Reshoring is on an upward trend, but headwinds persist for manufacturers looking to bring operations closer to home.
The 2026 Reshoring Survey Report, compiled and distributed by the Reshoring Initiative and Regions Recruiting, surveyed 249 American respondents—118 original equipment manufacturers (OEMs), or companies that both design and manufacture their own products, and 131 contract manufacturers (CMs).
Of the OEMs surveyed, 36 percent said they had reshored or were actively executing additional reshoring, compared to 29 percent who said the same in 2025. Meanwhile, the share of CMs that are currently quoting reshoring projects doubled year over year from 16 percent to 32 percent.
It’s not all roses for reshorers, though. In fact, the number of OEMs that reported being satisfied with their reshoring results dropped precipitously in 2026 to 65 percent, down from 96 percent in 2025.
Asked about their firm’s primary hurdle in managing the current trade landscape, the vast majority (57 percent) said policy uncertainty, like tariffs changing with little notice, as their foremost challenge. This was followed distantly (15 percent) by challenges with market pricing strategy, or trouble passing along the cost of the tariffs to consumers.
Respondents also pointed to a difficulty finding skilled tradespeople, like technicians and maintenance or repair specialists, as their most acute hiring concern, highlighting persistent issues with the pipeline of skilled workers to fill new roles in U.S. manufacturing.
A number also cited cost as a factor inhibiting their ability to reshore operations. Asked how much of a U.S. manufacturing cost reduction would be needed to reshore 30 percent of the country’s current imports under the current tariff regime, a 21 percent to 51 percent reduction was the most commonly cited threshold.
Respondents also revealed the importance of close trade relationships and free-trade agreements, especially with neighbors and collaborators.
About half of manufacturers surveyed said they would change sourcing or delay investment in reshoring if a long-term renewal of the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement fails, and 8 percent said they would shift sourcing away from North America entirely. “Manufacturers can plan around a known cost; they cannot plan around a moving target,” analysts wrote.
These attitudes in some ways mirror those of American consumers surveyed in a new Ipsos poll conducted between Aug.28-30 pertaining to the U.S.-Canada trade dispute.
Of the 1,023 U.S. adults surveyed, 57 percent oppose placing additional tariffs on Canada in the tit-for-tat escalation that has taken place over the past month. More than three-fifths (68 percent) said the U.S. government should be willing to make tradeoffs with Canada in pursuit of a healthier relationship, and 46 percent believe the responsibility lies with the U.S. rather than its neighbor to the north.
Consumers also have a dim financial outlook when it comes to tariffs on both U.S. and Canadian goods, with 40 percent saying they believe the duties will have a negative impact on their finances.
