In light of the recent trade war between the U.S. and China, most storage container industry professionals have been expressing their concerns about how the recent steep tariff proposals will impact their businesses. As you may already know, Trump proposed to increase tariffs on a new list of goods (valued at $300 billion) from 10% to 25% (including storage containers). But on June 29, 2019 at the G20 meeting, President Trump decided to again postpone the new tariffs. Industry members are now worrying about the potential for higher costs to obtain their materials, higher prices for consumers looking to make purchases, and lost jobs for many workers.
Here at 360Connect, we are witnessing a variety of responses and emotional reactions from industry members. Some believe the tariffs are in good intention for the U.S. economy – in sum, they are being implemented as an effort to reform the global trade system and stimulate fair trade, rather than hurt businesses.In fact, in June we polled our network of active industry members and asked, “what concerns does your company have regarding the proposed tariff of up to 25%?” Among our respondents, 7% said they believe the tariffs will bolster fair trade and strengthen the economy, and 7% said they anticipate no change to their business.
But in our research, the majority of storage container professionals believe the tariffs are perpetuating the trade war unnecessarily and punishing American businesses rather than helping them. The consequence the affected industries are suffering, they believe, are higher consumer prices and lower profitability for businesses. Among our poll respondents’ largest concerns,
- 53% responded “costs of containers going up”
- 33% responded “decreased sales”
- 13% responded “it will be more difficult to find inventory”
Among those container groups fighting against the tariffs is the NPSA. In a July 2 email, CEO Mark DePasquale said that they will both “continue to fight against the ‘up to 25% tariff’ on Containers” and “will continue with our normal course of action,” in submitting comments to the United States Trade Representative (USTR) since “we have seen no Federal Register notice making any of what we heard in the news official.”
Clearly reactions are widespread. So what should storage container professionals do to be proactive and take preventative measures as the tariffs are further discussed? How much time do we have before prices rise?
In order to protect their assets and customers as much as possible as the tariffs are put into place, some businesses are stockpiling inventory now to avoid tariffs that may be put into place soon. The strategy we recommend is to keep selling — maintain focus on revenue growth by encouraging customers to close quicker. Since the potential for storage container prices to rise is looming on the horizon, leverage this risk and uncertainty by recommending that customers take advantage of current prices and finalize their buying decisions ASAP.
Regardless of your business’s strategy, it’s important to push through these industry complications and keep growing revenue. If you’re looking for some more insight on Storage Container industry news and trends, take a look here.
If you’re looking for some assistance on leads in your area in the wake of this economic hurdle, 360Connect might be able to help. Right now, we have a steady influx of storage container buyers hitting our website. Continuing to build your pipeline through these summer months is a good way to protect yourself against the possible economic shift. Give us a quick call at 512-980-9229 or fill out our quick online form to let us know how we can help!