Hardware Manufacturers NAICS 332510

Jun 23, 2025 - Tariffs Raising Builders’ Costs

• Tariffs are pushing up remodeling costs, causing some homeowners to reconsider making upgrades, CBS News reports. Tariff-inflated costs for materials can add up quickly, leading to a typical price increase of around $10,000 per home renovation project, according to the National Association of Home Builders. Most materials used to build US homes, including hardware, are imported, with China and Mexico being the largest suppliers. A trade deal negotiated with China in June sets 55% tariffs on Chinese imports – high but significantly lower than the 145% tariffs previously imposed by Trump. Meanwhile, imports from Mexico face a 25% tariff. Because US hardware manufacturers compete with less expensive imports, tariffs may level the playing field somewhat. However, higher prices for metals due to stiff tariffs are raising costs for hardware makers that source materials from overseas.
• 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.
• Producer prices for hardware manufacturers rose 3.9% in May compared to a year ago, after falling 0.9% in the previous annual comparison, according to the latest US Bureau of Labor Statistics data. Industry producer prices, which had been relatively flat in 2023 and 2024, began rising this spring as US import tariffs roiled the metals markets. Employment by hardware, spring, and wire product manufacturers shrank 4.6% year over year in April to its lowest level since 2020, while average wages at fabricated metal products manufacturers rose 4% YoY in May to $27.03 per hour, pennies short of their high in April, BLS data show.