HIGH POINT – For domestic furniture manufacturers, opinions on tariffs lean positive, but many remain doubtful that they’ll be enough to bring manufacturing back to the U.S., at least by themselves. They say more effort could be needed, whether it’s relaxed regulation, tariffs to go higher or a greater effort to build up an American manufacturing workforce.
Or all of the above.
In addition to those furniture executives interviewed earlier this month, two more – Kevin Kauffman, CEO of Simply Amish; and Marcus Bontrager, president of Fusion Designs – shared their perspectives with Furniture Today.
“I don’t think tariffs will create a lot of manufacturing jobs, at least without a lot of other help,” said Kauffman. “It’s still difficult to find people who have talent and want to work, so we can only create so many jobs of that nature.
“Of course, adding technology will help with the overall increase in manufacturing, which is where we are going. We can use technology to help us create custom furniture, but we will most likely never be a source for product that competes with Asia prices.”
Bontrager at Fusion Designs was more hopeful but still on the doubtful side.
“I believe there will only be a short-term benefit to tariffs unless they go higher,” he said. “Right now, a lot of suppliers are avoiding the tariffs by moving out of China, but that doesn’t mean they’re returning to the U.S.
“If people knew tariffs would be long term (longer than four years), I think you would see much more investment in American manufacturing. I think a lot of importers at this point are trying to ride it out and looking for temporary solutions.”
Bontrager said he believes automation will be the only way to compete with low labor costs overseas.
“Right now, it seems automation is the only way to compete,” he said. “However, if elevated tariffs remain, I think we could incentivize labor and craftsmanship again, but it would not be cheap, so I am not sure that we could ever compete with Asia on that end. One of the best things we can offer a retailer is that they don’t have to inventory as much. We can build on demand and ship as needed.”
Like others, Bontrager said lower-end case goods will be toughest to bring back. “It is such a massive investment that I believe most importers look at the risk of making such an investment vs. simply importing and cannot justify the return.”
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