The manufacture of American furniture faces pressure from global trade, customs tariff policies

Commercial tensions reach the home for Americans Furniture manufacturers.

While 52 % of local furniture sales worth $ 1.9 trillion of goods made in America, many companies are still highly dependent on foreign partners – especially in Asia – for critical ingredients. Even the U.S. -based mills manufacturers feel pressure from the increasingly and volatile global supply chain.

Take Waldes Women, for example-an upholstery fabric resource headquartered in North Carolina, includes its customers ARHAUS and Restora. While 80 % of its production proudly, President Blake Milnor Fox Business told the company that the sources of yarn components are still from 17 countries.

“We use imported ingredients Receive the tariff treatment, Whether it is India, Türkiye or anywhere else. “

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Definitions on Chinese imports – some of them reach 145 % under the president Donald Trump – The costs have paid significantly, with the prices of Chinese fabrics increased by 20 % to 50 %, according to Melnour.

Despite the ongoing efforts to manufacture “re -manufacturing”, the reality is complicated. As of 2023, only 52 % of consumer furniture purchases were performed in the United States, according to the American International Trade Committee. China is still the largest source of imported furniture at $ 12.6 billion, followed by Vietnam closely with $ 12 billion.

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In Vauughan-Bassett, an old mattress maker located in Virginia and North Carolina, most wooden furniture is designed locally, using raw materials obtained within a radius of 250 to 300 miles. However, the CEO Wiyat Basit admits some inputs – such as devices, finishes and packing – are still imported.

He said: “For a few metal imports, we have mercy a little who can from its source. About 5 % of the ingredients come from Asia – mostly China.”

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Likewise, Century Furniture, part of the Rock House Farm brands, is fully made in the United States but still depends on foreign suppliers of specialized materials such as acrylic ingredients and minerals. according to CEO Alexorford, This is not by choosing – it is related to availability.

“China is the best country for acrylic these days until someone stands with factories that can do what they are doing,” he said.

Century recently implemented additional fees for the product to compensate for the new customs tariff for the imported Chinese components. An example of this: a table that includes a Chinese acrylic base, a metal collar of Vietnam and a higher wood made in the United States – with the Chinese part leads high prices.

Political lights and the road forward

Trump recently drew attention to the historical role in North Carolina in the manufacture of furniture, saying that the area of ​​the region was “eliminated” through the display process abroad, but it can recover.

“Thousands of companies will return to the United States and North Carolina,” Trump said. “Indeed, people began the furniture to return back.”

Milnor said that ambition is possible – but it was relieved of reality.

“We are in a position that allows us to increase our production. We have employment. We have equipment. This is the case for many fabric manufacturers and local furniture,” he said.

Basit agreed. “We work well less than the capacity. If the size returns, we can expand quickly.”

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However, not everyone is convinced that revival will be fast or easy. Twenty -eight fabric factories have been closed last year alone, and dozens of others over the past two decades, according to the National Council for Textile Organizations. For many in this industry, uncertainty in American commercial policy is the largest investment and growth barrier.

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At Sti Fabrics, Home of the Revolution Performance Fabric Mark, the demand rises, but CEO of Shawn Gibbons hesitates to expand green light due to the unclear direction of policy.

“We have a great extra capacity. We can more than twice our current result,” Gibbons told the Fox Business Jerry Willis correspondent on “The Big Money Show”. “But we need 100 other workers just to meet the current customer request from brands such as Room, painting, and pottery.“

You find STI, which has been working since 1964, now is one of only four competitors who are still standing in Carolinas – a sharp drop from dozens that were working only 20 years ago.

“We are still making things in the United States,” Gibbons said. “But the next administration can change everything again. This makes the investment very difficult.”

Industry at a crossroads

In this year’s High Purniture market, which is the largest and oldest commercial exhibition of furniture in the United States, mood was a mixture of flexibility and caution. With the latest round of new customs tariff ads in the minds of those present, retailers, manufacturers and distributors gather not only to display goods, but to rethink resource strategies and supply chain dynamics.

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Bin Muller, Deputy Chairman of the Hight Point Market Authority, said that the traffic of the International buyer company decreased dramatically this year – 14 % – as a result of Geopolitical disorders.

While companies deal with geopolitical risks, cost pressure and consumer expectations, there is one clear thing: the future of American furniture lies in the intersection of local revival and global interdependence.

The Fox Business Geerri Willis correspondent contributed to this report.