Prior was 48.0Prices paid 63.7 vs 65.3 expected (64.8 prior)Employment 43.8 vs 44.5 expected (Prior 43.4)New orders 51.4 vs 47.1 priorImports 46.0 vs 47.6 priorProduction 47.8 vs 51.4 prior
Comments in the report:
“A 50-percent tariff on imports from Brazil, combined with the U.S.
Department of Agriculture’s elimination of the specialty sugar quota,
means certified organic cane sugar — and everything made with it — is
about to get significantly more expensive.” (Food, Beverage &
Tobacco Products)“Orders across most product lines have decreased. Financial
expectations for the rest of 2025 have been reduced. Too much
uncertainty for us and our customers regarding tariffs and the
U.S./global economy.” (Chemical Products)“Tariffs continue to be unstable, with suppliers adding surcharges
ranging between 2.6 percent to 50 percent.” (Petroleum & Coal
Products)“Tariffs continue to wreak havoc on planning/scheduling activities.
New product development costs continue to increase as unexpected tariff
increases are announced — for example, 50-percent duties on imports from
India, and increases to all countries up from original 10 percent. Our
materials/supplies are now rising in price, so our sell pricing is again
being reviewed to ensure we keep a sustainable margin. Plans to bring
production back into U.S. are impacted by higher material costs, making
it more difficult to justify the return.” (Computer & Electronic
Products)“The construction industry, especially home building, is still at a
lower level. With new construction at a low level, our new sales are
impacted. We are mainly now relying on replacement business. Cost of
goods sold is higher due to tariff-impacted goods.” (Machinery)”Domestic sales remain flat but are down four percent from plan by
unit volume [tariff pricing]. Export demand is falling as customers do
not accept tariff impacts, which likely will require some production
transfers out of the U.S. Supplier deliveries remain consistent with
ocean shipping costs dropping significantly. Tariff costs have biggest
financial impact but also costs of copper and of steel products.”
(Fabricated Metal Products)“The trucking industry continues to contract. Our backlog continues
to shrink as customers continue to hold off on buying new equipment.
This current environment is much worse than the Great Recession of
2008-09. There is absolutely no activity in the transportation equipment
industry. This is 100 percent attributable to current tariff policy and
the uncertainty it has created. We are also in stagflation: Prices are
up due to material tariffs, but volume is way off.” (Transportation
Equipment)“Very tentative domestic market, with home building and remodeling
not very active at all. Inflation, among other factors, is starting to
impact consumer buying power, leading to negative signs for our order
files. International markets are upended due to the unpredictability of
on-again, off-again tariff activity.” (Wood Products)“We’ve implemented our second price increase. ‘Made in the USA’ has
become even more difficult due to tariffs on many components. Total
price increases so far: 24 percent; that will only offset tariffs. No
influence on margin percentage, which will actually drop. In two rounds
of layoffs, we have let go of about 15 percent of our U.S. workforce.
These are high-paying and high-skilled roles: engineers, marketing,
design teams, finance, IT and operations. The administration wants
manufacturing jobs in the U.S., but we are losing higher-skilled and
higher-paying roles. With no stability in trade and economics, capital
expenditures spending and hiring are frozen. It’s survival.” (Electrical
Equipment, Appliances & Components)“There is still uncertainty in the construction market. Large
expansions or investment are hampered by the unknown of costing and the
economy. The markets we operate in can be strong short term, but there
is an underlying feeling that has you questioning for how long.”
(Nonmetallic Mineral Products)
There isn’t much optimism in these comments but the rise in new orders is some comfort. There has been some dip buying in US stock markets.
This article was written by Adam Button at investinglive.com.