American furniture manufacturers have struggled with making cost-competitive products over the past decade. Several have closed U.S. facilities and built plants overseas or hired companies to make the goods in foreign countries and ship them here. Many factors have influenced the decision to move production over seas including, labor costs, price of materials, freight costs, time in transit, overall time to make a product and get it to market, and the amount of training needed for employees. “A decade ago, nearly 100 percent of the dinette sets, cabinets, dressers, armoires and other wooden pieces sold in the United States were produced here. Today, 75 percent to 80 percent is made in China, Taiwan, Vietnam and other Asian countries.”
(Maltby) Much like North Carolina, Mississippi has also been greatly affected by the outsourcing of American manufacturing. Jay Moon, president of the Mississippi Manufacturers Association, hopes that lawmakers will do away with the inventory tax businesses pay on raw materials, works in progress, and finished goods. Because China using favored-nation status to flood the American market with cheaper goods, such moves would help American manufacturers better compete with overseas companies making the same types of products. (Ayers) There are many other issues affecting the furniture industry, high gas prices increase shipping costs, job layoffs, and most directly, the nationwide housing foreclosure crisis. When people are unable to keep a roof over their head, it is unlikely that they are worried about the furniture in their home. The logic is simple, “retail stores aren't selling any furniture because people aren't buying furniture," (Ayers)
Since I am in going into the field of Interior Design I have seen the results of shipping production overseas first hand. This past summer I did an internship in a furniture store and nearly everyday we received a fax from an upholstered furniture company with a list of fabrics that had been discontinued due to the closing of U.S. mills. This causes there to be much less selection and variety, which creates problems when one furniture store wants to stand out from another or when a