Will More U.S. Companies Turn to Nearshoring to Diversify Supply Chains in the Next Five Years?
Nearshoring will accelerate as companies respond to climate risks, economic uncertainty, and shifting trade policies. Tariffs and global disruptions are pushing businesses to reassess supply chains for greater resilience and efficiency. In today’s fast-moving environment, nearshoring strikes the right balance between speed, risk mitigation, and cost.
–Mita Gupta
Executive Vice President and Global Business Unit Head
WNS Procurement
Embracing diversification to reduce supply chain risks, lower costs, and improve resilience is a shift that companies cannot—and should not—overlook.
–Gerald Hofmann
President of Integrated Marine Logistics Division
Odyssey Logistics
Nearshoring is already underway and will likely continue in the near term, given mounting incentives to relocate supply chains to minimize vulnerabilities and boost resiliency. Companies are still responding to COVID aftereffects and logistical bottlenecks, and while preferential duty arrangements may make nearshoring attractive, U.S. tariff enforcement may shift that outlook.
–Colby Potter
Lead Analytical Content Manager
Sayari
We expect nearshoring to increase as companies work to diversify their supply chains, reduce risks, and improve resilience. Plus, with the underlying labor shortage in the United States, imported goods will grow. Advances in automation and robotics as well as commitments to reduce carbon footprints make it more feasible to shift manufacturing to Mexico from around the globe.
–Dave Kiesling
Vice President of Transportation Management
Kenco
Nearshoring will likely grow, especially among SMBs as they actively manage tariff-driven risks and uncertainties, which they are often less equipped to absorb compared to larger competitors. Our research shows nearly 75% of SMBs view tariffs from China as a significant threat to their business, which could fuel a shift toward more stable, resilient supply chains closer to home.
–Barry Kukkuk
CTO
Netstock
Tariffs Complicate the Picture
Tariffs can inspire nearshoring when there’s confidence in their permanency. But that’s not what’s happening. It’s hard to justify a 30-year multi-million-dollar factory investment when you don’t know how input costs will look next week, let alone a year or decade from now.
–John Lash
Group Vice President, Product Strategy
e2open
Tariffs were expected to accelerate the shift toward nearshoring and reshoring by adding an incentive. Instead, the imposition of tariffs on Canada and Mexico has introduced complexity and uncertainty. Some manufacturers are launching large reshoring efforts; others are taking a wait-and-see strategy.
–David Pate
Vice President
TBM Consulting
Tariffs will be increased in Mexico which will make nearshoring moot. Even though it is increasing rapidly especially if you look at Monterrey, Mexico, after time it will alter back to Asia.
–Mike Griffin
President
Razr Logistics
Nearshoring remains key, especially in supporting sustainability goals. However, offshoring and globally connected providers will continue to play a role in mitigating risks and adapting to policy shifts that could impact costs.
–Shanmugam Senthilnathan
Group Chief Executive Officer
EFL Global
While nearshoring can be part of the solution, the bigger priority is building a supply chain that’s nimble and diversified.
–Kapil Kalokhe
Vice President, Corporate Development & Strategy
ePost Global
More U.S. companies will reconsider where they manufacture their goods over the next five years. However, nearshoring may not necessarily be the answer for every company, as there are other countries that still have huge potential. India is a major example, and I would expect to see more U.S. companies shift their manufacturing from China to India over the next five years.
–Bryan Gerber
Founder and CEO
Hara Supply
The future of nearshoring depends on the political climate. U.S.-based manufacturing is expected to grow as seen in the pharma and oil sectors. A key challenge is companies’ reluctance to hold inventory for tax reasons, leading to long lead times and lower-quality goods. This issue must be addressed macroeconomically to boost U.S. manufacturing.
–Kyle Neathery
CEO
Samson Extracts
The buzz will continue but the challenge remains: Nearshoring is not simply picking up and moving a few assets, but requires a delicate balancing act between people, physical assets, and processes that are spread out globally. The actual degree of nearshoring will fall far short of the buzz.
–Guy Courtin
Vice President of Industry and Global Alliances
Tecsys
Reshoring Over Nearshoring
Amid escalating tariffs and uncertainty around the future of trade with Canada and Mexico, I expect a rise in reshoring in the United States rather than nearshoring in neighboring countries. We’ll likely see a gradual resurgence of industries previously abandoned in the United States, such as heavy equipment manufacturing, textiles, and shipbuilding. But it will take massive amounts of capital—and time—to build.
–Tom Perrone
SVP, Global Professional Services
project44
Short-term uncertainties from tariffs are making onshoring slightly more appealing. As for nearshoring, Mexico gained some traction recently with USMCA, though tariffs have the potential to negate the recent gains. If the tariff situation can be amicably resolved, nearshoring has strong potential.
–Madhav Durbha
Group Vice President, CPG & Manufacturing
RELEX Solutions
Reshoring will be the name of the game if the Trump 47 Administration achieves its goals. Bringing manufacturing back home will be essential as USMCA loses cost-effectiveness. Supplier diversity remains a valuable SCM response to geopolitics although even the threat of long-term tariffs on Canada and Mexico challenges the risk benefit of nearshoring strategies.
–Jonathan Todd
Vice Chair, Transportation & Logistics Practice Group
Benesch Friedlander Coplan & Aronoff LLP
When the first Trump administration implemented tariffs, it didn’t result in a U.S. manufacturing renaissance. It takes companies time to build new manufacturing facilities. There was a little bit of that but more looked at shifting sourcing strategies—where products were coming from and where they were going to—which may be the most likely outcome again, at least in the short term.
–Jackson Wood
Director of Industry Strategy, Global Trade Intelligence
Descartes Systems Group
The number of companies able to afford this is relatively small. It will take more than five years to build manufacturing capabilities able to equal today’s supply chain. Asia has dominated the world for nearly 60 years in manufacturing capabilities. We will see many companies fold or be absorbed due to rising costs and inability to nearshore their specialized products.
–Samuel Keller
Account Manager
TA Services
Nearshoring boosts resilience, speeds responsiveness, lowers costs, and helps to support ESG goals. Mexico is especially attractive, but choices depend on industry needs, workforce, and tariff uncertainty.
–Heidi Benko
VP Product Management and Strategy
Infor
The decision to nearshore involves capital investment that requires a stable business environment, which doesn’t exist today. That being said, if the cost arbitrage equation reverses, companies will solve that problem. Mexico was the beneficiary of that logic but serves as a cautionary tale of shifting political winds.
–Joe Adamski
Senior Director
ProcureAbility
U.S. companies will look to nearshoring as a long-term solution. Additive manufacturing will be an even bigger part of most nearshoring strategies as it offers more flexibility to produce parts locally, reduce transportation costs, bypass global shipping bottlenecks, and avoid import duties.
–Yoav Zeif
CEO
Stratasys
Companies will increasingly adopt diversification methods to mitigate supply chain risks amid growing geopolitical tensions. They may have no choice but to adapt as products from tariff-impacted suppliers become more expensive and less available. As a result, more organizations will realign their sourcing and distribution strategies and explore near or multi-shoring to keep operations running.
–Akhilesh Agarwal
COO
apexanalytix
With increasing tariffs for goods, geopolitical concerns, and rising data-privacy regulations, manufacturers are exposed to many sources of risk across the supply chain. While it pays to diversify suppliers to reduce risk, it’s also wise to partner with suppliers closer to home who share the same requirements, allowing for transparency, visibility, and control.
–Vick Vaishnavi
CEO
ETQ
With advancements in automation and technology, long-term labor costs are decreasing, making nearshoring a more viable option. Additionally, with rising discussions around tariffs, we may see companies accelerate nearshoring efforts sooner than expected.
–Jeff Goins
Director of Carrier Sales
Circle Logistics
I expect nearshoring to grow through foreign investment in U.S. manufacturing. But this won’t create an exclusively American workforce. Building new manufacturing operations requires significant time and specialized skills that often come from foreign talent. Success will require a mix of both foreign and domestic expertise.
–Shaz Khan
Co-founder and CEO
Vroozi
Current market sentiment in the United States and around the world is anxiety. Leaders are worried and expectant about geopolitical factors. The one thing we see as a constant is change and thus companies will continue to look into nearshoring as an effective strategy to hedge against volatility.
–Enrique Alvarez
Managing Director
Vector Global Logistics
Yes, however, distributors must carefully consider the quality and suitability of materials when making this decision. Depending on how the winds continue to blow, we may also see a pickup in onshoring. Another option to consider may be for distributors in a common market to collaborate to help meet the needs of their customers via buying groups and distributor associations.
–Dan Kamenstein
Sr. Principal Product Manager
Epicor
Nearshoring “awareness” is a required and healthy research investment of evaluating supply chain risk, not only during volatility, but as part of a core resilient strategy now and into the future. It has surged the last 5 years from COVID-19, geopolitical tensions and supply chain sourcing bottlenecks, so ample data and expertise exists to justify continued investment or research on viability.
–Stephen Dyke
Principal Solutions Consultant Manager
FourKites
Yes, nearshoring has been a growing focus for U.S. companies looking to diversify supply chains. However, fluctuating tariffs and trade policies have made long-term planning difficult. With so much volatility, companies must stay agile, as trade regulations and costs could change radically at any moment, impacting the viability of nearshoring options.
–Lilian Bories
CMO
TradeBeyond
More U.S. companies will adopt nearshoring strategies in the next five years as it reduces lead times and transportation costs, making supply chains more agile, resilient, diverse, and strong. The key drivers for this strategy include the need to pivot around geopolitical tensions and trade policies, economic incentives, and the emergence of technological advancements that make it more feasible.
–Ann Marie Jonkman
Vice President, Industry Strategies
Blue Yonder
Yes, however, nearshoring isn’t the only strategy. U.S. companies must look at regionalization and rightshoring for resilient, adaptive supply chains. Instead of relocating everything, companies should manufacture closer to key markets for efficiency, risk reduction, and agility. Leveraging Free Trade Zones, automation, and geopolitical foresight, businesses stay competitive amid global disruptions.
–Todd Bauman
Senior Supply Chain Director
Ascential Medical & Life Sciences
It’s hard to make a definitive prediction as the automotive industry is undergoing so many rapid changes. If trends continue as they do now, I could see more U.S. companies bringing some of their operations closer to home in an effort to reduce costs and stabilize their supply chains.
–Mike Trudeau
Executive Vice President of Business Development
Montway Auto Transport
Nearshoring highlights macro supply/demand signals. Disasters like tariffs or global conflict push suppliers to increase output, leading competitors to act quickly. When these events happen, budgets collapse as costs become uncontrollable. The challenge is whether we can replicate manufacturing and sourcing closer to the United States while staying within budget, depending on supply procurement.
–Joe Hudicka
Supply chain expert and author
The Clarity Team
Yes, more U.S. companies are likely to turn to nearshoring in the next five years due to ongoing U.S.- China tensions, tariff pressures, and advancements in automation. Nearshoring balances cost savings with agility, reduces carbon footprints, and aligns with evolving trade dynamics, making it an increasingly attractive option.
–Shannon Hynds
CEO
Quickcode
Nearshoring’s growth is more than policy – it’s driven by automation advancement, consumer needs, and needs for cost and emissions efficiency. I expect U.S. trade growth will come from SE Asia, too. Vietnam, Singapore, Thailand, and Malaysia represent fast-growing trade partners among ASEAN. Two-way U.S. trade with ASEAN is growing rapidly, but it was less than 60% of U.S.-Mexico trade in 2024.
–Matt Muenster
Chief Economist
Breakthrough
Any near-term shift in nearshoring will be more a matter of cost and risk tolerance than cost competition and risk mitigation from diversification. Despite the efficiency of today’s global logistics ecosystem, other factors may cause companies to limit supplier selection or production facilities based on location which could then increase cost or introduce risk from a new or smaller base.
–Doug DeLuca
Product Marketing Manager
SAP Business Network
Yes, nearshoring is likely to keep growing regardless of tariff changes. The U.S.-China break will persist past this administration. Mexico is well-positioned if they can work out a deal… If not we could see more trade with South America instead. But costs still drive decisions; if port operations remain expensive relative to fuel, Asia (and Northern Mexico) still have the edge.
–Nick Rakovsky
CEO
DataDocks
Nearshoring will continue in the next five years, but the real question is: what can you nearshore, and what doesn’t make sense? Manufacturing in the U.S. is more expensive than in many current locations, so it’s not as simple as moving everything back. Companies can’t afford it. The key will be finding the right areas where nearshoring works and tightening operations.
–Ben Hussey
Co-CEO
Katana Cloud Inventory
With the rapid onslaught of tariffs now reaching global trade war levels, companies are seeking ways to insulate themselves from potentially wild and unpredictable price swings on critical materials. This means speeding up the trend towards nearshoring to strengthen network resiliency plus making additional investment in technology and processes to enable more flexible and transparent networks.
–Jennifer Chew
VP of Solutions and Consulting, Bristlecone
I think companies will continue to leverage nearshoring to diversify and build robustness into the supply chain. It will add complexity to the supply chain that will require new processes to support. Balancing the complexity will be a reduction in both risk and cost. The risk reduction will come from resilience against changing tariffs and other global dynamics that present unknown challenges.
–Walter “Mitch” Mitchell
CEO
Tai Software
Nearshoring is no longer just about labor costs. When considering their strategy, companies must factor in where components come from and what logistics costs and lead times are involved. To unlock the lead-time advantage, it’s also critical to have procurement and planning capabilities in place. Without these, companies risk cost increases and they won’t be able to optimize leadtime flexibility.
–Kenneth Cochran
Managing Director, Consumer and Retail Group
Alvarez & Marsal
Based on what’s going on with the US trade policy, companies have no choice but to diversify their sourcing strategy. That may not necessarily mean more nearshoring because there are options in all over the world. One things is for sure things will remain fluid for the foreseeable future. As AI matures, technology can can adapt quickly, which will help importers stay agile and responsive.
–Greg Kefer
CMO
Raft
Nearshoring will continue to rise as companies seek supply chain resilience and faster delivery. However, long-term survival may depend on a hybrid approach—leveraging nearshoring for agility while maintaining offshoring for cost efficiency and scale. Factors like skilled labor availability, trade & tariff policies, and geopolitical shifts will drive companies to strike the right balance.
–Rahul Agarwal
Senior Manager Product Management
Epicor
Rising labor costs in Asia, protectionist policies, tariffs and counter-tariffs will push US firms to shift production closer to home. Investments in nearshoring will grow as companies try to diversify and risk-proof their supply chain, initially focusing on creating the infrastructure and network to respond to demand. In an interconnected global supply chain, this will not happen overnight.
–Georg Roesch
VP Direct Procurement Strategy
JAGGAER
Nearshoring is rising as companies prioritize resilience, sustainability, and shorter lead times. Rising labor costs in Asia, geopolitical risks, and the demand for just-in-time logistics drive this shift. However, companies will use strategic segmentation to shift only the right products based on cost, value, and demand. Smarter tech—real-time analytics, automation, and AI—will be key to success.
–Prashant Prasannan
Senior Director – Business Development
Trigent Software
The industry as a whole likely anticipates increased nearshoring, especially with the new administration’s focus on U.S.-based operations. Beyond that, advances in AI and robotics will lower costs, making domestic manufacturing more viable. Concerns over tariffs, policy volatility, and the need for faster response times further drive the shift toward regionalized, resilient supply chains.
–Amy Dean
Vice President of Operations
SC Codeworks
I think it is inevitable, especially with the current administration. Nearshoring is something that nearly every U.S. company will need to figure out a strategy around. Companies need to look holistically at their supply chain to ensure they don’t have any choke points. Make strategic bets about where to shift operations to support a diversified strategy that is able to swiftly meet demand.
–Marc Gyongyosi
CEO
OneTrack.AI
Nearshoring won’t fully replace global supply chains but will play a growing role in diversified strategies. By moving production closer, businesses can gain better control, mitigate disruptions, and improve responsiveness.
–Rodney Manzo
CEO
Anvyl
More U.S. companies will turn to nearshoring over the next five years as they diversify supply chains to avoid tariffs and mitigate risks like geopolitical tensions and shipping disruptions. However, I anticipate a gradual shift rather than a seismic change. Nearshoring offers advantages in resilience, cost control, and lead times, but global sourcing will remain essential for many industries.
–Ed Rusch
Chief Marketing Officer
Magaya
Nearshoring is poised for growth as businesses seek resilient, diverse supply chains. While offshoring won’t disappear, nearshoring mitigates disruptions, lowers transportation costs, and aligns with faster delivery demands. By leveraging regional partnership and sustainability practices, nearshoring fosters agility in a dynamic global market.
–Dan Spitale
VP
UPS Capital
Yes. Nearshoring addresses key challenges by: reducing risks in global supply chains, shortening delivery times, enhancing agility to adapt to consumer changes, balancing cost savings with lower shipping/inventory expenses, improving collaboration with suppliers, supporting sustainability goals by cutting the carbon footprint, and finally aligning with national security interests.
–Jason Raper
Board of Advisors
Logic Pallet
Yes, more U.S. companies are likely to embrace nearshoring in the next five years. Rising geopolitical tensions, supply chain disruptions, and the push for faster delivery times are driving this trend. Nearshoring offers closer proximity to U.S. markets, reducing transit times and costs while improving supply chain resilience. Additionally, advancements in automation and technology are making near.
–Nick Osbern
President
Shipstore