Reshoring supply chains: an evidence check
Announcements of supply-chain reshoring have multiplied since 2021. Customs and investment data suggest the shift is real but considerably smaller than the announcements imply.
Corporate announcements of supply-chain reshoring or "friend-shoring" have been frequent since 2021, often framed as a decisive break from decades of offshoring. Tracking data on greenfield investment and customs records tell a narrower story.
Manufacturing investment announcements tied to reshoring have risen in a handful of sectors — semiconductors, batteries and some medical supplies — but aggregate import shares from the most-cited "risk" markets have moved only a few percentage points across the comparison period.
The gap between announcement volume and realised investment is not unusual; many announced projects are delayed, scaled back or quietly shelved. Readers assessing supply-chain risk are better served by customs and investment-tracking data than by counting press releases.