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Random freezes, missing sound and display glitches usually trace back to one bad driver. Find and replace yours safely.Free scan · under a minuteManufacturing in the United States is not impossible for small businesses: they account for nearly all U.S. manufacturing firms, and small businesses made up 99.4% of firms that moved production to the country in 2022. The harder truth is that bringing a particular product to market domestically can require a workable mix of price, production volume, suppliers, skilled workers, customers, financing, and compliance. Which constraint matters most depends on the product and the business.
Small businesses already manufacture in the United States
The title’s “impossible” is a provocation, not a literal description. According to the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) Office of Advocacy, the United States had 603,348 small business manufacturers in 2021. Those firms employed 4.8 million workers, paid more than $277 billion in payroll, and represented 98% of manufacturing firms. The figures use 2021 business data and were reported by the SBA in 2025.
Small businesses are also participating in onshoring. In 2022, small businesses accounted for 99.4% of firms that moved production to the United States, according to Annual Business Survey data reported by the SBA Office of Advocacy in 2025. That figure describes the firms that onshored production; it does not mean that 99.4% of small businesses moved production, or that every move succeeded.
What the reported numbers say about the barriers
The available figures point to several operating pressures, not one universal cause. Each statistic below has a different population and purpose: the onshoring figures capture reported reasons for moving production, while the survey figures describe challenges reported by manufacturing respondents.
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| Measure | Reported result | What it describes |
|---|---|---|
| Reasons for onshoring, 2022 | Costs, including transportation, materials, and labor: 58%; supply-chain issues: 34%; quality concerns: 21%. | Reasons cited by firms that moved production to the United States, as reported by the SBA Office of Advocacy in 2025. These are reported motives, not a matched U.S.-versus-overseas cost study. |
| Operating challenges, 2023 survey | Supply-chain issues: 71%; reaching customers or growing sales: 55%; hiring or retaining qualified staff: 53%; complying with government regulations: 28%. | Challenges cited by manufacturing respondents to the Federal Reserve’s 2023 Small Business Credit Survey, as reproduced in an SBA Office of Advocacy infographic in 2025. |
These percentages should not be read as the share of every small manufacturer facing each issue, nor do they show that one factor alone caused a business to choose domestic or overseas production.
Why making a product domestically can be difficult
The price has to work at the business’s actual scale
A small company needs a production arrangement that fits its likely sales, required quality, and customers’ willingness to pay. The relevant calculation is not simply a factory wage or quoted unit price: materials, transportation, inventory, overhead, and the costs of meeting the product specification all affect the business case. The SBA’s onshoring figures show that firms reported costs among their reasons for moving production, but they do not establish that U.S. production is always more expensive—or provide a current apples-to-apples unit-cost comparison for a specific product.
Low volume can also make it harder to find a supplier willing and able to produce the required quantity at a price that works. That is a product- and supplier-specific problem, not proof that domestic manufacturing cannot work. A different volume, design, or customer price may change the calculation.
Finding and coordinating qualified suppliers takes expertise
Manufacturing a finished item often depends on more than one supplier. A business may need to locate sources for materials and components, check that they can meet specifications, and coordinate their delivery with production. NIST’s Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP) says reshoring can intimidate smaller manufacturers that lack supply-chain expertise, while pointing to the MEP National Network for expert guidance. The practical challenge is not just locating a factory; it is building a supply chain that can deliver the right inputs reliably.
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Workers and customers are part of production economics
In the SBA’s summary of the 2023 Federal Reserve survey, manufacturing respondents reported difficulty reaching customers or growing sales (55%) and hiring or retaining qualified staff (53%). A factory needs both demand for its output and people able to make it. If either is missing, equipment and space can become costly commitments without enough revenue to support them.
Compliance can add work, but the reported figure is not a cost estimate
In the same survey summary, 28% of manufacturing respondents cited complying with government regulations as an operational challenge. That measures how often respondents reported the issue; it does not quantify compliance spending or establish that every product faces the same rules. Applicable requirements depend on the product and operation, so a firm needs to identify its own obligations rather than infer them from a general survey percentage.
Facilities, equipment, and working capital require financing
Starting or expanding production can call for investment in equipment, property, construction, materials, and the time between paying suppliers and receiving customer payment. In a March 2025 announcement, the SBA described 504 financing for real estate, construction, and equipment, and its 7(a) Working Capital Pilot for needs such as inventory and export expenses. That announcement does not establish that a particular firm qualifies or state current terms; check the SBA’s current program information and lender requirements before relying on either option.
Technology and training are choices to evaluate, not automatic requirements
NIST MEP’s February 2025 guidance predicted that small and medium-sized manufacturers would face pressure to adopt technology and train workers. It recommended developing local supplier relationships, upskilling workers, and contacting a local MEP Center. This is agency guidance and an outlook—not a finding that every small manufacturer must automate. A business should assess whether a technology investment fits its process, workforce, and expected production before committing capital.
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There is no single U.S.-versus-overseas result that applies across products in the available evidence. Compare qualified production options against the same requirements and expected volume. These are decision factors to investigate, not findings that one location always wins:
- Landed cost: Estimate the cost of getting an acceptable product to the customer, including production, materials, shipping, and inventory.
- Quality and specifications: Confirm that suppliers can meet the product’s tolerances, consistency, and quality expectations.
- Lead time and reliability: Compare how long replenishment takes and how exposed each supply chain is to delays or disruptions.
- Supplier access: Identify the necessary suppliers and determine whether they can meet the business’s quantity and requirements.
- Labor and skills: Check whether qualified workers are available for the specific production process.
- Capital needs: Include required facilities, equipment, inventory, and working capital in the financial plan.
- Compliance: Identify the requirements that apply to the actual product and operation.
A practical way to test whether domestic production can work
- Map the product and its process. List the production steps, materials and components, required volume, quality tolerances, and current supplier dependencies.
- Find and qualify possible U.S. suppliers. The SBA describes its onshoring portal as a free resource for connecting with verified U.S. manufacturers, producers, and suppliers. Treat a listing as a starting point: confirm capabilities, capacity, specifications, pricing, and terms directly.
- Build a comparable cost and operating picture. Request quotes using the same product requirements and expected volume. Include materials, transport, inventory, lead time, and any equipment or facility investment rather than comparing a factory quote with an overseas landed cost.
- Check demand and staffing assumptions. Test whether expected sales can support the proposed price and production volume, and whether the operation can hire or train the people it needs.
- Get help with supply-chain or technology questions. NIST MEP recommends contacting a local MEP Center for expert assistance tailored to manufacturers. Support can help a business work through supplier, process, or technology questions before it makes a large commitment.
- Verify financing terms before building them into the plan. Review current SBA program details and discuss eligibility and terms with an appropriate lender; the SBA’s March 2025 announcement is not a guarantee of present availability or approval.
When domestic manufacturing is a realistic option
Domestic production is worth investigating when a business can identify suppliers that meet its product requirements, has a plausible route to enough customers and qualified workers, and can finance the costs at its expected scale. The reported evidence does not show that U.S. manufacturing is inherently too expensive or impossible for small firms. It shows that cost, supply-chain capability, sales, hiring, compliance, and capital can all shape whether a particular production plan works.
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