Maryland-based tin can manufacturing company to raise prices amid steel and aluminum tariffs
A Maryland-based tin can manufacturing company said it would be raising prices as a result of changes in the U.S. tariff policy made by the Trump administration.
Last week, President Donald Trump officially increased tariffs on all steel and aluminum imports from Canada and Mexico to 25% and added a 10% tax on imports from China. Mr. Trump promised the tariffs would create U.S. factory jobs.
Independent Can Company
The Independent Can Company in Harford County manufactures can products for Swiss Miss, Zippo, Titleist and other companies.
"We're passionate about what we do. We love the creativity of making cans, the lithography- the decoration. Every day there's something new," said CEO Rick Huether.
Huether is concerned about the future of the 95-year-old home-grown business after the Trump administration officially imposed a 25% tariff on steel on Wednesday.
"It's going to be absorbed by the consumer, not by the countries shipping in or the government here in America," said Huether.
Tin plated steel represents 50% to 75% of selling prices at Independent Can, and with a 25% tariff, Huether said their prices will have to increase about 12% to keep up.
He says, unfortunately, there simply isn't enough supply of tin-plated steel in America to meet the demand.
"The challenge is over the last 20 years, the steel companies in North America have not invested in tin plate, where other countries have. Tin plate is only about less than 2% of the global steel market, and it's less than 1% of the domestic steel market. And they just haven't had the volume to invest in that as other people around the world," said Huether.
Even though Independent Can meets the goal of the tariffs by operating four factories in America that employ at least 400 people, they simply can't avoid the tariffs. They worry their clients are going to take their packaging in another direction if this continues.
"The fear is long term there is alternative that is less friendly to our environment than steel which is 100% recyclable. There's plastic, there are plastic derivatives, these laminates, these all are not as friendly to the environment so we're concerned not only retaining the business but also the environment around the country," said Huether.
So for now, Huether says all they can do is work with their clients to get through this with the hope that it is temporary, and will not leave behind any lasting impacts.
Company CEO announces price changes
The company announced the price changes in a statement after the tariffs were enacted.
"We are reaching out to inform you of an important revision to the import tariff on steel products initiated by the Trump administration," Huether said in the letter. "As you may have heard or read in the news, the Trump Administration has revised the tariff program on imported steel, which includes tin-plated steel. Unfortunately, this change will have a significant impact on our unit costs, as tin-plated steel is the key material in the manufacturing of our products."
The letter says that U.S. domestic production can only meet about 30% of national tin-plated steel needs, meaning all can manufacturers must import approximately 70% of required materials.
"In the United States, there are 3 tin plating lines. These lines can produce around 30% of the tin plate needed to make the cans that are manufactured in the United States. This means that all can makers must import close to 70% of the tin-plated steel they need for production. Consequently, the tariffs hurt every single can manufacturer," the letter reads.
The price changes are set to take place on April 1.
Trump administration imposes hefty tariffs
Experts told CBS News MoneyWatch that the tariffs could cause the prices of some items to skyrocket, including canned goods, foods, and beverages since many domestic companies rely on imported materials. While some U.S. companies may choose to bear part of the added import expense, some of the costs are likely to be passed to consumers in the form of higher prices.
Maryland Governor Wes Moore said last week that he was concerned about tariffs and that they could be deeply problematic" for the Port of Baltimore, one of the nation's busiest port facilities.
"It's going to have a huge impact. It already has," Moore said. "Canada is our largest partner, it's our largest domestic producer, for the state of Maryland, and we are going to throw blanket tariffs, on Canada?
