Reshoring Plastic Injection Molding to the United States

Understand the costs, risks, and planning considerations involved in moving injection molding production back to the U.S.

What Is Reshoring?

Reshoring, also known as onshoring, is the process of moving some or all manufacturing operations from overseas locations back to the United States.

Changes in transportation costs, labor costs, tariffs, intellectual property concerns, supply-chain reliability, and other economic factors have led manufacturers to reconsider where their products are produced.

Why Manufacturers Consider Reshoring

Reshoring can offer advantages that extend well beyond the quoted piece price.

Lower Transportation Exposure: Reduce the cost and uncertainty associated with international freight and long-distance supply chains.

Shorter Supply Chains: Bring production closer to your operations to reduce inventory requirements and improve responsiveness.

Greater Supply-Chain Control: Reduce exposure to international disruptions, government actions, and other events outside your control.

Improved Communication: Working with a domestic supplier can simplify communication, engineering changes, quality reviews, and production planning.

Intellectual Property Protection: Domestic manufacturing can reduce some of the risks associated with transferring proprietary designs and production information overseas.

Quality Management: Shorter distances and easier communication can make quality issues faster to identify, contain, and resolve.

Changing Global Costs: Rising labor costs, freight expenses, tariffs, and other factors can change the economics of offshore manufacturing.

Made in the USA: Domestic production can support U.S. manufacturing while providing a valuable product and brand distinction.

Compare the Total Cost of Ownership

The lowest quoted unit price does not always represent the lowest overall manufacturing cost. The Reshoring Initiative provides a free Total Cost of Ownership Estimator that accounts for numerous cost and risk factors associated with manufacturing location.

Planning a Successful Injection Molding Reshoring Project

Moving existing molds and production requires more than selecting a new supplier. Careful preparation helps prevent production interruptions, unexpected costs, and tooling problems.

Engineering Documentation

Before transferring production, make sure you have access to the information necessary to reproduce and support the existing process, including:

3D engineering files
2D drawings and specifications
Tooling specifications
Production records
Process parameters
Quality documentation

Tooling Evaluation

Existing tooling should be evaluated before transfer to determine its condition and whether modifications or repairs will be required.

The receiving supplier should have the tooling resources necessary to:

Inspect incoming molds
Perform preventative maintenance
Repair damaged tooling
Modify molds when required
Support ongoing production

Equipment & Capacity

Confirm that the receiving injection molder has the appropriate equipment and available capacity for the program.

Important considerations include:

Required machine tonnage
Barrel and shot size
Material handling requirements
Production volume
Mold dimensions
Available capacity

Secondary Operations & Automation

If the existing manufacturing process includes automation or secondary operations, confirm that the new supplier can assume responsibility for those processes as well.

This may include:

Assembly
Automation
Decorating
Packaging
Testing
Other value-added operations

Planning a Tool Transfer?

Our preliminary Tooling Transfer Checklist highlights information that should be reviewed before relocating an injection molding program.

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