How the Pandemic Is Spurring Reshoring Efforts

It’s strange to imagine those few months of 2020 where most were blissfully unaware of the impending chaos that is the Coronavirus Pandemic. The virus was first noted in December of 2019, but it wouldn’t be until March that the World Health Organization would declare it a global pandemic. 

Since then, the world has changed in countless ways. Some of the biggest changes will reveal themselves as more years go by, but one noticeable effect is a massive push in reshoring efforts from companies worldwide. 

The Call for Reshoring 

Reshoring, or onshoring as some call it, is the process of bringing manufacturing work and business operations from overseas back to the country of origin. It’s been an ongoing mission since the Reshoring Initiative, an organization dedicated to bringing more manufacturing jobs back to the United States, was founded in 2010.

The initiative has offered a variety of resources diagramming U.S. dependence on offshore manufacturing. They’ve presented studies proving that offshoring can result in costly errors concerning overprocessing and transport, but that wasn’t enough for some companies. 

Then, the pandemic happened, and it changed the game entirely. 

Now More Than Ever

For many companies worldwide, the spread of COVID-19 has opened their eyes to how much of their operation depends on Chinese imports. The supposed convenience of outsourcing is now steadily outweighed by the risk of exposure. Not only that, but certain overseas suppliers were shutting down production entirely, forcing manufacturers to find other options. 

This unprecedented time is bringing to light hazards that were already there. Offshoring has proved time and time again to be a dangerous game, and even its supposed cost-effectiveness isn’t as appealing when you consider the money reshoring saves on transportation and inventory turns. 

In the past decade, before the pandemic, 749k jobs were brought back to the United States across almost 3,000 companies. With the added security that brings, it’s safe to say that companies will find that an increasingly appealing option, especially as the world continues to recover from the pandemic.