{"id":8287,"date":"2026-08-25T14:28:17","date_gmt":"2026-08-25T13:28:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/newtonimpact.com\/?post_type=content_library&p=8287"},"modified":"2026-08-25T14:59:59","modified_gmt":"2026-08-25T13:59:59","slug":"made-in-america-what-apple-and-laundry-detergent-reveal-about-shoring-decisions","status":"publish","type":"content_library","link":"https:\/\/newtonimpact.com\/en-us\/content-library\/blog\/made-in-america-what-apple-and-laundry-detergent-reveal-about-shoring-decisions\/","title":{"rendered":"Made in America? What Apple and\u00a0laundry\u00a0detergent\u00a0reveal about shoring\u00a0decisions\u00a0\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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\n Take Me Back<\/a>\n\n

Made in America? What Apple and\u00a0laundry\u00a0detergent\u00a0reveal about shoring\u00a0decisions\u00a0\u00a0<\/h1>\n

By Jiri Pluhar<\/p>\n\n

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Director <\/p>\n <\/span>\n \n

Blog<\/p>\n <\/span>\n \n

6 min<\/p>\n <\/span>\n \n

25th August 2026<\/p>\n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/section>\n\n \n\n\n

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Many\u00a0US business leaders are\u00a0questioning their\u00a0shoring\u00a0strategy \u2013\u00a0a\u00a0direct\u00a0and pressing\u00a0response\u00a0to supply chain complexity caused by non-stop economic, political and consumer changes.\u00a0\u00a0<\/h2>\n <\/hgroup>\n \n
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Jiri Pluhar,\u00a0Director in\u00a0Newton\u2019s\u00a0US\u00a0consumer goods and retail\u00a0practice,\u00a0explores\u00a0the\u00a0questions\u00a0to\u00a0consider when\u00a0evaluating whether moving manufacturing could\u00a0bring stability,\u00a0increase resilience and\u00a0boost\u00a0customer satisfaction.\u00a0\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

For years, manufacturing leaders have questioned offshoring<\/span>. They<\/span>\u00a0talk of the potential retreat of globalization<\/span>\u00a0and<\/span>\u00a0of the long-term sustainability of<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>hundreds of\u00a0<\/span>millions\u00a0<\/span>of<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>containers being shipped around the globe<\/span>\u00a0each yea<\/span>r (1)<\/span><\/span>.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>C<\/span>onversations spiked around Covid\u00a0<\/span>with<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>memories still loom<\/span>ing<\/span>\u00a0of empty shelves followed by overflowing stock rooms when course correcting. Some companies started to adapt, bringing manufacturing closer to home.\u00a0<\/span>But at the time,\u00a0<\/span>the disruption caused by the pandemic\u00a0<\/span>seemed like a one-off, an outlier event.<\/span>\u00a0The impetus was not there; momentum stalled.\u00a0<\/span>Global OECD data s<\/span>hows\u00a0<\/span>that between 2023-2024 there was a slower pace of <\/span>deglobalization<\/span>\u00a0and reshoring than<\/span>\u00a0in<\/span> 2020-2022 (2).<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

No<\/span>w we know that the pandemic was the start of shocks and volatility that are going nowhere<\/span>,<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>are<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>reshoring and\u00a0<\/span>nearshoring\u00a0<\/span>rising as<\/span>\u00a0resilience-building strateg<\/span>ies<\/span>?<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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Certainly, offshoring has lost some of its shine<\/h2>\n <\/hgroup>\n \n
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  1. Costs:\u00a0<\/span><\/b>Logistics (and all the people managing those) are costly, especially when complexity kicks in and forecasts go out. It\u2019s not unheard of in those moments for brands to resort to air freighting items over to the US to meet sales and protect credibility in the market. Costing five to 15 times as much as ocean freight, it is a move that can blow a local factory out of the water in terms of costs (3).<\/span><\/li>\n
  2. Agility\u00a0and resilience:\u00a0<\/span><\/b>In every category, when shocks hit, reacting fast is essential. Another\u00a0concern\u00a0is the inevitable slowdown in innovation as product changes take\u00a0weeks,\u00a0if not\u00a0months,\u00a0longer to implement.\u00a0Keeping pace in the world of\u00a0consumer packaged\u00a0goods,\u00a0for instance,\u00a0this delay\u00a0can be\u00a0the difference between success and failure.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n
  3. Consumers:\u00a0<\/span><\/b>Another pressure to factor into decisions is that the political landscape is piquing consumer interest in where items are manufactured, particularly in certain retail categories. 64% say it’s important groceries and food products are American made \u2013 higher than for cars, clothes, tech, furniture or alcohol (4).<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/section>\n\n \n\n\n
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    Time for an offshore switch off? <\/h2>\n <\/hgroup>\n \n
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    Does this result in businesses moving away from offshoring? Apple is a much-discussed example, shifting production for US-bound products from China to India and Vietnam (<\/span>5)<\/span>, encouraging suppliers to friendshore (<\/span>6)<\/span> and expanding factory operations in the US (<\/span>7)<\/span>.\u00a0The tech giant is far from alone\u00a0in revealing such a drive, with Walmart pledging to spend hundreds of\u00a0billions of dollars\u00a0over\u00a0a\u00a0decade\u00a0on supplies produced,\u00a0grown\u00a0or assembled in the US<\/span>8<\/span> and Nike moving some manufacturing away from China (<\/span>9)<\/span>.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

    While there are high profile examples of shifts in shoring strategy due to the cost impact of tariffs and for marketing differentiation, leaders are asking themselves whether it is time to move manufacturing. However, so far, the data does not confirm a broad reshoring boom. In fact, import dependence rose in 2025 (<\/span>10)<\/span> and manufacturing employment in the US remains consistent month-on-month (<\/span>11)<\/span>.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

    Admittedly, it\u00a0will take time for the data to show a change:\u00a0adapting\u00a0supply changes rarely\u00a0happens\u00a0overnight.\u00a0It may well be that data over the next few years starts to show\u00a0something of a\u00a0shift away from\u00a0offshoring\u00a0but\u00a0it is unlikely to be a dramatic\u00a0<\/span>inflow at the macro level.<\/span>\u00a0The reason for this\u00a0is that\u00a0there is no industry-wide\u00a0easy-adoption\u00a0answer\u00a0to making these complex decisions.\u00a0As the\u00a0brand\u00a0examples above suggest,\u00a0the best\u00a0strategies\u00a0are\u00a0bespoke\u00a0at category,\u00a0product\u00a0and SKU level,\u00a0combining\u00a0offshoring,\u00a0nearshoring\u00a0and reshoring to suit consumers\u00a0and\u00a0markets.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/section>\n\n \n\n\n

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    Moving ahead <\/h2>\n <\/hgroup>\n\n
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    The challenge for those who want to be at the forefront is\u00a0<\/span>how to match each opportunity to the demands of a given product category<\/span>\u00a0when all the\u00a0<\/span>considerations are interlinked<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>and complex<\/span>. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

    Answering these questions is the diagnosis. Acting on the answer, at scale, across a supply chain, is the harder part<\/span>\u00a0\u2013 and where most shoring strategies<\/span>\u00a0lose momentum<\/span>.<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n <\/div>\n\n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/section>\n\n \n\n\n

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    These are complex questions to answer without data and in-depth supply chain and consumer understanding. <\/h2>\n <\/hgroup>\n \n
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    Cost<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n