I expect that as robots, in a loose sense, become better at fine movements, you'll have more and more "near-sourcing". An early example of this: Brother, the pr

I expect that as robots, in a loose sense, become better at fine movements, you'll have more and more "near-sourcing". An early example of this: Brother, the printing company, had an exhibit at CES a couple years ago that really wowed: http://techfaster.com/brother-brought-some-awesome-sewing-machine-tech-to-ces-2/ http://techfaster.com/brother-brought-some-awesome-sewing-ma.... For now, there is at least an initial "activation energy" hump to get over in terms of training people to assemble shoes. A sneaker or dress shoe may seem simple, but there are hundreds of individual stitches that are essential for a quality product. If you're interested, look into the story of American Giant. To make clothes in North Carolina, they had to implement extensive training for the entire supply chain for their clothing. Some simpler footwear products are actually already made in the U.S. The custom orthotics for my running shoes were measured for and made in the U.S.