rom power converter maker Vicor Corp. to climate-control systems company Lennox International Inc. – are looking at shifting their supply chains elsewhere. But finding other locations to establish production of items that have been so dominated by Chinese manufacturers is difficult, according to Helfenbein. Some companies can’t move because of the challenge in finding manufacturers outside China willing to put up with the narrow margins and stringent requirements involved in producing them, he said. “You have to think of it from the factory perspective: You want to do what’s easiest, you don’t want to do what’s hardest,” said Helfenbein. “The only reason these businesses have hung around is people who have been in them for years are specialists.” Large retailers including J.C. Penney Co. and Dollar Tree Inc. warned before the September tariff hit that companies lack feasible alternatives to China-based suppliers. Re-routing decades-old supply chains could take years, they argued. “Once you get the 25 percent tariff, that will be well beyond their profit margin,” Jarrett said. “They will have no choice but to pass those costs on.”

traax · Nov 10, 2018 4:03 PM