The Greatest Reindustrialization Process in US History

Today’s windy video comes to you from just below the Continental Divide.

You know those little ‘Made in China’ stickers on everything you can buy in the US? Well, don’t be surprised when those all say ‘Made in America’ in a few years as the US carries out the greatest reindustrialization process ever…and if you thought the United States’ industrial buildout during WWII was wild…buckle up.

There’s a lot at play here, but we’ll touch on the legacy factors first. The US arguably has the world’s most highly skilled labor force, but we’re hyper-focused on the value-added stuff and outsource the rest. This arrangement can’t last much longer, but the shale revolution and petrochemical production have primed us for all the reshoring coming down the line.

Recently, COVID showed the US (and the world) that our supply chains weren’t as great as we thought. Now we’re having to reshore everything and turn over the power system, driving construction levels and spending through the roof. And the Inflation Reduction Act has helped provide the funding and regulatory structure to make it all happen.

Although inflation will be up there for a while (surprise, you can’t double your industrial plant without that happening), we’re on a solid trajectory to establish a fully regionalized supply chain. And if the US wants to have any sense of security down the line, we’ll just have to suck it up for a bit.