por admin » Dom May 04, 2025 10:25 am
Trump’s Tariffs Are Lifting Some U.S. Manufacturers
Levies on imports are giving early boosts to some American factories
By Jeanne Whalen and Bob Tita | Photographs and videos by Dustin Franz for WSJ
May 4, 2025 at 5:30 am ET
Some small and midsize U.S. manufacturers are seeing an uptick in orders from companies looking to avoid paying new tariffs, stoking hope that the levies might boost their businesses over the longer-term.
Trump’s tariffs have disrupted global trade and the American economy. Yet those same new rules are making these manufacturers’ goods more price competitive with imports for the first time in years, they say.
“We are swamped. We are running 24 hours a day, seven days a week in both Chicago and Cleveland,” said Jack Schron, president of Jergens Inc., which makes manufacturing tools, including industrial screwdrivers, clamps and hoists.
Schron said his factories in Ohio and Illinois are “going like gangbusters,” partly owing to new orders from customers looking to avoid paying import tariffs, and partly because of increased demand over the last 18 months from the defense industry.
Reports from Schron and others represent welcome news for tariff supporters, who predicted the levies would breathe new life into U.S. manufacturing.
So far, few bigger global manufacturers have announced plans to launch factories or move operations to the U.S. And some broad manufacturing surveys point to a less sunny outlook. An April Federal Reserve survey of Texas manufacturers showed that tariff concerns were darkening perceptions of broader business conditions.
A lathe cuts a rubber tube at Grand River Rubber & Plastics in Ashtabula, Ohio.
Jake Nelson helps produce rubber gaskets, which are one of the company's biggest products.
Trump’s tariffs are also likely to change. Many manufacturers, including Schron, say they are reluctant to hire more workers or expand production lines without knowing that the tariffs will stick around.
Still, the tariffs—especially the 145% tax on Chinese imports—are boosting demand for some U.S.-made goods, with some smaller players reaping the early benefits.
Donny Chaplin, president of Grand River Rubber & Plastics in Ashtabula, Ohio, said he has seen a rush of new inquiries and orders. Two previous customers that had switched to Chinese suppliers a few years ago came back in recent days wanting to buy rubber gaskets from Grand River again, for the plastic pails they manufacture.
Three manufacturers of oil filters also got in touch, wanting to shift business from China, with two already placing orders.
All together, the new business will be worth about $5 million a year if it is completed, or roughly 10% of Grand River’s revenue. That might require the company to hire new employees and expand production lines, so Chaplin said he’s asking for long-term contracts. That will also protect the company if the tariffs disappear, he said.
Grand River and other manufacturers say the tariffs are increasing production costs, especially given their reliance on imported Chinese materials that now carry 145% levies. Grand River buys factory supplies from China, including safety glasses, machine tools and ear plugs, and it imports a small amount of rubber from countries whose goods now face 10% tariffs. Chaplin said the company can probably manage these higher costs but will have to pass them on to its customers through price increases.
Manufacturers that are more dependent on imports have a less rosy view of tariffs.
Donny Chaplin, in gray, said he’s asking for long-term contracts to help protect Grand River if tariffs suddenly go away.
An employee gathers extruded tubes of rubber to be sent onward for cutting on a lathe.
Husco International, a family-owned manufacturer near Milwaukee that makes components for autos and farm equipment, has halved its reliance on Chinese materials over the past decade, in response to tariffs from Trump’s first term and the general worsening of U.S.-China relations, Chief Executive Austin Ramirez said. But 20% of the manufacturer’s inputs by value still come from China.
“We can’t just stop. These are critical components that go into our customers’ goods,” he said. “We have to keep importing and I have to pay the tariffs.” He’s trying to cover this extra cost by raising prices.
The tariffs are a lifeline for the U.S. companies that sprang up during the Covid-19 pandemic to produce face masks, rubber gloves and other personal protective equipment, after shipments from Asia declined. The companies struggled in the pandemic’s aftermath, when hospitals and clinics abandoned U.S. manufacturers and returned to lower-cost suppliers in China, U.S. executives said.
Workers separate rubber gaskets. Import tariffs are bringing new gasket orders to Grand River.
But new U.S. tariffs on rubber gloves from China have doubled the price from a few months ago, and “the folks that are relying on China are scrambling for other sources,” said Alan Rust, chief growth officer for SafeSource Direct, a Louisiana-based manufacturer of synthetic rubber gloves. “We were getting stiffed for a very long time, but just recently we’ve been getting a lot more inquiries.”
SafeSource restarted two production lines to accommodate recent new orders, bringing the number of lines in service to eight. Each of the 425-foot-long lines churns out about 22,000 gloves an hour, or nearly 118 million a month in continuous production. Higher volumes help SafeSource drive down its production costs, making the prices its charges for gloves more competitive with those of bigger suppliers overseas.
“We think we can get extremely close to Asian prices,” said Steve Mott, a company partner. One downside to the new trade regime: The nitrile rubber chemicals that SafeSource imports from Brazil and Italy to make its gloves is now subject to a 10% base U.S. tariff.
Employees for Massachusetts-based AccuRounds are working overtime to accommodate rising orders for the company’s shafts, valves and other steel components. The company recently added two customers that had shifted business from AccuRounds to suppliers in Singapore and China in recent years. First-quarter sales were 20% higher from a year earlier, said Chief Executive Michael Tamasi.
“We hope there’s more to follow,” he said.
Whirlpool, which has a factory in Clyde, Ohio, expects its costs to rise by 2.4% this year because of tariffs on imported components.
Whirlpool, which has a factory in Clyde, Ohio, expects its costs to rise by 2.4% this year because of tariffs on imported components. Photo: Nick Hagen for WSJ
Some big consumer-product manufacturers are also hoping for new business. Michigan-based Whirlpool, which assembles 80% of its U.S. appliances at domestic factories, says its Asian competitors have had an unfair advantage, as they manufacture their appliances overseas but haven’t been paying import tariffs on them since 2023, when one imposed during Trump’s first term expired.
Those rivals’ access to cheaper components and steel in Asia helps give them a $150 retail price advantage on washers, Whirlpool says.
Chief Executive Marc Bitzer said the latest tariffs on imported assembled appliances should help close the price gap. “The tariffs will finally help create a level playing field for Whirlpool,” he said in April during a call with analysts. The company also expects its costs to rise by 2.4% this year, or about $400 million, because of tariffs on imported components. It plans to offset those costs by cutting expenses and raising prices.