Forging and Stamping NAICS 3321

Apr 21, 2025 - Fabricators Facing Higher Costs

• New tariffs on steel and aluminum imports to the US have a direct impact on small fabricators’ cost structures, bidding strategies, and overall competitiveness, according to Exiil, a provider of software to metal manufacturers. In March, President Trump raised steel and aluminum import tariffs to the US by 25%, ending all country exemptions, in addition to hiking tariffs on China, according to Reuters. Russian aluminum imports carry a tariff of 200%. Beyond raw metal, the US has increasingly added “downstream” or “derivative” products – such as stamped parts, fasteners, tubing, wire, or other items with high steel/aluminum content – to existing Section 232 tariffs. As a result, fabricators face higher materials costs. Even companies that source metals domestically are likely to pay more for metal as US mills often raise their prices when foreign competitors’ costs go up – because the “floor” of the market shifts.
• Metal stamping is among the industries likely to be most impacted by President Trump’s proposed 25% tariffs on steel and aluminum. An International Trade Commission report on the impact of the 2018 Trump tariffs, which ranked industries by their dependence on steel and aluminum, found that motor vehicle metal stamping uses the most steel (58%). Reacting to Trump’s announcement, the Coalition of American Metal Manufacturers and Users (CAMMU) said in a statement: “Re-imposing 25% tariffs on steel and aluminum imports from our allies and without a workable exclusion process puts US manufacturers directly in harm’s way.” It noted that under Section 232 tariffs already in effect US manufacturers are paying significantly more for steel and aluminum than their global competitors, undermining their ability to compete. The statement says small and medium-sized businesses are particularly vulnerable to losing contracts to overseas rivals with unrestricted access to these essential inputs.

• The forging industry has ample extra capacity and is ready to put it to work to meet the nation’s defense needs, according to the Forging Industry Association’s (FIA) CEO Jim Warren. Warren said there’s a perception within the Department of Defense that the forging industry lacks capacity. “We have no problem with capacity on anything.” If there is a problem in the future, it will be with an expected surge in construction of commercial aircraft, but until then, “we can do it all,” including making forged and cast components for ships and submarines. The FIA is promoting a new survey that concluded 63% of forging companies do work within the defense industry and that members, on average, are using 51% of their available capacity. Companies that do primarily defense work have an even lower capacity use, at 41%. The FIA also supports higher tariffs and even bans on foreign forgings.
• Employment by forging and stamping companies grew 0.9% in January compared to a year ago followed in February by an 11.2% year over year rise in the average industry wage to a new high of $25.63 per hour, according to the latest US Bureau of Labor Statistics data. Quarterly sales for fabricated metal products companies, which included forging and stamping firms, fell 9% in the fourth quarter compared to a year ago and were down 1.6% from Q3, according to the Census Bureau. Looking ahead, sales for the US forging and stamping companies industry are forecast to grow at a 1.65% compounded annual rate from 2025 to 2029, slower than the growth of the overall economy, according to the latest forecast from the Interindustry Economic Research Fund.