Digital Transformation Helps Fuel American Manufacturing Activities, Reshoring Initiative Finds

The pandemic’s impact on the supply chain stirred much debate about the role of overseas suppliers in critical product categories, and at the time many companies asserted their intention to reshore certain operations. Fast forward to today… did these pledges from U.S. companies pan out? According to the Reshoring Initiative, the Harry Moser-led organization designed to help bring American jobs back, the answer is yes. Recently published data contends that, in 2021, reshoring and foreign direct investment (or FDI) job announcements were propelled to a record 261,000 for the year. The group says the additions helped the total reshoring job gains reach a monumental 1.3 million since 2010. With the number of companies reporting reshoring and FDI reaching a new record at over 1,800 companies, the Reshoring Initiative believes the momentum will continue, saying preliminary data suggests an ongoing surge in 2022. The firm owes the big increases in reshoring “almost exclusively to companies filling supply chain gaps of essential products, including electric batteries, semiconductors, PPE, pharmaceuticals, rare earths, and renewable energy” helped in part by a push from both private and federal entities.