Offshoring

Foreign Direct Investment in Mexico 'Unprecedented'

April 14, 2016

Mexico manufacturing has come a long way from the early days of simple product assembly in bare bones "maquiladoras" just over the U.S. border.

Growth in Emerging Markets Not Automatic Anymore - Competitiveness Required

February 10, 2016

BCG Perspectives

Emerging markets have driven growth for many multinational corporations (MNCs) for years, and they will continue to do so. But these are turbulent times as commodity prices plunge, currencies are devalued, and equity markets gyrate. The profitability of many MNCs' operations is already under attack, and future performance will be challenged by slower macroeconomic growth, increasing costs, and heightened competition from local companies, which are rapidly gaining scale, experience, and capability. To reduce these pressures, companies will have to focus much more on improving their competitiveness through constant productivity gains.

U.S. Is Preferred Location for New Factory Capacity to Serve Domestic Market

December 14, 2015

BCG

Of manufacturers planning to add production capacity over the next five years for goods consumed in the U.S., more plan to add that capacity in the U.S. than in any other country - a sharp reversal since as recently as two years ago. And a rising percentage of U.S.-based executives at the manufacturers say they are already in the process of reshoring production work from China. These are among the findings of new research released today by The Boston Consulting Group.

China Loses Its Luster as Top Site for Low-Cost Production

December 10, 2015

EBN

China's status as the world's center for low-cost production is waning, as manufacturers increasingly seek alternatives elsewhere.

U.S. Businesses See Growth in Trade Over Next Six Months, Survey Finds

December 10, 2015

HSBC

Even though world merchandise trade growth is expected to rise just one percent through the end of this year, U.S. businesses are optimistic about trade over the next six months, buoyed by the prospect of changes to government trade regulations, and momentum in the current U.S. domestic economy, according to the latest findings from the U.S. HSBC Global Connections Trade Forecast.

Your Worldview 'Hopelessly Outdated' if You Still Think in Terms of Advanced, Emerging Economies

October 28, 2015

Boston Consulting Group

If there had been any doubt as to how quickly the global economic landscape - and the market perceptions of it - can change, it would have been erased by events during August and September 2015. Concerns about the Chinese economy and fretting over the next move by the U.S. Federal Reserve triggered massive global market volatility in stocks, commodity prices, and exchange rates. And that turmoil underscored a critical imperative: leaders of companies operating around the world need to move beyond old views and conventional wisdom as they set global strategies.

Walmart Teams With Group Dedicated to Promoting Reshoring of U.S. Manufacturers

August 25, 2015

Reshoring Initiative

The Reshoring Initiative recently announced a program in partnership with Walmart to help companies manufacture more consumer products in the United States.

136 Nations Ranked in Terms of Inflow of Foreign Direct Investment

June 30, 2015

Milken Institute

Foreign direct investment has never been more important in catalyzing growth, whether in the developed or developing world. Although equity markets around the world have largely recovered since the financial crisis, global capital flows have contracted sharply. The Milken Institute's Global Opportunity Index provides policy makers and investors vital information on policies that can best attract foreign direct investment, expand economies and accelerate job creation. The index is also a guide for countries seeking to improve their business environments and attract investors who commit long-term capital, rather than move it around as a fleeting portfolio tactic.

Advances in Automation, Wage Hikes in China Compel Manufacturers to Consider Returning to U.S.

June 9, 2015

Wall Street Journal

Global supply chains will continue to expand in coming years, but at a slower pace than before, and in ways that follow different patterns, according to a report from Standard Chartered Bank.

Asia Pacific: Conscientious Producers and Savvy Consumers

February 20, 2015

Tim Foster, Managing Director, Asia-Pacific, Chainalytics

Success in the global economy requires a shift in strategic vision of the Asia-Pacific region's role in supply chains. While it is no secret that an end to low-cost production in Asia is in sight, smart companies are studying the complexity of APAC region and gaining insight into the roles each country plays in the quickly evolving economic horizon. But visibility into where APAC is today isn't enough; forecasting where it will be next year, five years from now, and further into the future are key to positioning supply chains now for ongoing optimization.