Many small business owners that make their own products may have recently made some seismic changes to the ways in whcih they obtain the things they need to manufacture their goods. As a result, for a number of reasons, more companies both large and small are buying American-made goods as a means of saving money and increasing interest.
American production efforts may soon rebound once again as small businesses and industry giants alike bring buying and operations back from overseas, according to a report from The Associated Press. One of the many reasons for this is that shipping from overseas has become considerably more expensive in recent years, as the price of oil has risen from $20 per barrel two decades ago to nearly five times that amount. That alone has boosted costs for shipping by as much as 50 or 60 percent in some cases.
However, there are other factors at play as well, the report said. For instance, those ordering products from overseas may find that it takes rather a long time to receive the products they ordered; constituting as much as four or five days in additional transit time as ships move about 20 percent slower than they used to as a means of saving fuel. That in turn can make it more difficult to have a quicker turnaround, particularly for companies that may not always be able to predict demand for their products. Moreover, with the value of foreign currency rising in comparison with the dollar in the last few years, and the economy still in recovery mode, more companies moved production back overseas since the end of the recession as a means of increasing their cost certainty.
Statistics show that between 2010 and 2012 alone, about 50,000 manufacturing jobs that had previously been overseas moved back to American shores, the report said. In addition, a recent survey found that 95 percent of manufacturers are planning to increase purchases from American companies or keep them at the same level they maintained in 2011.
Small business owners have many costs to consider in the daily operations of their companies, and these often include small business insurance policies necessary to stay afloat. For example, many companies may want to consider the ways in which expanding operations in any way will increase their liability insurance costs over the course of a year.
