Rubber Product Manufacturers NAICS 3262

Nov 30, 2025 - GE Appliances Reshoring, Investing in Suppliers

• GE Appliances’ decision to invest $150 million in US suppliers as part of a broader reshoring push aims to strengthen its domestic supply chain, reduce dependence on overseas components, and shorten lead times. For suppliers, the investment provides new capital for equipment upgrades, automation, and capacity expansion, helping them meet GE’s higher volume and quality requirements. It also stabilizes order flows by giving suppliers longer-term commitments tied to US appliance production growth. However, the initiative raises performance expectations: suppliers will face stricter delivery, quality, and transparency standards, along with pressure to adopt more advanced manufacturing processes. Some will benefit from closer integration with GE’s engineering and procurement teams, while others may need to modernize rapidly or risk being replaced. Overall, the move enhances opportunities for US-based parts, materials, and tooling companies but increases competitive and technological pressures across GE’s supplier base.
• In mid-November, the market for EPDM (ethylene propylene diene monomer) rubber saw a modest price uptick, ChemAnalyst reports. The uptick in price for this type of synthetic rubber was driven by more consistent downstream buying (especially distributors stocking up for US winter production cycles), disciplined supply management in Asia, and relatively stable feedstock costs. With EPDM rubber prices rising, manufacturers using it for seals, gaskets, automotive parts, insulation, roofing membranes, and more may face higher material costs, which may compress margins or prompt price increases for finished goods. The price rise suggests stronger near-term demand from end users (construction, industrial, automotive), which could support higher production volumes despite cost pressure.

• Despite overall stable demand for tires, there’s been a slow but steady shift away from higher-tier products, Business Insider reports citing a recent survey by consumer research firm Circana. The survey found that 26% of consumers indicated that they traded down to a lower-tier or lower-cost tire to save money on their most recent tire purchase. Circana’s retail point-of-sale data found lower-tier tires represented over 35% of unit demand this year, continuing to take share from top tier offerings. Also, consumers are putting off replacing their tires to save money, with nearly 50% indicating they've driven on tires longer than they would have in the past. Another third of consumers said they tried to save money by only replacing one or two of their tires instead of all four. Tariffs are driving up the cost of imported tires and raising rubber prices for US manufacturers.
• Producer prices for rubber products manufacturers hit a record high in August, rising 2.7% compared to a year ago, after posting a flat previous August-versus-August annual comparison, according to the latest US Bureau of Labor Statistics data. Employment by the industry shrank 4.9% year over year in July, while the average industry wage at plastics and rubber products manufacturers rose 3.9% YoY in August to $25.61 per hour, a penny shy of its record high in June, BLS data show. Employment and wages at makers of rubber products have been moving in opposite directions, with employment falling relatively steadily since the end of 2022 and wages testing new highs.