Wisconsin Manufacturing Industry Survey Results: Reshoring: Is your manufacturing business bringing operations back to the U.S.? Despite losing a tremendous number of manufacturing jobs to low labor cost countries over the past two decades, the United States manufacturing industry remains one of the world leaders in advanced manufacturing and innovation. According to the Congressional Research Service Report issued March 17, 2015, the U.S. s value-added manufacturing was $2,029 billion in 2013 compared to $2,741 billion for China. However, Japan, the third largest country with $917 billion, lagged significantly behind the U.S. in value-added manufacturing. Wisconsin has the second highest manufacturing concentration of any state in the U.S. * According to the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation s Manufacturing by the Numbers report, Wisconsin manufacturers produced nearly $50 billion worth of output in 2013. Foreign sourcing of product has helped many U.S. manufacturers remain competitive, and thus has contributed to U.S. manufacturing success. However, much discussion lately has suggested the tides may be changing with respect to the pace of foreign sourcing of product. We asked executives of mid-size manufacturing companies based in Wisconsin to share their view on this subject, and its specific impact on how they manage their businesses. This report is a summary of their responses, comments, and suggestions. Read on to learn about the results of our survey. 800-236-2246 schencksc.com * Source: U.S. Department of Labor Bureau of Labor and Statistics Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages, June 2014 All survey results Schenck SC 2015.
Profile of respondents A total of 81 manufacturers responded to the survey. Which manufacturing sector best describes your business? * As shown, the respondents represent a diverse cross-section of manufacturing, with an emphasis in the metals and machinery sector. Electrical or computers 5.0% Food & beverage 7.5% Metal, machinery, foundry 47.5% Paper & printing 16.3% Plastics 12.5% Transportation 1.3% Wood manufactured products 6.3% Other, or not designated 3.8% * May not total 100% due to rounding. What is your annual revenue? Our respondents include companies with sales ranging from less than $1 million to over $500 million, with more than 40% concentrated within the $15 million to $50 million range. Annual revenue Number $1 million or less 5 $1 million to $2.5 million 2 $2.5 million to $5 million 9 $5 million to $15 million 27 $15 million to $50 million 21 $50 million to $250 million 13 $250 million to $500 million 0 More than $500 million 2 Chose not to disclose 2 800-236-2246 schencksc.com June 2015 2
Reshoring efforts Does your company currently source components to foreign manufacturers? Yes 27.2% No 72.8% Percentage of foreign-sourced components to total product cost? * For almost three quarters of the respondents who foreign source components, the foreign made components make up no more than 20% of the respondent s product total costs. This indicates that the bulk of the respondents product costs are still domestic-based costs, most likely generated by more value-added manufacturing activities, a trend supported by our experience working with manufacturing clients. This is also consistent with the data from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, which shows that domestic value added accounts for a comparatively high proportion of the value of U.S. manufactured exports. U.S. manufacturers use a low proportion of imported inputs and a high proportion of domestically produced inputs, compared to manufacturers in other countries. Has your company reshored all or a portion of your foreign sourced components to U.S. or Mexico? Almost a quarter of the respondents either have already reshored manufacturing, or they are analyzing the possibility. Although this may be interpreted as a reshoring trend, interestingly, the survey also indicates 18% of respondents are considering increasing their foreign sourcing of product. From a macro perspective, reshoring may be offset by other foreign sourcing growth. More than 80% 13.6% 60% 80% 40% 60% 20% 40% Nominal 20% 72.7% No, but will be considering in near future Yes, we have 18.2% No, plan to increase foreign sourcing 18.2% No 59.1% * May not total 100% due to rounding. 800-236-2246 schencksc.com June 2015 3
Rank the factors driving your consideration to reshore Respondents clearly communicated customer delivery schedules and transportation costs are the leading reasons for reshoring, followed closely by quality issues. Foreign sourcing manufacturing requires intensive scheduling and quality control. The trends in manufacturing in the U.S. to more advanced manufacturing with shorter lead times, smaller runs and higher precision needs presents critical challenges to sourcing product offshore. 1 1 (tie) 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 14 (tie) Intellectual property concerns Inventory costs Engineering collaboration Language barriers Increasing foreign labor costs Foreign currency risks Better domestic automation Domestic capacity availability Patriotism Foreign Ccorruption Cost overruns Lower domestic natural gas energy costs Quality issues Delivery timetables Transportation & shipping costs How much would additional U.S. tax incentives to reshore influence your decision? Interestingly, tax incentives appear not to be a driving force in a company s decision to reshore manufacturing. Only 17% of respondents indicated that U.S. tax incentives are highly important to their decision to reshore or not. Respondents answers to the next survey question shed some light on more pressing reshoring factors. However, those few respondents who did indicate that tax incentives are highly important to their consideration to reshore consistently communicated their concerns with the high income federal tax rates, and the costs of complying with the Affordable Care Act regulations. Recently enacted Wisconsin manufacturing tax incentives were applauded by a respondent. Highly important 16.7% Important 33.3% Not at all 50% 800-236-2246 schencksc.com June 2015 4
Rank your obstacles to reshoring Consistent with existing knowledge, the respondents number one obstacle to reshoring is higher labor costs in the U.S. Looking at it from a different angle would show that labor costs are the leading reasons why U.S. manufacturers foreign source product. Also, foreign manufacturers often do not face the same degree of regulatory challenges as U.S. manufacturers, including environmental and health care regulations. It is interesting to note that respondents rated lack of skilled labor in the U.S. as the third leading obstacle to reshoring manufacturing. Lack of skilled labor in U.S. Higher labor costs in U.S. Regulatory constraints in U.S. Lack of specialization in U.S Global competition (i.e., margins) Capital for expansion in U.S. Energy costs in U.S. Unions Other Skana Aluminum, a privately-held aluminum manufacturer in Manitowoc, WI, regularly competes against foreign product in the marketplace. According to Skana s chairman and CEO, Tom Testwuide, Sr., the keys for a domestic manufacturer to successfully compete against lower foreign prices are to operate an efficient plant, produce consistent quality, and always meet customers shorter delivery requirements. As an owner of a prior company with operations in China, Testwuide knows and understands the manufacturing environment in China, and gets the advantages and disadvantages of foreign-sourced product brought to the U.S. marketplace. In his industry, he sees the prices of competing product produced in China often fluctuate, primarily from frequent deviations in the China value-added taxes, which can be as high as 17% of the product price. These price fluctuations, along with quality and delivery concerns, can cause significant production issues with customers. Testwuide observes U.S. auto manufacturers moving or reshoring production to Mexico, with advantages to them of being closer to home but with lower wage costs. Likewise, some suppliers to the auto industry are following the auto manufacturers to Mexico as well. Although Skana exports products to Mexico and Canada, Skana continues to produce all of its product domestically, and in fact has strategically expanded its operations within the U.S., with significant weight afforded to proximity to customers and available production facilities. Testwuide applauded local and Wisconsin state government for their huge support five years ago when he and an investor group acquired the assets of the predecessor to Skana. Their support was instrumental in keeping 150 jobs in Wisconsin. 800-236-2246 schencksc.com June 2015 5
Respondents comments, recommendations, and observations In response to the question Which current tax incentives are important to you? respondents commented: Lower corporate tax rates State business and state overall tax reductions Need to reduce cost of Affordable Care Act Any incentive that would flow through to S Corporation shareholders 50% first year bonus depreciation Federal Domestic Production Activity Deduction None. We are already stuck with the highest corporation tax in the world the deck is stacked against small and medium companies Other respondents comments included: increased taxes and government costs are making foreign sourcing more competitive Costs of semiconductors and electronic components is at least 30% higher in the U.S Foreign-sourced fabricated sheet metal enclosures cost 1/3 of U.S. prices, including transportation and duties. We plan on significantly increasing the amount of subassemblies imported from India. Once the supply chain is established, it is difficult to re-establish the supply chain locally. I believe the biggest obstacle to reshoring is the low wages that other countries pay their workers. These wages do not compare/meet the US standard for the poverty level of U.S. citizens & what is considered to be a fair wage in this country. Also, other countries do not have the government regulations for their businesses as do U.S. companies in regard to safety, health insurance, taxes, etc. 800-236-2246 schencksc.com June 2015 6
Services for manufacturing clients Accounting, assurance and tax solutions Research and development tax credit Export incentives Expansion and job growth incentives Sales and use tax exemptions for manufacturers Plant cost segregation studies Business management software needs analysis, selection, implementation, training and support Bar coding and shop floor automation Electronic data interchange Production and inventory control Operations management Continuous improvement / Lean Human resources consulting Industry benchmarking Lean manufacturing Inventory costing consulting Global resources and connections Mergers and acquisitions Manufacturing CFO roundtables Contact Schenck Our professionals understand the demands of the manufacturing environment from the shop floor to the board room, and can help you discover the keys to greater profitability and optimum efficiency. For more information on how Schenck can help your business, contact any of our Manufacturing team leaders. Brad Frank, CPA 920-455-4143 brad.frank@schencksc.com Karin Gale, CPA, CM&AA 414-465-5533 karin.gale@schencksc.com Don Kossow, CPA 414-465-5604 donald.kossow@schencksc.com Dan Koszalinski, CMA, CPA 920-996-1495 dan.koszalinski@schencksc.com 800-236-2246 schencksc.com Appleton Fond du Lac Green Bay Manitowoc Milwaukee Oshkosh Sheboygan Wausau All survey results Schenck SC 2015