Pandemic flashback: Manufacturers can't get supplies [View all]

Source: Axios

8 hours ago


American manufacturers are having pandemic flashbacks: some say tariff disruptions are starting to stack up to the COVID era, with nearly as much difficulty securing critical inputs.

Why it matters: Tariffs were supposed to spur a manufacturing renaissance, not bring the manufacturing economy grinding to a halt.

The big picture: Factories are reporting increasingly longer delivery times for supplies. Material prices are rising at a faster rate. Automakers are warning of supply disruptions shutting down assembly lines, with at least one carmaker pausing production.

This time there is no deadly virus, though trade wars and tariffs are still sending shockwaves through global supply chains, which could leave consumers with fewer options on shelves.

What they're saying: "The administration's tariffs alone have created supply chain disruptions rivaling that of COVID-19," an electric equipment manufacturer told the Institute for Supply Management in the group's most recent sector survey.

State of play: Supplier delivery times are the slowest in 2 years, that survey showed — a result of companies slowing or canceling shipments in the wake of on-again, off-again tariffs.

Suppliers are also struggling to keep up with manufacturers' accelerated requests to get goods into the country before tariffs take effect.

It is taking longer for customs to clear shipments newly subject to tariffs.

The process is further bogged down by companies "haggling" over who should pay the tariff bill, ISM said.

Read more: https://www.axios.com/2025/06/04/tariffs-trump-manufacturers-covid-supply-chain