American Contract Manufacturing Expected to Grow This Year

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) 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%) said that they expect an increase, while only 11.1% anticipated a decrease and 57.8% conveyed that their outsourcing projects would remain the same. The Santa Clara, California region showed the highest percentage of respondents expecting an increase, at 40%, versus 4.4% 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% of respondents said “overseas.” Outsourcing locally was the leading choice at 32%, followed by regionally and nationally with 29.2% and 29%, 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 United States in the last year.