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Trumbull Foundry specializes in high-quality gray iron casting and ductile iron castings, serving industries across the U.S.

Reshoring Metal Castings in 2026: What It Means for U.S. Foundries and the OEMs Who Buy From Them

Writer: Trumbull Foundry
Trumbull Foundry
Oct 13
6 min read

Reshoring has moved from a talking point to a sourcing plan for many OEMs. More manufacturers are bringing production back to the United States, and castings sit near the start of almost every one of those supply chains. The challenge is that the domestic foundry base those programs are returning to is much smaller than it was a generation ago.


For engineering and purchasing teams, that changes the question. Finding a U.S. foundry is only the first step. The real work is finding one with the right fit for your part's size, complexity, volume, and timeline, and doing it before capacity tightens further. Here is where reshoring stands in 2026, what it means for foundries, and how to evaluate a domestic casting partner.

Key Takeaways

  • Reshoring is growing. About 247,000 U.S. manufacturing jobs were announced through reshoring and foreign investment in 2025, and roughly 309,000 are projected for 2026.

  • The domestic foundry base is much smaller than it once was, with about 1,750 U.S. metalcasting facilities today compared with 6,150 in 1955.

  • Large castings, complex cores, specialty alloys, and low-to-medium runs are often the hardest programs to place domestically.

  • Comparing quoted piece price alone can be misleading. Total cost of ownership gives a clearer picture of freight, inventory, quality, and lead time risk.

  • Choose a foundry by fit: casting size, volume, metallurgy, core capability, tooling support, machining coordination, and communication.

  • Trumbull Foundry & Alloy pours ferrous castings from 1 to 3,000 pounds in Niles, Ohio, with heat sizes as low as 100 pounds for smaller and specialty programs.


Where Reshoring Stands in 2026

The Reshoring Initiative reports that roughly 247,000 U.S. manufacturing jobs were announced through reshoring and foreign direct investment in 2025, nearly identical to 2024. More than 2.3 million jobs have been announced since 2010, and over half of that total came in just the last five years. Based on first-half announcements, the organization projects about 309,000 jobs will be announced in 2026.


Its 2026 USA Reshoring Survey of OEMs and contract manufacturers adds:

  • More OEMs reported having reshored, or being in the process, than in 2025.

  • Tariffs (cited by 67% of recent reshorers) and geopolitical risk (61%) are now nearly equal drivers.

  • Policy uncertainty was the top challenge, named by 57% of respondents.

  • Satisfaction with reshoring results fell to 67% of OEMs, down from 96% the year before.

  • Workforce, especially skilled trades, remains the biggest limit on how much reshoring can happen.


That drop in satisfaction is worth noting. Reshoring is gaining ground, and it also takes more planning than many teams expect. Supplier selection is one of the places where that planning pays off.


What Reshoring Means for U.S. Foundries


Demand is real, but uneven

The American Foundry Society raised its 2026 casting sales forecast to 8% growth at mid-year, up from 4.2% in January, after industry revenue reached about $53.7 billion in 2025. In AFS's late-2025 member survey, 41% of foundries said they had seen more reshoring orders tied to 2025 tariffs, while the rest had not. Reshoring work is arriving, but it is landing at some foundries more than others, depending on what they pour and who they serve.


The domestic foundry base is smaller

The number of U.S. metalcasting facilities has fallen from 6,150 in 1955 to about 3,200 in 1991 and roughly 1,750 today, according to figures cited in Casting Source. Ohio remains one of the states with the most foundries, but nationwide there are far fewer options than there were when many of today's casting programs first moved offshore.


That matters most for parts that do not fit the high-volume model: large castings, complex cored geometries, specialty alloys, and low-to-medium production runs. These are often the programs OEMs most want to bring home, and the ones with the fewest domestic sources.


Foundries are investing, and still need people

Foundries are responding. AFS reports that 96% of foundries planned capital investments in 2026, with grinding equipment, sensors and analytics, robotics, and molding equipment at the top of the list. Labor remains one of the industry's most persistent concerns, which is consistent with the Reshoring Initiative's finding that skilled workforce is the binding constraint on reshoring overall.


Price Versus Total Cost: Reshoring Metal Castings

The most common reshoring mistake is comparing quoted piece price and stopping there. The Reshoring Initiative's analysis of 190 China-versus-U.S. sourcing cases found the U.S. option won just 8% of the time on price alone. When total cost of ownership was used, that rose to 32%. The share of OEMs using total cost of ownership is growing, from 30% in 2025 to 40% in 2026.


For castings, the costs that often sit outside the piece price include:

  • Freight and duties, which can change with little notice

  • Inventory carried to cover long ocean lead times

  • Emergency air freight when a shipment slips

  • Quality issues discovered after parts arrive, when rework or replacement takes weeks

  • Engineering changes that move slowly across time zones and language barriers

  • Tooling risk when patterns sit in another country


Domestic sourcing will win some of these comparisons and lose others. A full cost comparison gives the more accurate picture. The Reshoring Initiative also found that 42% of companies would pay 5% to 20% more for roughly one-week delivery versus six-week delivery, which shows how much value buyers place on responsiveness.


What to Look for in a Domestic Casting Partner

When you move a casting program, you are trusting a new foundry with parts your customers depend on. These questions help separate a good fit from an available one.


1. Can they pour your part's size and weight? Many domestic foundries are set up for smaller castings. If your part is large or heavy, confirm the weight range and molding process up front.

2. Is your volume a fit for their operation? A high-volume foundry may not prioritize a program of a few dozen parts a year. Ask how they handle low-to-medium runs and small heat sizes.

3. How do they control metallurgy? Ask how chemistry is verified, which ASTM specifications they work to, and whether they can support specialty or custom alloys.

4. Can they handle your cores and geometry? Complex internal passages require planning, core experience, and process control. Ask to see similar work.

5. What happens to your tooling? Pattern condition affects quality. Ask whether the foundry will evaluate existing patterns, repair them, or produce new tooling, including printed patterns and core boxes.

6. Who coordinates machining and finishing? Consolidating casting, machining, and finishing can reduce the number of suppliers you manage. Clarify which steps happen in-house and which go through approved partners.

7. How will you communicate? Reshoring should improve visibility. Ask who your engineering and sales contacts will be and how quickly questions get answered.


Where Trumbull Foundry & Alloy Fits

Trumbull Foundry & Alloy has operated in Niles, Ohio since 2008. Our team of more than 50 people works out of a no-bake foundry with more than 150,000 square feet of production space. We are built for the kinds of programs that are hardest to place domestically:

  • Ferrous castings from 1 to 3,000 pounds, including large castings many domestic sources cannot pour

  • Heat sizes as low as 100 pounds, which makes small runs and specialty alloys practical

  • Low-to-medium production runs that receive full technical attention

  • Complex cored castings that require careful process planning

  • A broad alloy range, including gray iron, ductile iron, Ni-Hard, Ni-Resist, steel, and stainless steel, plus our proprietary TPX, D3, D3+, and TM9 alloys developed for specific customer applications

  • Chemistry controlled by optical emission spectrometer

  • In-house 3D printing, 3D scanning, and reverse engineering for patterns, core boxes, and legacy parts without drawings (see our prototyping capabilities)

  • Turnkey machining and finishing, with heat treating through approved production facilities

  • Rapid and emergency production when tooling, material, specifications, and capacity allow


Trumbull may be a strong fit if your casting is large, complex, made in modest volumes, needs a specialty alloy, or has been difficult to source at home. For more on how domestic sourcing supports ductile iron programs, see Ductile Iron Castings Made in the USA for OEM Applications. If you are also reviewing designs as part of a transfer, Designing for Castability covers the design choices that make the biggest difference on the foundry floor.


Preparing to Reshore a Casting Program

The more a foundry knows up front, the faster and more accurately it can quote. Before you reach out, gather:

  • Casting prints or 3D models, or a sample part if drawings no longer exist

  • Material and specification requirements

  • Annual volume and typical order size

  • Current tooling and pattern condition

  • Machining and finishing requirements

  • Target timeline for the first production order


Start the Conversation

Reshoring is gaining momentum, and the foundries equipped for large, complex, and low-volume work are limited. Starting early gives your team time to qualify a partner and transfer the program without disrupting supply.


Preparing to reshore a casting program? Send your RFQ and timeline to Adam Danch, Vice President of Sales, at adam@trumbullfoundry.com, or contact Trumbull Foundry & Alloy.



Sources



B2B Digital Marketing Partner, Jessica Creative Strategies

Written in partnership with Jessica Creative Strategies

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