http://www.pantagraph.com/business/u-s-factory-output-rises-just-pct-in-september/article_87737eaa-3ff3-11e3-90e9-001a4bcf887a.html

A new trend has sprouted in the business world: moving manufacturing facilities from China to the US. China used to be a very attractive location for inexpensive manufacturing, however the high logistics costs and a timely process has made for “massive amounts of inventory”, adding risk to companies’ financial stances. Global companies are now moving manufacturing back to the United States for US consumption and export. But is this going to negatively affect the global market in the long run? Will the positive impacts on the US outweigh the negative ones on China?

Having just learned about the risk of acquiring too much inventory, I think this shift is extremely beneficial to these large companies. Companies such as Wal-Mart, General Electric, and Toyota have shifted to US based manufacturing as their largest market is the US. This means they can easily flip inventory as well as keep up to date with technological advances, trends, and “seasonal goods”. Even Toyota, a Japanese company, has “doubled exports of US made cars” in the last year. Because of the US income gap, there is a huge market for low paid labour. This switch in supply bases will provide economic opportunity for US citizens and is more practical for US consumption.

Sources: https://globalconnections.hsbc.com/canada/en/articles/why-are-global-retailers-rushing-secure-us-supply-bases