BLS & Co. Project Director Michelle Comerford provides insights on the growing interest in onshoring manufacturing to North America and its projected impact. Read more below:

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When people discuss logistics and infrastructure, it’s hardly unusual for the talk to wind its way back to COVID-19 and how it changed the game for warehousing and distribution.

Coming in 2025

This topic is all about access to product and from a site selection standpoint, there is still much interest in “onshoring to bring more manufacturing capacity to North America,” said Michelle Comerford, industrial and supply chain practice leader based in Cleveland, Ohio, for Biggins Lacy Shapiro & Co.

As Corsi noted, getting up to full production capacity requires years of planning, construction and setup, but “the U.S. manufacturing shift has been in full swing over the past few years and we’ll start to see some of its impact beginning in 2025,” said Comerford.

Following the impacts of the pandemic, the emphasis on supply chain risk reduction remains strong. “So depending on the company and their existing footprint, that could mean investing in more manufacturing capacity in North America, for North America,” said Comerford, who added that an increase domestically may also be positioned to serve the European market as well.

Reaching the Pacific Rim, however, is typically not part of that equation because shipping from the U.S. to Asia “defeats the purpose of onshoring, which is lowering supply chain and transportation risk,” she said. “So if a company has manufacturing capacity in Asia, most likely they will maintain that capacity to serve the Asian market.”  

However, where that operation is located in Asia may shift. “There is certainly some interest to diversify manufacturing capacity outside of China, to locations such as Vietnam, due to geopolitical and supply chain risks,” said Comerford.  

Back to North America, some of those companies ― even if they’re onshoring manufacturing capacity here ― “will likely have to import some parts, supplies, ingredients, etc., so port access continues to an important location consideration for many,” she said.  

Concerning modes of transport, trucking remains the dominant mode for most operations, though as Klutke discussed, there are issues impacting that industry, too. “The driver shortages are continuing to affect the trucking industry although they are working hard to recruit new drivers,” Comerford said. “Rail is continuing to gain in interest and use where possible, particularly for long-haul shipments that are more costly to ship via truck.”

In addition to that, rail provides an opportunity to reduce truck road miles. “For companies with sustainability metrics, rail is becoming of increased interest to help improve carbon footprints,” she said.

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