A local store owner talks about tariffs in the flooring industry.
Carpets Plus of Manitowoc Owner Keegan Bartow says it’s actually pretty positive so far.
On Welcome Home with Bartow Builders, aired on WOMT and WCUB, he explained that the Forced Labor Prevention Act, signed into law by the Biden Administration, put pressure on certain regions of China where forced labor was being used.
That put a lot of pressure back on US manufacturers to move factories there to other countries that would help them make products needed for flooring.
However, there was also a large reshoring effort.
Bartow mentioned, “Over the last three years, we’ve seen a lot of the bigger companies start making their LVP (Luxury Vinyl Plank), which has been traditionally made in Asian countries are coming back to the United States.”
On the other hand, real hardwood flooring faces a tariff after the Trump Administration imposed them on Canada.
Keegan says his business faced immediate price increases from manufacturers of hardwood.
“Even on current orders,” he stated. “Orders that were placed before this (the tariffs) took effect. They (the manufacturers) said it’s out of our control. We’re hit with a 30% increase on that.”
Keegan says that there are some real solid hardwoods made in America that would not face a tariff.
Carpets Plus also gets its carpet from a company in the state of Georgia, which Keegan predicts will mean more carpeting sales for customers who want to do a project.
You can listen to the full episode of Welcome Home at SeehaferPodcasts.com, and you can listen to Welcome Home live every Tuesday at 8:30 a.m. on 1240 WOMT and 980 WCUB.
