1、CEO Agenda:Is nearshoring your blind spot in 2026?Strategy&The nearshoring myth of cost advantagesMarch 2026Strategy&Since 2000,multi-hundred billion euros of economic value have been re-shored to CEE1 Nearshoring is mostly used to cut costs,but many executives2 still see rising costs as a growth co
2、nstraint CEE nearshoring business cases struggle in todays reality(further intensified through US tariffs),and often fail to deliver the expected savings and contribution to competitiveness3 due to 1)Labor costs rising 3.5x faster than productivity,2)Chinese automation levels 2-6x higher compared to
3、 CEE,3)Manufacturing labor shortage 16%higher vs.Germany,driven by critical gaps in medium-skilled roles,4)Nearly 3x higher gas and electricity prices over the past 5 years,5)Political stability declining across all 12 CEE countries5,and comparable regulatory hurdles in CEE(over 8%of managements tim
4、e spent on regulation)6 Offshoring to Asia offers 55%labor arbitrage on average versus nearshoring to CEE3.Chinas labor productivity(65%increase since 2015),automation levels,and overcapacity could further widen this gap3 Geopolitical resilience is inadequate to justify this gap;accordingly,nearshor
5、ing activities require reevaluationWay forward:A comprehensive approach is needed to evaluate strategic responses to global competition beyond price and combine nearshoring with internal restructuring,offshoring,and automationMarch 2026Many nearshoring initiatives have failed to make expected saving
6、s;reassessment is needed to safeguard competitivenessExecutive summary2CEO Agenda:Is nearshoring your blind spot in 2026?Source(s):1)PwC GBS Study Accelerating transformation,sustaining efficiency 2025 2)PwC 2026 Global CEO Survey 3)Strategy&analysis 5)World Bank(2025)6)World Bank(2025)Enterprise su