For manufacturers, Mexico is heating up. According to a recent survey from AlixPartners, 41 percent of manufacturing and distribution executives globally believe that bringing production back from overseas – a strategy known as nearshoring – is an opportunity for their organizations, and 86 percent of that group report that they have nearshored or expect to within the next few years.

U.S.-based executives at large companies remain bullish on American manufacturing, and their actions are starting to show it, according to new research by The Boston Consulting Group (BCG).

Many past decisions to offshore manufacturing were based on price alone. Today, manufacturers are looking at more than just price when considering sourcing decisions and production locations.

Some of the biggest gains in U.S. exports due to a widening U.S. production-cost advantage over leading Western European nations and Japan are likely to be seen in chemicals, machinery, and transportation equipment, according to a report by The Boston Consulting Group.

American manufacturing to the rescue? Who could have imagined that? It wasn't so long ago that this sector was said to be on its deathbed. Now we're hearing that manufacturing is the "key driver" of what's passing for an economic recovery in this country.