What's Your Choice? American Made vs. Made in America
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CREDIT: American flag image via Shutterstock
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Americans are starting to differentiate between products made in America and those made by an American company overseas. With that distinction made, more Americans are choosing products made in America, even if those products are made by foreign companies, over products made by American companies overseas.
In a recent survey, 41 percent of car shoppers recently said it was important for them to buy a car made in the United States by U.S. workers. Just 28 percent of car shoppers said that it was important for them to buy a car made by a U.S. automaker in another country
That feeling of supporting American made products can be attributed to several factors. In particular, 78 percent of the respondents said that buying products made in the U.S. protects American jobs while 74 percent said that it protects the U.S. economy. Lastly, 62 percent of respondents said that buying products made in the U.S. helps keep dollars at home. The study also found that 57 percent of shoppers consider a car made by a foreign automaker in the U.S. as being American-made. Just 43 percent of shoppers hold the same feelings for a car made overseas by an American company.
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"There's no doubt that buying American products supports the U.S. economy, but 'made in the U.S.' doesn't have to mean 'made by' a U.S. manufacturer," said Rick Wainschel, vice president of automotive insights at AutoTrader.com, which conducted the research. "With the global nature of the auto industry, many vehicles from foreign automakers are manufactured right here in the U.S., enabling car shoppers to feel that they are still supporting the U.S. economy and job creation for American workers."
The information in this research is a part of the July 2012 Shopper Insights Report released by AutoTrader.
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