The more expensive, still made in America. Workers' salaries are less expensive than the machines, and the factories are meant to employ as many people as possible, according to Jeff Liao, general manager of Greenview Co., a Taiwanese trading company that specializes in supplying furniture factories. Sometimes twice as many as needed. Low wages make that possible. But labor costs alone aren't pulling lumber to China.
Shipping is cheap, too.
The Chinese government provides more financial help to new ventures than the American government, often waiving taxes and paying to build factories, industry experts said. The price of regulations in the United States also adds to the bottom line. Artz said the finishing rooms he's seen in China are not as modern as those here. The newer the factory, the better the quality, said Artz, who has been touring Asian furniture factories for nearly a decade. But, as factories get better and wages rise, other countries' furniture industries get more competitive, Liao said.