Overseas Manufacturing Costs Drive Business Home

3. Is your product a juvenile or baby product? New dramatic safety restrictions have been implemented, making it much more expensive to produce these types of products. New consumer product laws have recently passed, creating more stringent standards. Manufacturers and importers of toys and other nursery products are required to certify that they have passed strict mandatory safety standards before they hit store shelves. And that means companies must invest more in third-party testing of parts or finished products. (For specific information on this new legislation and to learn if your product is affected, click here.)

4. What is your comfort level? If you are a new business faced with countless unfamiliar challenges, you may simply feel more comfortable manufacturing in the U.S., especially now that there may be more price parity. This will save you the task of learning all the fundamentals of freight-forwarding, tariffs, and U.S. custom payments, among other issues.

The bottom line is that when you're choosing a factory to work with -- either at home or abroad -- you should use good shopping practices. In addition to closely evaluating all the costs involved in producing your product, look carefully at the factory's body of work, speak with references, and make sure that you understand and clearly agree on the expectations of the job and the terms. And also know that as your production needs change -- or the economy changes even more -- you may need to re-evaluate your decision yet again.