The US manufacturing comeback: why resilience is becoming the new supply chain strategy

As pharmaceutical, medical device and advanced manufacturing companies rethink global supply chains, the United States is emerging as a strategic hub for the next generation of production. After decades of globalisation that pushed much manufacturing capacity offshore, a combination of geopolitical tensions, supply chain disruption, government incentives and rising demand for domestic capability is accelerating investment in US manufacturing.

The shift has been reinforced by policies aimed at strengthening domestic industrial capacity, from the CHIPS and Science Act to broader reshoring initiatives under successive administrations. The return of a more protectionist trade environment during the Trump administration, including increased focus on tariffs and reducing dependence on overseas supply chains, has further intensified conversations around manufacturing resilience.

For healthcare manufacturers, the stakes are particularly high. Medical devices, pharmaceutical equipment and advanced technologies require increasingly complex supply chains where traceability, quality control and regulatory compliance are critical. Companies are moving beyond traditional cost optimisation strategies towards building networks that can withstand disruption while maintaining production flexibility.

That transformation is creating new opportunities for companies supporting the industrial ecosystem. For global manufacturing specialist Misumi, the changing landscape has been significant enough to reposition the United States as its number one global market.

Following the acquisition of digital manufacturing platform Fictiv in 2025, Dave Evans became the first American to lead Misumi Americas. The move reflects a broader commitment by Japanese manufacturers to participate in the expansion of North American production capacity.

In this interview with Pharma Technology Focus, Evans explains why the US has become a strategic priority for Misumi, how AI is transforming manufacturing and supply chain decision-making, and what pharmaceutical and medical device companies should consider as they build more resilient, globally connected production networks.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

Dave Evans: My background has been focused on global manufacturing and custom fabrication. In the summer of 2025, Fictiv was acquired by Misumi, a 70-year-old Japanese public company specialising in global mechanical supply chains, and in January I became CEO of Misumi Americas.

One of the most significant developments is that, two years ago, Misumi made the strategic decision to make the United States its number one global market, replacing China after more than a decade. That was a major signal from a long-established Japanese manufacturer that the US had become its most important market.

The acquisition of Fictiv was part of that strategy. Misumi wanted local leadership with deep expertise in both digital technology and US manufacturing.

More broadly, we're seeing renewed investment in manufacturing technology and infrastructure between Japan and the United States, while many of our customers are building the next generation of manufacturing - from advanced robotics to clean energy and healthcare technologies. The conversation has shifted from asking whether manufacturing should return to the US to focusing on how companies scale it successfully.

Dave Evans: The United States remains the world's leading innovation economy.

Around two-thirds of global venture capital investment is deployed in the US, making it the centre for companies developing future technologies. For us, that represented a significant opportunity because supply chain challenges remain one of the biggest obstacles preventing innovative products from reaching commercial scale.

Alongside that innovation story, geopolitical uncertainty has fundamentally changed how manufacturers think about supply chains. Over the past several years, organisations have increasingly prioritised resilience, diversification and risk reduction.

Those two factors - innovation leadership and supply chain resilience - made the US the obvious strategic priority.

Dave Evans: Highly regulated industries are among the fastest-growing sectors for us, particularly healthcare, pharmaceuticals, medical devices, defence and aerospace.

We're also seeing enormous investment in automation, robotics, data centres and energy infrastructure as AI transforms industrial manufacturing.

One area that often goes unnoticed is factory automation itself. Before companies can manufacture innovative products at scale, they need modern factories capable of producing them efficiently. As manufacturing capacity expands across North America, demand for automation and machine-building technology is accelerating alongside it.

Dave Evans: AI is creating value in two major ways. The first is supply chain intelligence. Manufacturing generates vast amounts of data, and AI is helping automate tasks that traditionally required significant manual analysis - from supply chain risk and pricing to landed cost calculations and supplier management.

The second is within manufacturing operations themselves. AI is enabling better real-time decision-making through computer vision, sensing technologies and advanced analytics. Whether inside factories, warehouses or logistics operations, manufacturers can make faster, more informed operational decisions.

Ultimately, AI is helping companies build more resilient supply chains while improving manufacturing efficiency."

Dave Evans: Reliability and traceability are absolutely critical. Even during research and development, manufacturers need complete visibility into where every component was produced, where materials originated and how products can be traced throughout the supply chain. Increasingly, they expect all of that information to be available digitally.

Scalability is equally important. Many medical device companies prototype products in North America before moving to higher-volume production elsewhere. Too often, that requires rebuilding much of the supply chain as production increases.

Our approach is to help customers specify products from the beginning that can scale globally. Whether production expands across North America, Europe or Asia, they can maintain product consistency without redesigning their supply chain."

Dave Evans: The biggest mistake companies can make is relying too heavily on a single geography.

Resilience isn't simply about moving manufacturing from one country to another - it's about maintaining the flexibility to adapt as market conditions change.

For Misumi, that flexibility comes from operating more than 100 locations worldwide while maintaining a strong focus on North America. We help customers build diversified supply chains that can respond quickly to disruption without compromising quality, continuity or speed.

Dave Evans: Japan remains one of the world's leading manufacturing economies because of its long-standing commitment to quality, precision and consistency.

Those strengths complement what we've brought from Silicon Valley through Fictiv—digital technology, speed and manufacturing agility.

By combining decades of industrial expertise with modern digital manufacturing capabilities, we're creating a stronger proposition for customers who need resilient, scalable supply chains capable of supporting innovation for years to come.