Who ever thought it was a good idea to send our work overseas? Sure, I understand the simple logic: Because of cheap labor and favorable exchange rates, the price of producing a certain amount of parts in some other countries can be so much less expensive than here in the U.S. that the savings more than covers the added expense of shipping. But there’s so much more to it than that. Most of the red flags that are raised regarding off-shore outsourcing are related to part quality and time of delivery, but the bottom line is the total cost of acquisition. Think “big picture.”

According to the American Machine Tool Distributors’ Association, the U.S. imports approximately $200 billion worth of parts and tooling per year. Bringing this work back on-shore would increase employment, strengthen U.S. manufacturers, improve the trade deficit and increase the overall tax base. The organization also states that OEMs would benefit from increasingly competitive U.S. FOB pricing, enhanced lean process improvements, minimized inventory, improved supply chain responsiveness, and better control over intellectual property and overall carbon footprint.

To address the need for bringing work back to the U.S., the National Tooling & Machining Association (NTMA) and the Precision Metalforming Association (PMA), along with the Association for Manufacturing Technology (AMT), are holding a contract manufacturing purchasing fair titled “Re-Shoring: Bringing Work Back to the U.S.A.” on May 12, 2010, in Irvine, Calif. This is an opportunity for shop managers to meet with as many as 100 OEMs that are looking to bring work back to the U.S. that is currently being produced off-shore. Vendor job shops will have the opportunity to quote jobs for special tooling, metal stampings and precision machined parts, components and assemblies.

Read further detail about the event at the NTMA Web site or download the registration brochure.