Hardware Manufacturers NAICS 332510

Apr 23, 2025 - Tariffs: Boon or Burden?

• While President Trump says tariffs will be a boon for American manufacturing, in the short term tariffs are making life harder for US manufacturers, especially smaller companies, the National Association of Manufacturers reports. The president of Ohio-based copper wire products maker Republic Wire told the Cincinnati Enquirer that while he understands what the administration is trying to achieve with tariffs, “Higher prices on materials could mean fewer construction projects, which could mean a slowdown for the industry, fewer jobs and a drag on the economy as a whole.” However, because US hardware makers face intense competition from cheap imports – notably from China, which the administration has saddled with especially steep duties – tariffs could shield domestic companies from foreign competition by making imported hardware products more expensive.
• Tariff and housing cost concerns are causing confidence among US home builders to decline, the National Association of Home Builders reports. Builder confidence in the market for newly built single-family homes measured 42 in February, down five points from January and the lowest level in five months, according to the NAHB/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index (HMI) released on February 18. “Uncertainty on the tariff front helped push builders’ expectations for future sales volume down to the lowest level since December 2023,” said said NAHB Chairman Carl Harris, adding “Incentive use may also be weakening as a sales strategy as elevated interest rates reduce the pool of eligible home buyers.” New home construction drives demand for home hardware from building materials distributors and hardware stores.

• Analysts and building-products executives are forecasting a rebound in home renovations in 2025, The Wall Street Journal reported in October citing a new outlook from the Joint Center for Housing Studies (JCHS) at Harvard University. The JCHS’s Leading Indicator of Remodeling Activity (LIRA) forecasts repair and renovation spending will return to growth next summer and that spending should reach an annual rate of $477 billion by next October. That would approach the record annual rate of $487 billion reached a year ago, before high interest rates dampened activity. Falling interest rates and sharply rising property values will make it less expensive for US homeowners to tap home equity loans to pay for big projects, including new kitchens and bathroom remodels, driving demand for tools and home hardware. Lower rates should also boost new home construction and sales of existing homes, further driving demand for hardware.
• Employment by hardware manufacturers shrank 2.5% in January compared to a year ago, while average industry wages at fabricated metal products manufacturers rose 3.6% year over year in February to a new high of $26.80 per hour, according to the latest US Bureau of Labor Statistics data. Sales for fabricated metal products companies, which includes hardware manufacturers, declined last year, according to the Census Bureau. Looking ahead, sales for the US hardware manufacturers industry are forecast to grow at a 2.8% compounded annual rate from 2025 to 2029, slower than the growth of the overall economy, according to the Interindustry Economic Research Fund.