The business sense of reshoring  The expression "reshoring" describes bringing services back to the location it was originally sourced. After years of lamenting that the U.S. continues to lose manufacturing and jobs to overseas contractors, we learn that a majority of large companies plan to move production stateside.        

Walmart and many other companies with sales over $1B per year have pledged to bring production back to America in the near future. Fortunately for our workers, the trend makes business sense, mostly because of increasing offshore labor costs, undependable product quality and the appeal of proximity to  primary markets. The change could mean millions of new factory and service-related jobs for the U.S. by 2020, effecting a significant economic impact.

The hidden costs of overseas manufacturing  Prospects hiring us for design and engineering ask if we have connections for manufacturing overseas (we do not). China and the Far East are reputed low-cost manufacturing leaders, and there is a common belief it's possible to have a substantially similar product produced there for much less than it would cost in the States. The price per part may be less, but there are other factors to consider.   

Labor and production rates are rising in those parts of the world, and getting the products here can be expensive. Every inventor and virtual company who wants to develop a product should be familiar with the phrase "Total Landed Cost". Imported products are subject to unexpected charges and fees that can significantly affect the overall cost of finished goods.