US manufacturers are accelerating reshoring, but most lack the in-house capacity to keep up

A new survey commissioned by BigRep has found that US manufacturers are accelerating reshoring at a significant pace. But the majority are not yet equipped to handle the demand that brings with them.

The research, conducted by independent agency Atomik Research among 250 manufacturing decision-makers at US companies with over 1,000 employees, found that 30% have already taken concrete steps to bring previously outsourced production in-house over the past 12 months, with a further 49% still actively in the process. Only 8% said they had not yet evaluated the option.

However, the data reveals a critical gap between intent and capability. Just 34% of respondents say their current in-house production is fully adequate to absorb supply chain disruptions, while 53% describe it as only partially adequate and 11% say they would struggle significantly if they needed to rely on it.

The findings come against a backdrop of heightened trade uncertainty. 36% of respondents said that recent tariff and policy changes had caused them to review their reliance on externally sourced components, with changes already made as a result. A further 92% report experiencing at least some disruption from tariffs and trade policy shifts, 12% describing the impact as fundamental to how they now operate.

"What this data shows is that reshoring ambition is running ahead of reshoring capability. Manufacturers are making the strategic call to localize production, but many are reaching that decision before the tooling and technology infrastructure is in place to support it. That's exactly the gap that large-format additive manufacturing is designed to close,” says Jeff Olson, President, BigRep America.

Capital investment is not the constraint. 73% of respondents report that their capital equipment budget has increased from last year, with 22% reporting increases of more than 20%. The bigger barriers cited by those yet to fully transition include the capital cost of equipment (25%), the time required to implement and integrate new systems (22%), and a lack of skilled staff to operate them.

BigRep will be exhibiting at RAPID + TCT 2026, North America's largest additive manufacturing event, at booth 2355 at the Thomas M. Menino Convention & Exhibition Center in Boston, MA, from April 14–16. The company will be running live demonstrations of large-format 3D printing solutions designed to help manufacturers bridge the gap between outsourcing and scalable in-house production, including the new BigRep ONE.5X, BigRep DRYCON, and BigRep VIIO 250.

"The reshoring conversation used to be about whether to do it. Now it's about how to do it fast enough. We're hearing from manufacturers who have made the strategic decision but are discovering that their existing equipment wasn't designed with that level of flexibility and throughput in mind. Come to booth 2355 and bring a real problem, we'll have engineers on the floor ready to work through it with you,” says Jeff Olson, President, BigRep America.

Survey methodology

An online survey was conducted by Atomik Research among 250 decision-makers in the manufacturing sector, in companies with over 1,000 employees in the USA. Fieldwork took place between 19–27 March 2026. Atomik Research is an independent creative market research agency that employs MRS-certified researchers and abides by the MRS code.