND, INCREASED COSTS OVERSEAS, AND THE ATTRACTIVENESS OF MANUFACTURING IN NORTH AMERICA

During the past few weeks, we’ve been hearing and reading the news reports showing stronger-than-expected numbers related to the economy. These numbers all point toward a rise in manufacturing in the U.S. and North America. One recent report from The Week sums up why manufacturing here is on the rise, offering these three reasons:

  • Global demand is on the rise.
  • Overseas manufacturing isn’t as cheap as it once was.
  • More foreign companies are moving manufacturing operations to the U.S.

Meeting global demand

After declining for several years now, companies’ inventories have been depleted. Consequently, it will take a while to manufacture enough product supply to get inventory to sustainable levels again, and the push to do this is happening now. At the same time, global demand is rising and this puts even more pressure on companies to manufacture more products.

Saving money by staying close to home

The recent trend we’ve been seeing is more manufacturers are staying close to home and turning to suppliers in North America rather than going to China or other foreign destinations. After years of going overseas, manufacturers are “reshoring” and realizing the many advantages – including money saving and quality assurance – of manufacturing closer to home.

Moving manufacturing operations to – or back to – North America

More foreign companies are turning to North American suppliers, or they’re locating their manufacturing operations here. They’re “waking up” up to many manufacturing advantages: In May, a report in USA Today said, “Foreign manufacturers aren’t the only ones waking up to the benefits of making things in the U.S. Since 2010, more than 200 companies, mostly U.S.-based, have brought back production they had sent out of the country.”

In the days ahead, we look forward to more manufacturers around the world hearing the “wake-up call” and recognizing the many advantages offered by manufacturers and manufacturing operations in North America.