The Great American Reshoring

-IN TODAY’S EDITION-

• The Great Disconnect: Policy dreams ≠ workforce realities

• The Worker Paradox: We want manufacturing back, just not factory jobs

• The Skills Drought: 2.1 million unfilled manufacturing jobs by 2030

• The Ecosystem Void: Factories without supply networks are islands

• The Generational Challenge: Rebuilding what was dismantled in the last 5 decades

THE SKILLS CRISES

Modern manufacturing isn't your grandfather's assembly line.

More than technical expertise, it requires the relevancy to execute—time, cost, investments/investors, and patience to build—that our workforce largely lacks.

The brutal implications:

• Reshored factories stranded without tier 2-3 suppliers

• Support ecosystems that vanished decades ago

• Critical components still sourced overseas

• 2.1 million jobs potentially unfilled by 2030

After all, we may build factories. But who's going to staff them and the complex supply networks feeding them?

WE NEED A 10-YEAR PLAN (AT LEAST, IF NOT MORE)

Real reshoring demands a comprehensive transformation:

1. Supply Network Rebuilding:
Full ecosystem restoration, not just final assembly

2. Education Revolution:
Technical training pipelines starting in high school

3. Regional Specialization:
Strategic focus where America can actually compete

4. Smart Automation:
Technology that enhances workers, not just replaces them

The core problem is that we're having short-term political conversations about a generational economic challenge.

THE AMERICAN PARADOX

Americans consistently say they support domestic manufacturing. Yet simultaneously:

• Choose cheaper imports when shopping

• Demand instant delivery only global supply chains provide

• Pursue remote work flexibility over shift-based jobs

• Steer their children towards conventional routes

This isn't hypocrisy—it's responding to decades of economic incentives. But we can't have our cheap imports and domestic manufacturing too.

AMERICA’S MANUFACTURING FUTURE

Not all manufacturing is equal. Our competitive advantages lie in:

1. Advanced Materials & Critical Components:
High-precision, IP-protected, security-sensitive

2. Regional Supply Hubs:
Strategically positioned to serve key industries

3. Supply Chain Technology:
Digitization expertise and network optimization

As Uniqlo's founder recently told the Financial Times, tariffs alone won't reverse supply chain shifts to Southeast Asia. 

The economic fundamentals remain unchanged.

THE WORKFORCE REBOOT

Modern supply chain roles—blending technology, analytics, and strategy—are attracting younger workers disenchanted with the "knowledge economy."

For many drowning in general debt, $60-80K manufacturing jobs with benefits and no degree requirement look increasingly attractive.

Rebuilding this workforce requires:

• Making factory floors cool again—across industrial, process, discrete, and assembly manufacturing

• Showing how hands-on production skills launch supply chain careers companies are desperate to fill

• Creating direct classroom-to-factory pipelines without the crushing college debt

• Restoring blue-collar pride in a white-collar obsessed culture

THE BOTTOM LINE

Manufacturing reshoring won't happen through policy alone (or large entities and consultants force-feeding their latest reactionary solution to our feeds). 

It demands rebuilding supply capabilities, education systems, and cultural attitudes from the ground up.

Business leaders must take the long view:

• Build local supplier networks now

• Develop workforce initiatives immediately

• Create regional ecosystems, not isolated factories

The next decade will determine whether "Made in America" becomes reality or remains fantasy.

The question is: 

Are we ready to do the hard work or just the hard talk?

What would make you consider a career rebuilding America's supply infrastructure?

Reply to this email with your thoughts—I read and respond to every message.

Here's to seeing around corners 🥂

~Allison

P.S. Found yourself nodding along while reading? Share this with a colleague who's wondering what "reshoring" actually means for their supply chain.

Want personalized guidance on navigating supply chain transformations for your specific challenges? Book a 30-minute consultation with me here