American Manufacturing on the Rise

Good news for Americans who want to support the American economy by purchasing American-made products: the production and shipping costs in China and other overseas manufacturing centers are rising. While there are many industries that are still dominated by imported products, there seems to be a broad shift towards manufacturing in the U.S.

January marked a definite shift in the tide, as retail giant Wal-Mart announced that it would be spending an additional $50 billion over the next 10 years on American-made products to help U.S. production. Apple Inc. also announced that it planned to build some of its iMac line in the United States.

As Dan Seiver, chief economist for Reilly Financial Advisors, notes, “They run the numbers and say ‘We can deliver just as cheaply from a U.S> operation as we can from, say, China.’”

And not only does it help the bottom line, it also has the added benefit of giving the company a boost in public opinions. Americans want to buy American and for large manufacturers, being able to put the made in the USA labels on products can be a public relations gold mine.