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Houston’s reshoring opportunity: What the data says

It was apparent several years ago that American companies manufacturing offshore would face hard choices relating to operations in China and other outposts. It's therefore no surprise that Reshoring Initiative’s (RI) recent surveys demonstrate steady plans to bring more manufacturing jobs onshore, and more, that government incentives put in place by the Biden administration accelerated the plans of many U.S. OEMs.

Trump II tariffs were widely speculated to add more fuel to the “reshoring” fire – but RI’s most recent 2025 survey of OEMs and Contract Manufacturers indicate that tariffs have cut both ways: manufacturers are less sure about budgets and forecasts, and as a result, some OEMs are deciding to wait for more operational predictability, let alone search for new domestic suppliers.

That said, there will be no slowing down of the desire to cite more manufacturing work in the U.S., and for cities like Houston that boast a deep and capable industrial base, opportunity beckons. 

For starters, RI asked OEMs “On what basis are you comparing offshore vs. domestic options?” Landed-cost is the most-sited metric – by 37% of respondents.

Yet RI also found that ‘‘43% of OEMs value fast delivery and would be willing to pay 10% to 20% more for components if they could be delivered within a 1-week lead time versus a 6-week lead time." Meaning speed-to-market may be a U.S.-based contract manufacturer’s most valuable asset in landing new, reshored work.

I’ve summarized the two major Reshoring Initiative studies, and what they mean to Houston manufacturers, here:

The lesson for Houston manufacturing is clear: local and national OEMs are on the lookout for qualified, domestic business partners. It's our mission to shine a light on Houston companies as options, wherever we can.

Bart Taylor is executive director of the Greater Houston Manufacturing Association and publisher of GHMA Update. Contact him at [email protected].