December 2025

December 2025 Reshoring Initiative E-News: Reshoring Has a Voice in Congress

House Small Business Committee Hearing on Domestic Manufacturing

Earlier this month, Harry Moser testified before the House Small Business Committee at its Hearing on Domestic Manufacturing, emphasizing the need to strengthen U.S. competitiveness to accelerate reshoring. During the hearing, Harry identified high manufacturing costs, high healthcare costs, and shortages of skilled workers as the biggest barriers to domestic manufacturing growth.

Harry Moser with Chairman Roger Williams and testifying to the Committee, November 20th, 2025.

Harry and three other industry experts laid out a series of actionable recommendations—including not tariffing imports of capital equipment, reducing steel and aluminum tariffs and strengthening workforce development—to support continued reshoring momentum. As expected, the Republican Representatives generally supported, and the Democrats opposed the tariffs and the OBBB. The Reshoring Initiative urges Pres. Trump to firm up and make “permanent” reasonable tariffs so that companies can invest based on the tariffs.

Click on the image below to watch the full hearing. (It begins at minute 23.)

Read Harry’s Congressional Testimony (PDF).

Skilled Workforce

Skilled workforce recruitment and training have been a U.S. weakness for generations. The reshoring naysayers suggest that the problem cannot be overcome. The news below is evidence that the U.S. is starting to turn this weakness into a strength.

College Grads Face One of the Toughest Job Markets in a Decade

“Even as the U.S. economy adds jobs, there are fewer entry-level positions for college graduates just entering the labor market. ‘For the first time in modern history, a bachelor’s degree is no longer a reliable path to professional employment,’ Gad Levanon, chief economist at the Burning Glass Institute, told CNBC.”

The End of the Free College Lunch

“A report last week by the Bureau of Labor Statistics found the unemployment rate for recent associate degree (e.g., community college and vocational school) recipients in their 20s was 2.1% compared to 15.3% for recent four-year college grads and 8.4% for advanced degree recipients.”

The proposal has several features we have proposed for years: Limiting student loans, toughening up on repayments, allowing Pell grants for workforce training and making colleges accountable for a portion of student loan defaults. We suggest going further and making the loans contingent on a reasonable expectation that the student will repay the loan and to focus loans on areas of labor shortages, such as skilled manufacturing and engineering. -HM

Apple Manufacturing Academy to Provide Free Training for Manufacturers

"DETROIT—Michigan State University (MSU) today announced the opening of the Apple Manufacturing Academy. The academy will provide free training and consulting for small- and medium-sized manufacturers nationwide.”

We would like to offer Apple the use of our TCO Estimator to help manufacturers see the advantages of domestic production more readily. If you have a connection at Apple, please introduce me: Harry.moser@reshorenow.org. -HM

Labor Takes Control of Education Department Job Training Funds

Good news - Skills and Trades training is now under the Department of Labor, not the Department of Education. “The U.S. Labor Department will take over workforce development programs from the Department of Education, putting into action President Donald Trump’s plan to consolidate all federal training grants into a single ‘Make America Skilled Again’ program.”

In the past, the DOL has promoted “a university degree for everyone.” We advocate for a shift to “a good career for everyone.”

The New Frontier of Excellence: Why Manufacturing Must Rethink Its People Strategy

As manufacturing undergoes rapid transformation through automation and AI, the next major frontier is not just improving machines — it’s investing deeply in people. With a shifting workforce and widening skills gap, aligning human-centric leadership with operational excellence is now essential for long-term success.

Why Schools Are Adding to Their CTE Offerings, and What Could Slow Them Down

Educators indicate an increase in career and technical education (CTE) offerings in their districts, “driven in large part by growing student demand.” According to an EdWeek Research Center survey of teachers, principals, and district leaders, six in 10 educators “report that their districts’ CTE offerings have grown in the past five years, compared with fewer than 1 in 10 who say their districts’ offerings have decreased.” Challenges such as “staffing shortages and a lack of facilities and equipment” hinder further expansion. The survey highlights that rising student interest, district leadership support, and partnerships with industry are key factors for this growth.

Healthcare

For decades U.S. healthcare costs have been 50 to 100% higher than other developed countries. Now our healthcare costs/worker exceed the total cost of a worker in countries such as China. Employers include healthcare in their burden rate and thus in manufacturing costs. Conclusion: Much of the U.S. manufacturing cost disadvantage vs. developed countries is our excessive healthcare costs. In the interest of a strong economy, it is time to reduce medical costs dramatically.

The Return of American Manufacturing Demands a Chief Health & Benefits Officer (CHBO) to Fix Benefits Procurement

As U.S. manufacturing resurges, soaring healthcare costs drain budgets, weaken competitiveness, and complicate workforce retention. Is a more strategic approach to benefits procurement the answer?

Health Care Costs: One of the Biggest Obstacles to Reshoring American Industry

High U.S. healthcare costs are emerging as an overlooked barrier to bringing manufacturing jobs back, complicating efforts to rebuild domestic industry.

Why U.S Manufacturing Companies Are Relocating Overseas

Health care premiums have become such a massive expense that they’re undermining the economic case for domestic manufacturing, making it cheaper to keep production overseas even when other factors favor American operations.

China and Tariffs

The introduction of Trump’s tariff program was rough and unpredictable. The media and academic responses were extremely negative, driving down consumer and business sentiment. Actual results are better than most forecasts. Reshoring Initiative Q3 data (available Dec 10th) indicate that the 2025 total for reshoring and FDI jobs will be down only about 10% from 2024, despite the rough start, It is time for companies to minimize tariff impact now, ride patiently through the inevitable pain and proceed with reshoring production and sourcing.

From Penalty to Playbook: Making Tariffs Work for You

Tariffs, often seen as a source of uncertainty and increased costs, can drive significant supply chain innovation, writes Jeffrey Haushalter of Chicago Consulting. Haushalter highlights that tariffs force companies to develop domestic suppliers, diversify geographically and negotiate better with existing suppliers. They also promote total cost thinking and compliance, turning a potential disadvantage into a strategic advantage.

We Should Pay More Attention to Chinese Hardware in Devices

As the U.S.–China tech cold war escalates, IoT devices—mostly made in China—face rising scrutiny over security risks, espionage potential, and hidden backdoors. Experts urge urgent regulation, domestic chip investment, and smarter sourcing to safeguard critical infrastructure.

Tariff Turmoil Leaves US Factories Paying More for Metal Than Overseas Rivals

A wave of tariffs is driving U.S. factory input costs for aluminum, steel and copper far above global rivals, eroding competitive advantage and business confidence. American manufacturers are now absorbing higher raw-material prices even before production begins.

As of October 2025, U.S. steel price was 75% higher than China’s and 49% higher than Europe’s. We advocate for President Trump to tell the steel industry he will remove the tariffs if the U.S. price does not get at least to the European level. Get the price low enough to squeeze the imports out of the market. The industry should use the tariffs to allow it to gain market share and increase capacity, not primarily make higher margins at the same production level. A related discussion can be found in AMT Online: The Steel Tariff Paradox: The Conflicting Impact On Producers, Manufacturers and Consumers. -HM

Rodon Group in Hatfield Sees Major Gains from Trump Tariffs

Thanks to Trump's tariffs, The Rodon Group in Hatfield — a plastic toy and parts maker — has seen demand surge, with CEO Michael Araten reporting a nearly 50% increase in business.

Duty vs Tariff: What's the Difference?

Explore the key differences between duties and tariffs, how each impacts the cost of imported goods, and practical tips for businesses navigating international trade.

Hats Off to Rajan Suri!

Our recent Reshoring Survey showed that 40% of OEMs would pay 10 to 20% more for 1 week instead of 6-week deliveries. (OEM Fig 4). I have always believed that one of the best tools to achieve such faster delivery is Quick Response Manufacturing (QRM). Fortunately, my good friend, Rajan Suri, the developer of QRM, has recently written a new article titled "Leveraging Strategic Demand Variability: The Role of Lead-Time Measurement." The article explains that demand variability can be a source of both competitive advantage and profit when it comes from meeting specific customer needs that are only defined soon before the customer expects delivery. Thus, domestic suppliers that specialize in providing high-mix, low-volume, and/or customized products made to order with short lead times have a built-in advantage over low-cost but distant suppliers that need weeks -- or even months -- to get their products manufactured and shipped to the USA. 

In addition to the lead time advantage, implementing QRM at hundreds of companies has shown a second important benefit: by making products domestically and implementing QRM to slash lead times by as much as 80%, companies have reduced their indirect costs by 20% or more. This enables them to offer price reductions that can make the TCO for domestically sourced products more attractive to customers. Suri therefore recommends that companies looking to reshore production should look for segments in their markets with high demand variability, which he terms "strategic variability". As documented in the article, Suri's work with many companies over the years has demonstrated that leveraging this strategic variability not only helps bring production back on shore but also leads to increases in both market share and profitability. Suri's book "It's About Time" provides an excellent overview of QRM strategy. – HM

Select Media

Articles:

Forbes: The Potholes On The Road To American Reindustrialization

Iconnect007: Survey says: Reshoring is a Total Cost of Ownership Equation

Yahoo Finance: GE Appliances Honored With Reshoring Award for Leadership and Investment in U.S. Manufacturing

Videos and podcasts:

Advanced Manufacturing: Reshoring Can Be a Game Changer for OEMs, Survey Finds

Forged in Focus: Bringing it back home: Harry Moser on reshoring, risk and rebuilding U.S. industry

Springs Manufacturing Institute Podcast: Winning at Leadership and Reshoring

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Visit ReshoreNow.org for the latest news and upcoming events.

As always, thanks to all our readers, our sponsors and the companies who use our Total Cost of Ownership Estimator® (TCOE) to reshore.

Sincerely,

Harry Moser, Founder

Millar Kelley, Editor and Research Analyst

Christy De Voy, Co-editor and Research Assistant

The Reshoring Initiative

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Why Reshore
Reshoring is an efficient way to increase corporate profits, reduce imports and regain manufacturing jobs in the United States. It's also the fastest and most efficient way to strengthen the U.S. economy.