On the technical end, CAD has become the coin of the realm in the drafting world, but non-engineering oriented manufacturing industries, such as custom woodworking, have lagged behind in this development. In the United States, unlike Europe, there has been scant education for drafting as specifically tied to the woodworking industry. There is certainly some training in high school level tech programs, but it often leaves a great deal to be desired. In general, hiring woodworking draftsmen means training a craftsman to draw, or vice versa. The pool is pretty thin, and as any department head can attest, hiring and training is often an exasperating experience.
American woodworkers have various relationships with drafting.
These wood manufacturing niches have very different types of in-house drafting departments, and will have different needs of outside services. Custom outside drafting services work primarily with custom shops. This is because of the feast or famine nature of the business, and the lack of drafting staff in smaller shops. A mid to large size custom shop might consider going to a drafting service the way it would consider farming out plastic laminate boxes in order to save its in-house manpower for more skilled work. Small shops can consider these services to fill a void when the need arises.