For years, companies looking to cut costs and increase their manufacturing efficiency invested in offshore manufacturing practices. Now, that’s starting to change as more begin to bring their operations back home – Made in the USA.
Why?
Let’s see first why they went the offshore way, what’s changed and how robotics for manufacturing plays a key role in this shift in today’s business decisions.
Made in the USA
Over the last decade, the USA has lost over one million manufacturing jobs to outsourcing. In fact, according to U.S. News and World Report, the USA has 5.1 million fewer manufacturing jobs since 2001.
Unfortunately, companies looked to overseas manufacturing for different factors, such as a cheaper cost per product, which in turn elevates their margins to sell to customers. This cost savings for products such as high-tech goods accounted for more than half of the $217.5 billion increase in trade deficit between the USA and China from between 2001 and 2011.
Why We Should Bring Manufacturing Back
Although it used to benefit companies more to outsource their manufacturing, now, it’s swinging back to USA to bring back manufacturing. For one, the output of a US worker is 10 to 12 times that of a Chinese worker. This is in part to US investments in automation, manufacturing technology, education and other deciding factors.
Another reason to reshore back into the USA is time to market and storage. More customers expect delivery of product within a few days and offshore storage would require substantial increases in product storage. This is a problem, as more time in storage could lead to higher costs, product spoilage or even becoming obsolete compared to onshore product storage and distribution in the USA.
Robotics for Manufacturing Brings Back Jobs
As robotics becomes more accessible and cost less for manufacturers, they are one of the ways for more companies to bring their manufacturing back to the USA.
This is already evident in advances in manufacturing technology for consumer electronics, automobiles and even a higher demand for those skilled in robotics, all in the USA. From automated cars to robotics-skilled workers writing their own tickets, robotics for manufacturing is bringing back manufacturing jobs away from offshore and reshoring them here, in the USA.
To see how SMC Pneumatics USA, powered by Orange Coast Pneumatics, is helping companies retake their manufacturing operations in-house, visit us to look at our products and services. Also, please visit us at our Website, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Google+. We look forward to serving your pneumatics needs.