American manufacturers pine for home as COVID disruptions, Trump tariffs shake up supplies

President Trump's trade war was supposed to encourage American manufacturers to pack up their Chinese and other international operations and move them to the U.S.The same is true of Covid-19, which disrupted just-in-time deliveries by shutting down factories around the world.Instead, the uncertainty caused by Trump's trade war and Covid-19 supply chain disruptions paralyzed corporate decision makers, and though more than 600 U.S. manufacturers opted to return to the United States this year,  the number is down by one-third compared with 2018."A lot of companies are like frozen deer in the headlights," said Jim Tomkins, Chairman of Tomkins International, a North Carolina consulting firm that helps manufacturers decide whether to bring their operations back to the U.S."They don't like having to depend on China. But thanks to reshoring, total employment is up by 403,000 jobs over that period, and there's a chance the beleaguered sector could experience a resurgence if people like Harry Moser have their way.The founder of the Reshoring Initiative, Moser is focused on convincing companies that local production can make sense in some circumstances."You just have to do the math," Moser said.Moser said bringing operations back to the U.S. can lower the total cost of manufacturing for as many as 30% of manufacturers, especially for automotive companies, appliance makers, and providers of essential products like personal protective equipment, pharmaceuticals, and 5G wireless technology.His goal is to bring back 5 million jobs over the next 30 years. "We pay a little more in labor, but we've saved in shipping and packing." Moser, who heads the Reshoring Initiative, expects more companies to make the same decision over the next few years, and he says the pandemic is the chief motivator."Since March, 60% of companies that are reshoring have mentioned Covid as the reason for coming here," Moser said.Data provided by his firm show that more than 640 companies are expected to bring back their manufacturing operations this year and more than 100 of them are producers of PPE, surgical gowns, masks or pharmaceuticals."The pandemic created a heightened awareness of supply chain risk," said Tony Uphoff, president and CEO of Thomasnet.com, a digital media and marketing services company that caters to industrial buyers and suppliers.