Nearshoring / Reshoring (Logistics Impact)

Nearshoring and reshoring are macro supply chain strategies that move production closer to the point of consumption. Nearshoring typically means shifting manufacturing from distant regions like Southeast Asia to closer countries – Mexico for US-bound goods, for example – while reshoring brings production back to the domestic market entirely. Both trends accelerated after COVID-19 exposed the fragility of extended global supply chains and have continued gaining momentum amid trade policy shifts and tariff uncertainties.

For logistics teams, the impact is structural. Shorter supply chains mean different transportation modes – less ocean freight, more cross-border trucking and domestic over-the-road. Lead times compress, but domestic freight complexity increases. Shippers may need new carrier relationships for lanes they've never operated, different warehouse locations, and adjusted dock scheduling to handle changed inbound patterns. A company that reshores production from Asia to the US Southeast, for instance, suddenly needs a domestic FTL and LTL carrier network it may not have.

The logistics planning challenge is real. Nearshoring doesn't automatically mean lower total freight costs – domestic trucking rates, driver shortages, and last-mile costs can offset the savings from shorter ocean routes. Shippers need to model the full transportation cost impact, including mode shifts, new lane pricing, and changed inventory positioning, before committing to a sourcing change.

What nearshoring does offer is agility. Shorter, more controllable supply chains respond faster to demand changes and suffer fewer disruptions from port congestion, container shortages, or geopolitical events. For shippers in food and beverage or CPG – where freshness, shelf life, and speed to shelf matter – that agility can be a competitive advantage worth the trade-off.