Industrial Machinery Manufacturers NAICS 3332

Mar 30, 2025 - Tariffs Impacting Industrial Manufacturers

• The Trump administration’s on-again, off-again tariff strategy is sending ripples through industrial manufacturing, significantly impacting production costs, supply chains, and overall competitiveness in the machinery and industrial equipment sector, Manufacturing.Net reports. The implementation of an additional 10% tariff on Chinese imports, suspension of de minimis exemptions for Chinese shipments, and newly announced (and since delayed) 25% tariffs on goods from Mexico and Canada, are causing confusion and requiring manufacturers to quickly adapt to mitigate potential cost spikes and avoid supply disruptions. The higher costs for imported components and raw materials is particularly acute in industrial manufacturing, where steel, aluminum, machinery parts, and electronic components are key production inputs. The 25% tariffs on steel and aluminum imports are increasing the cost of industrial machinery, construction equipment, and transportation infrastructure, saddling US manufacturers of heavy machinery with higher input costs for essential materials, according to Manufacturing.Net.
• President Trump's tariffs threats, if realized, could worsen the existing labor shortage in the US manufacturing sector, Inc reported in December. If, as the president has suggested, 25% tariffs on imports from Mexico, Canada, the European Union, and other US trading partners, result in largescale reshoring of jobs to the US, it would add to the tally of US factory jobs currently going unfilled. According to data cited by The Wall Street Journal, the number of available manufacturing jobs that went unfilled each month held steady at about 100,000 throughout 2024. Moreover, the domestic labor pool may not be able to fill millions of new positions expected to be created in the next few years, Inc writes. Trump’s promise to deport undocumented workers and restrict immigration would only exacerbate the current labor shortage, some business owners say.

• Prices for machinery and industrial equipment are likely to rise if President Trump makes good on his campaign promise to impose tariffs on Canada and Mexico, Newsweek reports. Canada and Mexico export heavy machinery, engines, and industrial tools used in manufacturing and construction to the US. If Trump's tariffs are imposed, US industries will face higher costs for equipment, such as industrial machinery, boilers and electrical equipment, according to Newsweek. Moreover, the higher costs could slow down construction and manufacturing projects, which in turn could hit companies in those industries. Tariffs would have widespread ramifications for US manufacturers, making it more expensive to produce goods that use foreign components. And if Canada and Mexico respond with retaliatory tariffs, it could also make it more expensive for US manufacturers to export goods to foreign markets. Also, higher prices for imported machinery and equipment could cause domestic manufacturers to raise their prices.
• Employment by industrial machinery manufacturers grew 1.5% in January compared to a year ago, while the average industry wage rose 1.3% over the same period to $30.85 per hour, according to the latest US Bureau of Labor Statistics data. Rising producer prices for makers of industrial machinery are helping to support growing payrolls, although sales are slipping. Machinery sales declined 5% year over year in the third quarter of 2024 and 1.6% from the previous quarter, according to the Census Bureau. Looking ahead, sales for the US industrial machinery manufacturers industry are forecast to grow at a 0.25% compounded annual rate from 2025 to 2029, slower than the growth of the overall economy, according to the Interindustry Economic Research Fund.