Who Makes Husky's Socket Sets & Where Are They Manufactured?

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Sometimes you may decide which sockets to buy based on the brand name or the retail cost. But other times, you may consider who manufactures the sockets and where. "Made in the USA" is a big selling point, especially considering not all socket brands are still manufactured in America.

Husky, a house brand of Home Depot that primarily offers tools, sells its products exclusively through the home improvement retailer's stores. The production of Husky tools is outsourced to third-party tool manufacturers. Husky doesn't directly advertise where its sockets are made, in particular, but Apex Tool Group is one of the main manufacturers that makes the brand's hand tools.

Though Husky did advertise a "Made in the USA" sticker on some tools in the 1990s, it appears the brand has followed the trend of manufacturing its tools overseas in more recent years. Apex Tool Group makes some tools overseas through its international facilities located in places like China and Taiwan. The Husky 3/8-inch Drive Deep Metric Socket Set and the 1/4-inch Drive Deep SAE Socket Set, for example, are both made in Taiwan and finished in China. Meanwhile, the 1/2-inch Drive Metric 6-Point Impact Socket Set is manufactured in China, as is the 347-piece Master Socket Set.  

The Husky brand is actually older than Home Depot and was originally founded in 1924. It changed hands multiple times throughout the past century, being acquired by New Britain Machine and then Stanley Black & Decker before becoming an exclusive Home Depot brand in 1992. Within a decade, Home Depot outright bought the Husky brand from Stanley, making it one of the eight tool and supply brands the company owns.

In its earlier years, Husky did pride itself on its American-made tools. However, in 1999, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), filed a complaint against Stanley, Husky's parent company at the time. The complaint accused Stanley of falsely labeling certain tools as "Made in the USA," when that was not the case. The FTC eventually ordered Stanley to stop misrepresenting the U.S. origin of any mechanics tools, including sockets, wrenches, and other hand tools.

These days, most Husky tools, including its sockets, do not appear to sport the "Made in the USA" logo. Instead, the brand has shifted to overseas manufacturing, which is something that many American tool companies have done in recent years. The combination of high labor costs, struggling supply chains, and demand for lower prices makes domestic production nearly impossible. For Home Depot, producing Husky tools outside of the U.S. likely has to do with meeting demand and maintaining the brand so customers can get what they want.