Last reviewed: October 27, 2026
Two numbers from this year's national reshoring survey tell most of the story. More OEMs are bringing production and parts back to the United States: 36% say they have reshored or are actively reshoring, up from 29% a year ago. In the same year, the share of OEMs satisfied with the results fell from 96% to 65%, and the share who are dissatisfied jumped from 4% to 25%.
That does not mean reshoring is failing. The same report finds the operational upside still outweighs the downside by roughly two to one. What it does mean is that the first year of a move is harder than most teams planned for. The survey's authors point to labor costs, vendor gaps, inflation, and implementation pains. One OEM respondent put it more bluntly: "Difficult to find equivalent vendors, lesser quality, higher price, poor customer service."
This post covers why the pressure to move imported metal parts increased in 2026, where those moves tend to go wrong, which parts to requote first, and how to move one without paying to switch.
Reshoring in 2026: the numbers that matter for metal parts
| Finding | 2026 | Source |
|---|---|---|
| OEMs that have reshored or are actively reshoring | 36% (29% in 2025) | Reshoring Initiative |
| OEMs satisfied with their reshoring results | 65% (96% in 2025) | Reshoring Initiative |
| OEMs dissatisfied with their reshoring results | 25% (4% in 2025) | Reshoring Initiative |
| Contract manufacturer reshoring cases that involve moving component sourcing only, with assembly already in the U.S. | 69% | Reshoring Initiative |
| Contract manufacturers currently quoting reshoring work | 32% (16% in 2025) | Reshoring Initiative |
| OEMs comparing offshore and domestic options on total cost of ownership | 40% (30% in 2025) | Reshoring Initiative |
| Manufacturers naming policy uncertainty as their primary trade challenge | 57% | Reshoring Initiative |
| Manufacturing jobs projected to be announced through reshoring and foreign direct investment | About 309,000 (about 247,000 in 2025) | Trade & Industry Development |
| Procurement leaders who describe their team's capacity as moderately or highly constrained | 71% | ProcureAbility |
| Procurement leaders adding headcount to cope | 19% | ProcureAbility |
| Rise in the producer price index for alumina and aluminum production and processing since January 2025 | 57.8% | CCJ |
The reshoring survey drew 249 respondents: 118 OEMs and 131 contract manufacturers. The procurement figures come from 160 senior procurement leaders at large enterprises. Anyone running a lean purchasing department at a smaller manufacturer will recognize the pattern.
One figure deserves more attention than it gets. In 69% of the reshoring cases contract manufacturers reported, the customer already assembled in the U.S. and was moving component sourcing. Most reshoring is not a factory relocation. It is a purchasing team moving parts, one part number at a time.
Why the math moved on imported metal parts this year
Since April 6, 2026, Section 232 duties on steel and aluminum have been charged on the full customs value of an imported part, not just the value of the metal inside it. Derivative products pay 25% of full value. Articles made wholly or almost wholly of steel or aluminum pay 50%. A part made abroad with at least 85% U.S.-melted steel or U.S.-smelted aluminum qualifies for 10%. We covered the details, including which tier a part falls into, in Section 232 in 2026: Why Your Supplier's Price Went Up.
The rule of thumb from that post is the one that matters here. If metal is less than half of a part's customs value, its duty went up this year. The parts where metal is the smaller share are the ones that carry the most processing: cutting, forming, welding, machining, and coating.
Take a welded, powder-coated steel frame that lands at $50, with $12 of steel in it. Before April, a derivative part paid 50% on its steel content: $6.00. Today it pays 25% on the full $50: $12.50. That is more than double, on a part whose steel did not change. If the same frame falls in the 50% tier, the duty is $25.00.
Two cautions keep this honest. First, domestic metal is not immune. With fewer imports competing, domestic mill prices have risen too, and aluminum production and processing prices are up 57.8% since January 2025. Second, when contract manufacturers in the survey lost an order to an import, price was the main reason 94% of the time, and half of those who lost one said the winning import was 30% or more below their bid. Tariffs did not flip every part. They moved the furthest on parts where labor and finishing make up a large share of the value, which is exactly where to start looking.
Where moving a part goes wrong
When a reshored part disappoints, the cause is usually one of these:
- No single domestic shop can make the whole part. An imported part often arrives finished from one overseas factory. The domestic equivalent may need a laser shop, a press brake, a welder, and a powder coater. If no one supplier covers every step, your team inherits the coordination: four schedules, four quality systems, and freight between each one. We explain why that gets expensive in Multi-Operation Sheet Metal Parts.
- The tooling bill comes due again. A new extrusion die, fixture, or forming tool is a cost you already paid once, offshore. In most cases the buyer pays for new tooling upfront, and that single invoice can sink the business case on its own.
- Requalification takes longer than planned. A new supplier means a new PPAP or first article. Every rejected sample pushes the cutover date out while the import pipeline keeps running down.
- The inventory gap. An offshore supply chain has weeks or months of parts on the water. A new domestic supplier starts from zero. Time the switch badly and the line waits.
- Purchasing doesn't have the hours.
