Your Shore or Mine?

is the title of an article published by an associate of mine, Dave Turbide, in the current edition of APICS Magazine.  It's a very interesting piece that explains why 'on-shoring' of manufacturing back to the U.S. is being considered by more companies than ever.  Here's an excerpt from the article:

Several years ago, it was almost fashionable to outsource to low-wage areas of the world to reduce costs. Business leaders developed the mind-set of “off shoring is always cheaper” and they scarcely looked beyond unit cost plus transportation.

Fast-forward to 2008 and 2009, and witness the costly and embarrassing problems surrounding the discovery of lead in children’s toys, contaminated baby formula, and toxic drywall. Also consider recent oil price shocks and the earthquake and tsunami that severely disrupted supplies of many critical electronic and automotive parts in 2011. The US dollar has been on a downward path, making imports increasingly more expensive – and, on top of all this, wages in China are skyrocketing. Is it any wonder that company decision makers are taking another look at the costs of off shoring . . .