When Xometry released the topline results of its new Manufacturing Outlook Report, the data showed just how much pressure manufacturers feel heading into 2026.Costs are rising, reshoring is accelerating, and executives remain uneasy about their ability to weather the next major supply chain disruption.Of the executives surveyed, 76% expect to raise prices again next year, and 1 in 5 are planning increases of 16–20%.
Yet 59% of customers have largely accepted these price hikes, a sign of continued demand despite economic uncertainty.At the same time, reshoring continues to accelerate.According to the report, 45% of manufacturers have already moved some operations back to the U.S., and 81% are engaged in reshoring in some form.
Domestic sourcing grew 28%, while international sourcing still rose 22%, underscoring the complexity of today’s supply chain decisions.To understand what this means for the companies that actually design, source, and produce parts, I spoke with Mike Cavalieri, Xometry’s Senior Vice President of Marketplace Operations.Cavalieri has spent more than two decades building supply chains for robotics and automation companies.
He now helps lead one of the world’s largest AI-powered manufacturing platforms.His insights explain how digital manufacturing is evolving, and where additive manufacturing (AM) fits in.Mike Cavalieri.
Image courtesy of Xometry.“Many executives simply don’t feel prepared” Cavalieri stated that “65% of executives only feel somewhat prepared, or not prepared, for significant supply chain risk or disruption.Even those who think they have a contingency plan often struggle once a real disruption hits.
They may know what they’ll do, but actually preventing a disruption in their outbound goods is another story.” If the COVID-era chip shortages taught the industry anything, it is that it needs built-in backup options, not last-minute fixes when a disruption hits.Xometry’s report shows that reshoring remains a major priority and isn’t slowing down.But it’s also more complex than simply “bringing everything back to the U.S.,” explains the executive.
Manufacturers are looking for resilience, not just proximity.“We see companies strategically choosing multiple geographies.They want stable political relationships, but they also want to avoid having everything exposed to one region’s weather, flooding, or other acts of God.” Although reshoring is accelerating, U.S.
manufacturers aren’t pulling out of overseas markets entirely.Instead, they’re spreading production across more regions to avoid being dependent on any single country.That’s why Xometry continues expanding in China and India, and is building new capacity in Vietnam.
That’s not to replace U.S.reshoring, but to give customers multiple low-cost options when disruptions happen.Europe shows the same pattern, says Cavalieri.
Many manufacturers rely on Eastern European suppliers for nearby, affordable production, while Asian companies continue sourcing within Asia.The trend isn’t “bring everything home,” but “don’t keep everything in one place,” he noted.This push is driven by a desire for resilience, not ideology.
And as Cavalieri emphasized, the most reliable supply chains follow a simple rule: “serve in region, from region.” Doing so not only reduces risk but also improves communication and keeps logistics costs down.Inconel metal 3D printing.Image courtesy of Xometry.
Additive’s rise: from “nice to have” to essential Cavalieri sees AM as an important tool for the kind of stability many executives say they’re missing: “Additive is a staple in the R&D phase.Even in down cycles, technology-leading companies protect their R&D budgets.And that demand consistently hits our additive funnel.
And because additive depends on readily available materials and digital files, the supply chain is naturally simpler.So if you have the filament, the powder, the resin, and the same equipment in two places, you can make the same part in either place.That’s a huge advantage.” From Xometry’s vantage point, AM is no longer just a “prototype-only” tool.
It’s becoming a flexible bridge between early ideas and low-rate production.The company’s Manufacturing Outlook Report is free and open to everyone, offering an in-depth view of the forces shaping U.S.manufacturing in the year ahead.
In Part Two of this series, we explore how additive manufacturing is gaining ground and what challenges remain before it becomes a fully mainstream manufacturing tool.Subscribe to Our Email Newsletter Stay up-to-date on all the latest news from the 3D printing industry and receive information and offers from third party vendors.Print Services Upload your 3D Models and get them printed quickly and efficiently.
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