Made in America Revival Gathers Pace
Boston Consulting Group said its survey found most large U.S. companies now plan to move some production to America from China, or are “actively considering” the move.
The number of firms that have shifted manufacturing to the U.S. from China, or will do so in the next two years, has nearly doubled over the past 18 months.
The survey found the three main drivers of the trend are labor costs, product quality and a desire to be closer to customers.
As lower energy prices and declining labor costs make America a cheaper place to manufacture goods, China’s dynamics are also changing.
Once a source of cheap labor, the country is seeing its advantage squeezed by rising wage costs and an impending labor shortage.
More than 200 U.S.-based manufacturing companies with annual sales topping $1 billion took part in the Boston Consulting Group study.
A pick-up in manufacturing is a crucial plank in the American recovery story.
Already, several technology giants have shifted production back to the U.S. Google chief Eric Schmidt said it costs about the same to produce its Texas-made Moto X device locally as it would in Asia.
But a stronger push by technology firms to manufacture in the U.S. is unlikely. Most component suppliers for tech companies are based in Asia, while China has far more skilled engineers needed to meet swelling global demand for smartphones and devices than the United States.
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