69% of Manufacturers Are Nearshoring: 2026 Supply Chain Data

If you're an inventory or operations manager in 2026, the discussion around nearshoring and reshoring supply chain statistics is likely shaping your procurement strategy. Over the past few years, the fragility of long, globalized supply chains has been exposed. As a result, businesses are rethinking where their goods are manufactured.

The "just-in-time" model built around cheap overseas labor has been disrupted by geopolitical tensions, rising freight costs, and unpredictable tariffs. Moving into 2026, nearshoring (moving production closer to end consumers, such as the U.S. shifting production to Mexico) and reshoring (bringing manufacturing entirely domestic) are accelerating faster than many expected.

This post breaks down the latest data on supply chain restructuring and what it means for your inventory management operations.

The Rapid Acceleration of Reshoring

According to recent Forbes and Valco industry reports, 69% of U.S. manufacturers have begun reshoring their supply chains. The drivers are no longer just cost reduction. They are resilience, speed to market, and risk mitigation.

Among manufacturers that have already made these changes, 94% report success. Bringing manufacturing back domestic used to look much harder, but modern automation and fulfillment technology have changed the math.

Furthermore, data indicates that 26% of lost contract manufacturing sales could potentially be recovered simply by reshoring work that had previously been outsourced overseas. For an SMB trying to compete, having stock readily available without a 6-week container journey is a real strategic advantage.

Nearshoring Volumes are Skyrocketing in the US and EU

While complete reshoring is the goal for many, nearshoring is a practical middle ground. Moving production from Southeast Asia to Latin America (for US brands) or Eastern Europe/North Africa (for EU brands) cuts transit times.

According to a Capgemini Research Institute survey, 56% of executives are planning on nearshoring or a combined reshoring/nearshoring strategy. By region, 33% of businesses in the US are planning to strictly nearshore, while 28% in the EU are doing the same.

This aligns with findings from supply chain compliance platform QIMA, which notes that nearly 1 in 2 U.S. businesses plan to increase nearshoring volumes this year. Lower tariff pressures and shorter lead times make Latin America a more attractive alternative to overseas supplier hubs.

From the Founder: The Freight Nightmare That Sparked a Shift

When I ran my product company for 13 years, we scaled from bringing in 1 container every six months to managing over 75 containers per year. During that growth phase, we hit the peak of globalized supply chain fragility.

"I personally negotiated freight rates with DHL, FedEx, and UPS as our volumes exploded. The problem wasn't just the container costs. It was the total lack of agility. When large retail customers suddenly demanded rush orders mid-week to restock their shelves, having our inventory stuck on a boat for six weeks was agonizing. It led to overtime, frantic replanning, and constant firefighting. If we had diversified with nearshore suppliers earlier, we could have fulfilled priority deliveries at a fraction of the stress. But managing spread out suppliers requires tight inventory systems. Spreadsheets simply broke down."

, Henrik Åberg, Founder of VNDLY

The pain of trying to orchestrate multi-location inventory without a single source of truth is why we built VNDLY. When your goods are coming from China, Mexico, and local domestic manufacturers at the same time, having a centralized purchase order and landed cost tracking system isn't a luxury. It's survival.

Preparing Your Inventory for a Nearshored Future

If you are shifting suppliers closer to home, your software needs to adapt to a multi-node supply chain. Here is how your operations will change:

1. More Frequent Purchase Orders: Shorter lead times mean you can order in smaller, more frequent batches. This reduces your inventory carrying costs but demands a highly organized purchase order process backed by an inventory management system that tracks real-time stock across all locations.
2. Dynamic Lead Time Tracking: Your forecasting models need to understand that Supplier A (Asia) takes 45 days, while Supplier B (Mexico) takes 14 days.
3. Accurate Landed Cost Calculation: Bringing manufacturing home often shifts the cost structure. The unit cost may go up, but freight and tariff costs disappear. You must track these changes at the line-item level to ensure your margins remain healthy.

Instead of fighting with disjointed spreadsheets to track this web of new suppliers, modern inventory platforms handle the heavy lifting.

The Time to Diversify is Now

The supply chain statistics for 2026 point in one direction: businesses that rely entirely on long, vulnerable supply lines will be outmaneuvered by competitors that have invested in reshoring and nearshoring strategies.

By moving production closer to home, you gain agility, reduce your capital tied up in transit, and eliminate major shipping headaches.