**United States**: Kearney’s latest Reshoring Index shows US manufacturing output growing by only 1%, trailing import growth from Asian low-cost countries. Despite rising CEO interest in reshoring, supply-demand gaps and geopolitical tensions complicate efforts to boost domestic manufacture by 2025.
Global consultancy Kearney has released its 2025 Reshoring Index, highlighting a complex landscape for US manufacturing and reshoring trends.
According to Kearney’s press release, US manufacturing output increased by just 1% over the past year, a modest rise that trails behind the growth in US manufactured goods consumption. The consultancy describes this as reflecting “a longer-than-expected lag between investment announcements and operational capacity coming online.”
The 12th annual Reshoring Index report states that the manufacturing import ratio—the volume of manufactured goods imported relative to domestic output—has increased by 9%, returning to pre-COVID levels. Imports from 14 Asian low-cost countries and regions (LCCRs), including China, grew by 10%, led by sectors such as computers, electronics, and electrical equipment. In dollar terms, imports from these Asian LCCRs rose by approximately $90 billion.
Kearney notes that US nearshoring partners Mexico and Canada saw slowed export growth to the US, with Canada’s exports contracting year-over-year. Omar Troncoso, Kearney partner and report co-author, said: “As US demand outpaced what domestic production could supply, Mexico was not able to fill the gap. So, we saw manufacturers reverting to sourcing from those distant Asian low-cost countries and regions they had relied on in the past.”
The report further highlights a 15% year-over-year increase in CEOs indicating plans to reshore part of their operations within the next three years. It also cites a 50% increase in executives citing geopolitical tensions as a primary motivator for reshoring.
Patrick Van den Bossche, Kearney partner and study co-author, remarked: “The 2025 Reshoring Index points to a reality check that exposes the gap between reshoring intention and facts.” He added, “This decline should not be interpreted to mean reshoring is going away, just that expectations for the strategy need to be tempered by market realities.” Van den Bossche also noted the ongoing challenges in the US manufacturing ecosystem, emphasizing that “the next phase will require not just capital, but coordination.”
Industry observers may interpret these findings as indicative of persistent challenges in reshoring efforts, where political and executive intentions confront market forces such as supply and demand. Analysts caution that while strategic commitments are rising, tangible shifts in manufacturing output and supply chain restructuring are subject to longer timelines and complex global trade dynamics.
The Kearney Reshoring Index, launched in 2013, serves as a barometer for measuring reshoring by comparing imports from Asian LCCRs against US domestic manufacturing output.
Sources:
– Kearney press release via PR Newswire US, 30 April 2025
Source: Noah Wire Services
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