U.S. CONTRACT MANUFACTURING EXPECTED TO GROW OVER THE NEXT YEAR
Offshoring may be losing popularity as OEMs see need for more hands-on access/vendor visits through local sourcing of custom parts and services.
Posted: July 15, 2010
Business in the United States contract manufacturing industry is expected to increase in the next twelve months, according to a just-concluded Design-2-Part (D2P) (Prospect, CT) Show survey. The survey polled recent D2P attendees on their needs for outsourcing custom parts and services over the next year.
The results from just over 2,000 responders indicate that nearly three times as many OEMs expect an increase in outsourcing/purchasing projects as those who expect a decrease, outnumbering them by a ratio of 2.8 to 1. Just over thirty-one percent (31.1 percent) said that they expect an increase, while only 11.1 percent anticipated a decrease and 57.8 percent conveyed that their outsourcing projects would remain the same. The Santa Clara, CA, region showed the highest percentage of respondents expecting an increase, at 40 percent, versus 4.4 percent expecting less outsourcing.
The survey also revealed that offshoring may not be as popular as it once was. When asked where they currently outsource the majority of their projects, only 9.8 percent of respondents said ?overseas.? Outsourcing locally was the leading choice at 32 percent, followed by regionally and nationally with 29.2 percent and 29 percent, respectively. And the leading reason why they use local vendors was ?hands-on access/vendor visits,? which outpolled ?delivery time/cost? and ?support the local economy."
The survey polled manufacturing engineers and purchasing personnel who attended one of 12 national D2P Shows that took place in major manufacturing hubs across the U.S. in the last year.
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