TARIFFS AND THE SKATE INDUSTRY

[thorin]

Best stock up now.
Get ready for $100 decks, $80 trucks, $60 wheels.
25% Tariff on goods from Mexico and Canada. An Extra 10% on China.
You thought the industry was doing it tough before, now it's cooked.

[artskool]

R.I.P. Black Friday.

Making everything dramatically more expensive is the most direct form of environmentalism you'll ever see from the government.

[Septa Bus]

good thing i have a stack of old decks for the next four years

[augustmoon]

Bout to run through all my wall boards

[alien porkchop]

Bout to run through all my wall boards

found the kool-aid man’s alt

[wax poetic]

It would actually present an opportunity or two to open woodshops in the US to support people here and avoid tariffs.  It would be cool to open one and provide jobs for the homeless making boards.  Getting people back on their feet and knowing the conditions are probably better for the workers than they would be in the factories in Mexico and China.

[theoriginalgoon]

The prices will still go up even if production is here because of labor costs

[ryanrockmoran]

The prices will still go up even if production is here because of labor costs

And it's not like you can build an industrial woodshop over a long weekend even if you wanted to...

[Too Frank To Fred]

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The prices will still go up even if production is here because of labor costs

[close]

And it's not like you can build an industrial woodshop over a long weekend even if you wanted to...

They have some time. Deck manufacturing isn't that complicated. Powell kept some manufacturing in Ventura. So they have options albeit with diminished capacity.

 It wasn't that long ago that Indy, Venture, Thunder, Spitfire were all made in the US.

PS Stix and BBS are based in SoCal, just a short commute from their manufacturing in TJ. At a certain point, it might be more cost effective to bring things back over the border.

Of course, there might be less labor available with deportations...

[wax poetic]

And quality would probably be better as well.  You may not be able to set it up in a weekend but someone I'm sure is seeing the possibility here and could get it up and running by the time this could potentially be an issue.  This is the case with many industries.  If we wouldn't have outsourced everything for cheaper shit (price and quality), we wouldn't be in this position now.  I support bringing as much as we can back inside the US and giving work to people here.  I'm not sure how anyone wouldn't want this.

Either way, I prefer to look at the silver lining.  Fucking deck prices have went up ridiculous in the past 5-10 years already, and there weren't tariffs to blame then, and I feel like quality is down over what they used to be.  Create jobs here, get quality up and eventually find a way to stop the rising prices.

[BOILED ANGEL]

And quality would probably be better as well.  You may not be able to set it up in a weekend but someone I'm sure is seeing the possibility here and could get it up and running by the time this could potentially be an issue.  This is the case with many industries.  If we wouldn't have outsourced everything for cheaper shit (price and quality), we wouldn't be in this position now.  I support bringing as much as we can back inside the US and giving work to people here.  I'm not sure how anyone wouldn't want this.

Either way, I prefer to look at the silver lining.  Fucking deck prices have went up ridiculous in the past 5-10 years already, and there weren't tariffs to blame then, and I feel like quality is down over what they used to be.  Create jobs here, get quality up and eventually find a way to stop the rising prices.

youre describing neoliberalism, most people fall for populism because of it since they understand neither

[augustmoon]

The prices will still go up even if production is here because of labor costs

All the maple is imported from Canada.  Try again.

[Francis Xavier]

Yes, in America prisoners make license plates, and the homeless make skateboard decks. What a dream.

[Mean salto]

^Aren't there some prisoners who also make skateboard decks?
Where do the homeless live while working a less than minimum wage job? Also you'd assume they haven't made skateboards before so how would the quality somehow go up over people who've been doing it for years?

[Francis Xavier]

^Aren't there some prisoners who also make skateboard decks?
Where do the homeless live while working a less than minimum wage job? Also you'd assume they haven't made skateboards before so how would the quality somehow go up over people who've been doing it for years?

No idea, but there was a guy cooperating with incarcerated artists in Fresno to paint/draw on used/donated decks to give to kids as a charity deal. Pretty cool.

[SwitchNollieHeel]

Best stock up now.
Get ready for $100 decks, $80 trucks, $60 wheels.
25% Tariff on goods from Mexico and Canada. An Extra 10% on China.
You thought the industry was doing it tough before, now it's cooked.

Welcome to canadas pricing for hard goods

[backside_frontside]

To anyone naive enough to think “well someone will just open a woodshop and press boards in the good ole USA”…

Where do you think the wood plies come from?? Not the  US that’s for sure.

And PS Stix or BBS ain’t moving production back home either. They’re gonna be passing it on to the consumer as is tradition.

[Too Frank To Fred]

You're probably right but I know there has already been some talk in bigger industries (footwear for instance) about things coming full circle., or partial circle with an increase in the US manufacturing, or closer to home manufacturing.

[Watson]

Sucks for us Canadians as the wood comes from here, goes to Mexico to get turned into boards and then is shipped directly back to the Canadian distributors to sell to Canada.

Technically this shouldn't affect our board prices but for sure prices are going to get jacked up across the board (no pun intended).

Ah well I'm going to get to work on a board pressing factory in my garage in the middle of the winter and start recruiting unhoused people to make them.

[AceBoogie]

Sucks for us Canadians as the wood comes from here, goes to Mexico to get turned into boards and then is shipped directly back to the Canadian distributors to sell to Canada.

Technically this shouldn't affect our board prices but for sure prices are going to get jacked up across the board (no pun intended).

Ah well I'm going to get to work on a board pressing factory in my garage in the middle of the winter and start recruiting unhoused people to make them.

Good shit right here.
As a former prisoner and homeless person, Id take this job asap

[globe fusion]

there are some factories in the USA though so maybe we'll be seeing more of those? and control in canada?
i'd guess that canada will see more china boards (ex dlx) imported directly from china

[wax poetic]

Thank you all for the reminder why I focused my last account, and I stay in only 3 or 4 threads so I can continue enjoying the forum these days.  I'll let you get back to it

[Southernmost]

Is Chapman still around? I always thought they were pretty coveted at one point in time. What about South Central? I remember seeing them get some praise in the woodshop thread before.

[TheLurper]

You're probably right but I know there has already been some talk in bigger industries (footwear for instance) about things coming full circle., or partial circle with an increase in the US manufacturing, or closer to home manufacturing.

I'm all for encouraging manufacturing to be done in the USA. However, the shock of attempting to bring it all back overnight is going to be painful and it won't recreate the 1950s where every half-sober barely literate White guy was able to find a job that paid enough for a house, a car, and kids in college. I wonder if trying to do it all at once will do more harm than good.


-Technology has improved dramatically over the years. Companies can produce a lot more with far fewer workers.
-Companies returning to the US aren't going to want to give up their profit margin and will continue to invest in technology to reduce labor needs.
-We aren't pro-union or pro-worker (and there is no threat of Soviet communism to force employers make concessions). The jobs are likely going to pay shit.
-The jobs are likely to be jobs Americans don't want. Crippling yourself to produce goods is not ideal. The common factory worker trope "I don't want my kids to do this job" existed for a reason.
-A lot of Americans in these former factory towns have issues employers might not want to deal with (drug addiction).
-There will be all sorts of internal supply issues slowing production.
-We will lose customers for our goods. I can be convinced to pay a little more to support an American job, why the fuck would a Canadian, Mexican, or European give a shit? They have no moral incentive to give their money to Americans. 
-We made factory work slightly more bearable with safety regulations? What will happen to them?
-Same question for the environment and the neighborhoods next to these factories?


Finally, I'm unsure which shoe companies want to deal with all this and bring manufacturing back to America without replacing the majority of people with robots. Can you cite something here?

[GumOnMyGrip]

It’s nice that everyone is trying to be positive but manufacturing is not coming back to the US without significant price increases.
The labor force is too expensive. Between wage/ insurance etc…it’s not competitive. Taxes too.
Raw goods for boards are not sourced in the US as someone pointed out. Unless you all want to ride Beer City decks.they are the only company that I think uses Wisconsin only wood.
Quality is a management factor, not geographic location.
Shoes will not be made here. Just a lateral move to another cheap labor country. India etc…
Aluminum is probably the only industry that could adapt with less pass on price.

Prices will increase and production will likely decrease. Less choices, less pros, less companies.
Pass on is probably going to be about 8-15% increase on decks at least. So another 6-12 bucks roughly.  My guesstimate anyway.

[nollieboulala]

Woodchuck makes boards in US. Skated a few of them and liked them. If they can figure maple they’d be good to go, but dunno if us maple even is a thing

[Too Frank To Fred]

Finally, I'm unsure which shoe companies want to deal with all this and bring manufacturing back to America. Can you cite something here?

I have friends in the industry. One is a material engineer at Nike (not saying Nike is going in this direction but he knows a lot about outsourcing labor and how it moves on from country to country).

 the other looks at ways of making manufacturing more socially and ecologically sound (puffing magic fairy dust basically). he did work for Keen and now he's an independent contractor. He knows a shit tonne but I generally tune out when he starts talking about this stuff... i'll get his take on it when we go surfing next.

Companies like Keen and New Balance already have made in US and UK options. spendy and low volume but its in place.

[A Not At All Naughty Chemist]

Expand Quote

Best stock up now.
Get ready for $100 decks, $80 trucks, $60 wheels.
25% Tariff on goods from Mexico and Canada. An Extra 10% on China.
You thought the industry was doing it tough before, now it's cooked.

[close]

Welcome to canadas pricing for hard goods

Europe as well. Welcome to the club

[TheLurper]

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Finally, I'm unsure which shoe companies want to deal with all this and bring manufacturing back to America. Can you cite something here?

[close]

I have friends in the industry. One is a material engineer at Nike (not saying Nike is going in this direction but he knows a lot about outsourcing labor and how it moves on from country to country).

 the other looks at ways of making manufacturing more socially and ecologically sound (puffing magic fairy dust basically). he did work for Keen and now he's an independent contractor. He knows a shit tonne but I generally tune out when he starts talking about this stuff... i'll get his take on it when we go surfing next.

Companies like Keen and New Balance already have made in US and UK options. spendy and low volume but its in place.

If you can ask your friend for any public statistics to support these stories that'd be great. Or even articles in industry magazines.

As for New Balance's puffery about being made in America, well it is great marketing. New Balance makes 16 million pairs of shoes each year, but only 4 million are labeled "Made in America." And, even these "made in America" shoes require pieces from abroad.

[alien porkchop]

Expand Quote

The prices will still go up even if production is here because of labor costs

[close]

All the maple is imported from Canada.  Try again.

wood glue, paint, machines and machine parts, equipment maintenance and expertise, waste management, supply transportation logistics, industrial land use. all these goods and services would likely increase in cost as well, tariffs aside