Reshoring + FDI = U.S. Jobs

Combined reshoring and related foreign direct investment (FDI) added more than 171,000 U.S. manufacturing jobs in 2017, up 2,800 percent from 2010, according to the Reshoring Initiative’s 2017 Reshoring Report. The total number of manufacturing jobs brought to the United States from offshore is more than 576,000 since 2010. The reshoring and FDI jobs equal 90 percent of the 189,000 total manufacturing jobs added last year.

Combined, reshoring and FDI jobs were up 52 percent from 2016. The Reshoring Initiative attributes the increase largely to corporate tax and regulatory cuts following the 2016 election, which are seen as helping U.S. manufacturing be more globally competitive. FDI continued to exceed reshoring in terms of total jobs added, although the gap is narrowing.

The numbers demonstrate how reshoring and FDI are major contributors to the country’s manufacturing rebound, the Reshoring Initiative says.

Additional factors contributing to the positive reshoring and FDI numbers include:

• Proximity to customers remained the leading factor driving reshoring and FDI in 2017, followed by image and branding, Made in the USA, government incentives, and supply chain synergies.
• For the first time, Asia surpassed Western Europe in generating jobs by FDI, due mostly to increased investment by China and stronger showings from
  Japan and Korea.
• The Southeast and Texas remain the top regions for reshoring and FDI, with the Midwest gaining ground
  in second place due to its strong industrial base.
• Transportation equipment remained the strongest industry, accounting for nearly 36 percent of total jobs returned.
• Apparel and medical equipment saw the biggest increases in industry ranking.

—Jeff Reinke, for Thomas