A.T. Kearney’s First “Reshoring Index” Finds USA Reshoring Impact “Less Than the Hype”

Management consultants A.T. Kearney released the first edition of their “Reshoring Index” on December 15, 2014. The study found that reshoring of manufacturing to the USA was real but that its impact was “much less than the hype would indicate,” Plastics News reported.

Key findings

• USA manufacturing production grew 6 percent a year from 2009 to 2013.
• Imports of manufactured goods from 14 low-cost Asian countries grew faster, at 8 percent a year, over the same period.
• In nine of the last 10 years, imports of manufactured goods grew faster than domestic manufacturing production.
• From 2011 to 2013, there was some evidence that USA output was starting to outpace imports, but early 2014 data showed imports gaining ground again.

“The reality is that the import value of manufactured goods into the U.S. from 14 low-cost Asian countries has grown at an average of 8 percent per year in the last five years,” said study co-author Pramod Gupta.

Why companies reshore

The study said companies were bringing work back to the USA to offset rising costs in China, to make supply chains more responsive, or to take advantage of consumer interest in a “Made in the USA” label. It noted the hard data were limited, did not look at Mexico, and said the evidence so far was “largely anecdotal.”

Plastics and rubber products made up 7 percent of the more than 700 reshoring cases in the firm’s database. Electrical equipment and transportation equipment led at 15 percent each.

The firm has continued publishing the index; see our coverage of the 2024 edition.