There is a lot of discussion these days about tariffs on the news, in the industry, around the watercooler – everywhere! Every industry magazine has some doom and gloom article front and center about the coming tariff apocalypse and I just laugh. We just keep motoring on calm and cool like midwestern grinders. Making great stuff.
Here at Hughes Brothers, we know that when you are AMERICAN MADE AND SOURCED this import tariff stuff does not affect you nearly as much. Sure, maybe some tube prices ticked up, but wood prices just went DOWN. You read that right. Wood prices are down. We source our bolts in America. We source our wood in America. We source our steel in America. We do this on purpose. We were doing this long before COVID simply because of quality. I mean, it’s literally in our motto: Quality Forged Daily. How do you make that promise if you are not getting the best material at the best price?
Our price list items are still the same price. We have not raised prices on the vast majority of our items. We regret that some lead times are longer, like davits, but that is only because we are very busy. We are taking steps to make them faster. Progress takes time. But let’s go back to what we were talking about above: WOOD PRICES JUST WENT DOWN. Steel prices are steady, zinc is steady, Hughes Brothers is rock solid concerning price, quality and delivery.
Get the word out. Hughes Brothers is NOT affected by tariffs nor are we hitting any panic buttons. If your other suppliers are, maybe they are sourcing their materials from… well, you know…
Larry Vandergriend, P.E. Vice President, Engineering
Watch this space for more exciting news on Hughes Brothers growth!