Covid-19 has undoubtedly had the most acute impact on global manufacturing and supply chains in modern history. Because the pandemic has been so monumentally disruptive, the U.S. will need to recalibrate the delicate balance between onshoring and offshoring to maintain the autonomy needed to survive future crises.
In recent decades, offshoring has not only been seen as beneficial to the global economy; it was also believed to promote world peace. But the pandemic has the potential to change that. For example, countries with dramatically different success rates in terms of managing Covid-19 are much more likely to prioritize their own access to essential PPE and pharmaceuticals.
The U.S. is starting to rethink the value of reshoring some of its essential manufacturing and has the potential to be one of the few countries in the world that is essentially self-contained from a manufacturing standpoint. The pandemic has demanded that companies become much more efficient with their labor cost. And while many in the service industry have lost their jobs, the U.S. is extremely well-positioned to redeploy that labor in novel ways using the latest technology. Today, investors should understand the opportunity in American businesses using technology to reshore manufacturing. Even in the middle of a pandemic, the potential for earnings growth is great. Want to learn more, click here to read a recent article penned by our founder, Nick Stonnington, for Forbes on why reshoring could be the wave of the future.