Onshoring

Hormel Meat Company reached an agreement and this may be a harbinger of things to come. It follows on the heels of record benefit increases with UPS and Amazon. Union officials announced the vote late Wednesday, calling the new contract "historic" and highlighting $3-$6 an hour wage increases for workers at Hormel plants in Austin, Minn., as well as Wisconsin, Iowa and Georgia. Union officials said the contract also increases pension and 401K benefits while nearly doubling bereavement leave. The US experienced a decline in manufacturing jobs for 30 years between 1970 and 2000 and the country is now increasing these jobs. Since 2000 with small dips during the mortgage crisis in 2008 and the Covid in 2020 these jobs have grown. The United States has experienced a surge in construction spending for manufacturing facilities. Real manufacturing construction spending has doubled since the end of 2021. As globalization winds down reshoring is picking up. Manufacturing jobs are coming home as wages overseas increase. The benefits of shorter supply chains and national safety are becoming more important. Citizens are demanding that critical materials like pharmaceuticals be made in the US.