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WWW.STEELKING.COM
What sets us apart?
DCV18Q3
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NOT ALL RACK IS
CREATED
EQUAL
Steel King rack is engineered and
manufactured to stand up to the impact
and rigors of the toughest job.
Our closed tube design gives columns
47% more frontal impact strength and
68% greater side impact resistance
than an open back column.
See for yourself.
View the
comparison video:
www.steelking.com/strong
that are now exported duty-free to
Canada and Mexico could be subject
to duties. That could lead Canadian
and Mexican buyers to buy more
lift trucks from other countries,
Feehan says, jeopardizing U.S. jobs
and a thriving U.S. manufacturing
industry.
RAY OF HOPE
What does all this mean for fork-
lift buyers? For some, higher prices
may be on the horizon. With so
many countries subject to the steel
tariff, manufacturers’ production
costs will rise. If they purchase more
expensive U.S.-made steel instead,
production costs will still go up. Either
way, those added costs could be passed on
to customers. (U.S. manufacturers may
apply to the Department of Commerce
for exemption from the tariffs, but com-
panies that have done so have reported
a burdensome application process and
glacially slow response from the govern-
ment, if they received one at all.)
The impact of tariffs on Chinese forklifts and parts is less certain. To mitigate
those added costs, manufacturers could
shift some production from China to the
U.S., or they could import equipment
from factories located outside of China.
But manufacturing can’t turn on a dime,
which means forklift makers that already
have global production networks in place
are best positioned to weather the tariff
storm.
One of those is Kion North America,
part of Kion Group, the world’s sec-ond-largest provider of lift trucks. Kion
Group, which owns the Linde, Baoli, Still,
and Dematic brands, has manufacturing
plants worldwide, including in the U.S.
and China. “As a member of a global
supply chain, Kion North America is
certainly being affected by the recently
imposed tariffs,” said Vincent Halma,
president and chief executive officer, in
an e-mail to DC VELOCITY. “Changes
within supply chains, including tariffs,
are a regular occurrence and simply part
of being a global company. However,
because we are a global company, that
also enables us to find a solution to
ensure this is just a bump in the road. To
minimize the effects on our distribution
network and customers, the solution will
be multifaceted, including, but not limited to, in-depth cost analysis on existing
products and leveraging other areas of
our global supply chain.” The company
will continue to monitor the situation
closely and make adjustments as necessary, he said.
There’s one ray of hope. It’s possible that the considerable tax benefits
afforded by the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act
of 2017 could cancel out, or at least substantially mitigate, higher industrial truck
prices. But that—like so much involving
government policy these days—remains
to be seen.
