News / Tariffs mean US shippers must examine their supply chains more closely

US manufacturers are growing increasingly concerned over their supply chains’ exposure to potential tariffs.

Since returning to the White House last month, Donald Trump has not only imposed tariffs on Canada, China, and Mexico, with the EU and UK facing similar charges, but has also hit steel an aluminium imports with a 25% levy.

While having issued a 30-day stay of execution for Canada and Mexico, the president’s determination to use the mechanism as foreign and trade policy has left many fretting.

Martin Balaam, CEO and co-founder of information management platform Pimberly, told The Loadstar that, while the impact of tariffs was “simple” for those importing finished products, it left US manufacturers with significant issues.

“The impact is being felt much further down the supply chain now, and US manufacturers are having to look at theirs and ask, ‘where’s the impact?’,” said Mr Balaam.

“It has shone a light on manufacturers and left them to work out if they actually know where all their products are coming from, because it could be that the impact is hitting them two or three suppliers down the chain.”

Part of the problem, Mr Balaam explained, was that manufacturers had not necessarily needed to hold that level of detail before.

He noted that this was where supply chain technology providers could offer support with the data, adding: “And it really is becoming essential because they are going to be thinking about changing suppliers.

“If they switch, they will need this information to know that the new supplier is better than their existing one. The situation is getting increasingly complex, and what we are seeing is that, ultimately, there is greater need to obtain that data.”