Is manufacturing moving back to North America?

Rapid manufacturing proves to be a compelling reason to bring manufacturing to the US /Mexico border.

Meyers says being just south of the U.S. border gives his company an advantage in the fiercely competitive global market. His firm gets access to a low-wage workforce in Mexico, yet it can still deliver products rapidly to their customers in the United States. His company's lead-time is just seven days, he says.

"You're not going to get something from China in seven days unless you put it on an airplane," Meyers says. "Here, we put it on a truck, and it's in. We take an order, we custom build it, we ship it out, and it's out quickly."

By being close to its market, INFASA has also eliminated warehousing costs. The products leave the loading dock in Reynosa, clear customs a few miles away at the border, then are immediately shipped to the client.

If a customer needs a product quickly, Meyer's team can build it, move it across to McAllen and have it on a FedEx flight within 24 hours. Myers says this is a service that manufacturers in Asia simply can't offer.

Business leaders on both sides of the border say this is a model for how the region can revive manufacturing in North America.

Read more about it at NPR