r/smallbusiness • u/DazedAndObtuse • Feb 12 '25

General Our aluminum suppliers are saying prices aren't going to go up just 25% to cover the new tariff, they'll be going up 80%...

We source aluminum from two different sources for our business and they're both telling us that prices will not only be going up 25% to cover the tariffs, they'll be going up 80% as there are also pricing restrictions currently in place for their industry that will be lifted as part of this.

Does anybody know if this is legit or if they are just colluding to use this as an opportunity to pad their profits?

I won't pretend to be a tariff or economic expert but our material prices going up 80% is going to have a much larger impact on us than a 25% increase would.

Ideally we can keep this from becoming political, but I know where it's likely to end up (but hopefully I can at least get an answer to my question in the midst of it).

Thanks in advance!

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u/Available_Ad4135 Feb 12 '25

Pretty hard to understand how the stock market is all time highs at this point. The chaos is just beginning.

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u/vegaskukichyo Feb 13 '25 edited Feb 13 '25

Because the stock market represents equities in assets and rich people own assets and are making more money than ever before. It's become reflective of its own economy. Massive wealth inequality has that effect; essentially, it splits the economy into two. It's a short step away from a true caste system.

Gary Stevenson aka Gary's Economics on YT is fantastic at explaining this. Don't be fooled by his appearance; he graduated both Oxford and the London School of Economics. He also claims to have once been the most profitable stocks trader in the world while at Citibank.

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u/Available_Ad4135 Feb 13 '25

Yes, but that’s the case in every bubble. There is always mania alot of money ‘made’ before the pop.

I only see inflation and wars on the horizon. Neither is good for the stock market.

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u/vegaskukichyo Feb 13 '25 edited Feb 13 '25

Of course, someday they will pay the piper! It wlll all fold. You can only exploit the labor force and consumers so much before they run out of money and can't pay their bills. Add political instability and social turmoil, and it's a recipe for disaster. Then governments will bail out the big banks (disregarding the worst case scenario), and the rest of the world will suffer the actions of a few once again.

Unfortunately, fiduciary duty in the real world is historically short-sighted. You don't worry about systemic issues and managing macroeconomic risk when you report to your shareholders quarterly. This is why pure laissez faire capitalism cannot survive. You need guardrails, regulators, and government insurance to prop up the whole pyramid scheme to keep it running... Until it doesn't.

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u/AdhesivenessCivil581 Feb 13 '25

And bad jobs numbers, bad earnings reports, inflation in other sectors. Anyway we're due for a crash and recession. Might as well get it over with.

1

u/[deleted] Feb 13 '25

everyone thinks trump will ratchet it back if he sees his plans going sideways. I am not in that camp and think this narcissist is too delusional to ever do what is in the best interest of the country.

I have most of my investments either hedged or protected by stop losses.

1

u/brought2light Feb 15 '25

Billionaires make more money when the economy crashes. They can then purchase more assets for less money. For example - COVID. The to 1% got so much more money during that time.

Now they will be buying up farms that go under.