Is a rise in "reshoring" for UK manufacturing on the horizon?

According to a recent survey, around 40% of the 750 UK brands asked, said they had an intention to explore "reshoring" - domestic manufacturing as opposed to offshoring manufacturing processes.

As the name suggests, "reshoring" is the opposite of offshoring, whereby a business will endeavour to bring production or manufacturing processes back to the country of origin - particularly where those processes have historically been farmed out to other countries. 

The survey results are perhaps indicative of the huge disruption that global supply chains have felt in recent years, and continue to feel, as a result of the ongoing conflict in Ukraine, the global pandemic, Brexit, and the Suez canal blockage.  

In addition, a combination of international fuel surcharges and inflation rates is thought to be a contributing factor to the anticipated rise in reshoring.      

Whilst some commentators expect that reshoring could lead to a reduction in the speed at which UK brands scale and grow, reshoring could also, at least in theory, result in increased employment and skills development within the UK.