This fireside chat recap is from FreightWaves’ Domestic Supply Chain Summit on Wednesday.
FIRESIDE CHAT TOPIC: Reshoring as the next major strategic initiative.
DETAILS: A discussion with Rosemary Coates, executive director and chairman at the Reshoring Institute, about how companies are looking to navigate supply chain risks through reshoring.
KEY QUOTES FROM ROSEMARY COATES:
On how supply chain bottlenecks changed the thinking around reshoring: “Prior to the pandemic most of the projects that we worked on were very economically focused. … But the pandemic introduced risk. That’s a new dimension for considering where in the world to source and manufacture that wasn’t heavily emphasized in the past.”
On changing labor rates around the globe: “China is no longer in the low-cost category. China has moved kind of to the middle. … On the low end now are Mexico, Vietnam and India. … If you don’t have that much labor or you can extract labor by automating, then you have an opportunity to look at other countries where overall the economics make sense, including the U.S.”
On the outlook for reshoring in the next decade: “It’s tough to predict in terms of numbers. The movement to think strategically about your manufacturing environment is very prominent these days. … Ultimately, I think companies are going to choose to bring at least some of their manufacturing back to the U.S.”
