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Reshoring at IMTS 2012
Oct 11, 2012
-Harry Moser
President, Reshoring Initiative
IMTS 2012 was the right place and the right time to maintain the momentum of bringing manufacturing back to the United States and North America. AMT provided the opportunity via the Manufacturing Stage. Leading exhibitors showed their support and attendees reported their reshoring successes. The media followed up to explore in detail. We also offered free Manufacturing is Cool T-shirts to the first 50 people who submitted their reshoring cases to share, and the offer is still good.
On the morning of Sept. 10, Acting Commerce Secretary Rebecca Blank spoke on the Manufacturing Stage to the crowds waiting for the opening of the North and South Halls. Joined by AMT President Doug Woods, Local Motors Co-Founder and CEO Jay Rogers, and Wolfgang Pech of Deutsche Messe, Dr. Blank mentioned manufacturing’s comeback in the United States. I spoke on the stage on Tuesday, Thursday and Friday, introduced by leaders from AMT, Mazak, and United Grinding. I felt like a circus barker fighting to get the attention of the crowd talking, surging past or headed for Starbucks. Good crowds gathered there and more watched on the monitors throughout the show floor.
I described the progress of reshoring: 50,000 manufacturing jobs reshored in the last 2 ½ years, 10% of manufacturing job growth since the low in January 2010. I emphasized the importance of companies basing sourcing decisions on Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) instead of purchase price or labor rates: 25% of what has been offshored is projected to come back if companies used TCO. Each day listeners said they had taken part in reshoring practices.
I also made appearances in the Sescoi, Gardner Publications, GF AgieCharmilles and SME booths to speak to their attendees about reshoring. Numerous magazines and newspapers provided interviews about the practice. Quality magazine videotaped a TCO tutorial, which soon will enrich the Reshoring Initiative web site at www.reshorenow.org. Two Wall Street Journal reporters showed strong interest. I took one of them to three exhibitor booths to discuss trends in manufacturing and reshoring.
Many attendees expressed their appreciation for the Initiative’s efforts to bring manufacturing back. I appreciate their thoughts but, more so, need their actions: use TCO for sourcing decisions and for selling, and report your reshoring cases at http://www.reshorenow.org/resources/cases/.
IMTS 2012 showed that manufacturing is strong in the United States. With reshoring, it will continue to get stronger.