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Bringing It Home: Our series on how manufacturing is returning to the U.S.

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6 months ago

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Bringing It Home: Our series on how manufacturing is returning to the U.S.

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reporter Rick Barrett and photographer Mark Hoffman examine the slow but promising resurgence of American manufacturing.

Staff
 |  Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

About this project

Manufacturing is undergoing a renaissance in the United States as companies, frustrated by supply chain problems and wary of political disputes, reconsider sending work overseas and invest back home.

Part 1

For Wisconsin, which remains among the top 10 states for most manufacturing companies and jobs, “reshoring” can be an economic and cultural watershed. The question is whether it will last.

Part 2

Taiwan-based Foxconn has 30,000 employees spread over seven campuses in Mexico. It’s a prime example of all the companies, whether located in the U.S. or Asia, finding that producing goods for American consumers in the country to our south makes sense because of proximity, low wages and tariff-free trade zones.

Part 3

Central America, especially Honduras, has become home to American apparel manufacturing. Could that be a deterrent to migrants crossing the U.S. southern border?

Coming soon

Part 4: Shortages of much-needed prescription drugs worry the U.S. health care industry. Puerto Rico, which at one time dominated drug manufacturing, may be the answer.

Part 5: U.S. companies trying to keep manufacturing at home fear the workforce is lacking in size and skills. The answer may be found in technology — specifically building highly automated plants.

The Bringing It Home series was created with the support of the Pulitzer Center and the Richard C. Longworth Media Fellowship. The Center champions the power of stories to make complex issues relevant and inspire action. The Longworth Fellowship, which was awarded to reporter Rick Barrett and photojournalist Mark Hoffman, is devoted to bringing global issues to Midwestern readers. Neither the Pulitzer Center nor Longworth played a role in the reporting, editing or presentation of the series.

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