[ad_1]
HIGH POINT, N.C. — President Donald Trump this week laid out plans to impose tariffs on a range of strategic imports, including timber, wood products and furniture.
An executive order signed Monday includes tariffs of 25% on upholstered furniture and 10% on softwood timber and lumber that take effect Oct. 14, with exceptions for some trading partners, such as the United Kingdom.
Fourth-generation furniture maker Anthony Pennisi, who owns Dominick’s Furniture in High Point, North Carolina, said the move is already helping his business see a surge in demand.
But to offer competitive prices, he said Dominick’s will need more skilled workers.
“These customers who are getting, you know, 15, 20 containers a month for the big box stores are panicking. The uncertainty of whether they’ll be able to get it, and if the tariffs are going to continue to rise, is causing them to start looking to see about domestic manufacturing,” Pennisi said. “So we have been quoting nonstop.”
But Pennisi said that to meet that higher production rate, he needs specialized machinery.
“Our labor cost is one of the things that is the highest part of making the product. So, when there’s going to be a need to ramp up and make the 100 sofa frames, we need to be able to have a CNC router that will cut all the plywood,” Pennisi said.
Pennisi has 15 employees and said that he would need to hire more skilled workers to operate those machines and to handle upholstery.
“If we could just get that back in schools to have future candidates and employees, that would be great because, you know, that’s what we need,” he said.
The Catawba Valley Furniture Academy has been working to answer that call by teaching skills like sewing, cutting, framing and upholstery to students enrolled in its night-time program.
“It’s critical to our region, and this is the furniture capital of the world. We can add High Point; there are two cities where the focal point is furniture, and so we need to be able to produce really good students so that they can go to work for our partners, and they can hit the ground running day one,” said executive dean of economic development and corporate education Gary Mullen.
A new daytime course also offers the same opportunity to inmates.
It has been life-changing for students like Eli Cobb, who will graduate in spring.
“I thought it was a great opportunity for me to learn a new skill and to get a better pay increase. I’m planning on moving, maybe to this area also, and I know that this area will need skilled trainers,” Cobb said.
Trump’s tariff on certain upholstered furniture is set to increase to 30% on Jan. 1.
Pennisi said that higher rates could also impact American manufacturers importing electronic mechanisms for their products.
“I was kind of excited about the tariffs because I think it’s going to bring us business,” he said.
[ad_2]
Sasha Strong
Source link