Worcester Business Journal

6 Worcester Business Journal | May 5, 2025 | wbjournal.com includes some commodities like agri- cultural products, it largely refers to the raw materials manufacturers will use to create their products. e $5.65 billion doesn't include other imported goods essential to man- ufacturing operations, like specialized equipment or pre-fabricated compo- nents. Machinery and instruments were in fact well represented in the top 10 list of imported goods in Massachusetts in 2021, the most recent year of data available from the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Business Response Survey. Precision instruments were the most imported goods, coming in at $11.8 billion, with electric machinery in second with $10.7 billion, followed by industrial machinery, at $8.2 billion. While not all of this equipment is used by manufacturers, the industry's reli- ance on international trade to produce goods is clear. "Overwhelmingly, manufacturers in Massachusetts do rely on imported raw goods and machinery to produce their products," Ben Linville-Engler, deputy director and chief investment strategist of state agency MassTech, wrote in an email to WBJ. "is could be steel and aluminum or other rarer materials. Many raw goods are very difficult to source domestically, while others are tions changing as quickly as they are, businesses are being forced to hold-off on signifi- cant investment in manufacturing and supply until the landscape set- tles," Fazendeiro said. "Many U.S. manufacturers and producers simply have no ability to absorb tariff costs where margins are already thin. is inability to absorb tariff costs forces producers to increase their prices, which creates problems with their commercial customers and consumers." A reliance on imported raw materials Massachusetts imported $5.65 billion worth of non-manufactured commodi- ties in 2024, according to data from the U.S. Census Bureau. While that figure Embracing uncertainty BY ERIC CASEY WBJ Managing Editor P resident Donald Trump's on-again, off-again approach to tariffs and global trade has created instability for Central Massachusetts manufactur- ers, who collectively rely on billions in imports of raw materials to produce their goods. Rather than waiting for the tariff dust to settle, experienced manufacturing leaders are encouraging Central Massa- chusetts businesses to have a proactive response, save cash, and take an even closer look at their supply lines, as the state works to gather data to attempt to get ahead of tariff-related impacts. Speaking during a panel discussion at WBJ's Central Mass Manufacturing Summit & Awards on April 22, Leslie Greis, owner of Worcester-based manu- facturer Kinefac Corp., said companies in the sector should carefully manage their financial resources until at least the end of the summer as the situation with tariffs continues to play out. "I'll cut to the chase: Conserve cash, because it's going to be a rocky road for the next three months," Greis said. "ere's just so much uncertainty, and I doubt it will be resolved until August or September. Not only do tariffs have to run their 90-day reprieve course, but there's also a debt ceiling coming along." e constantly changing tariff land- scape is forcing manufacturers to hold off on expansion efforts or big equip- ment purchases, said Rory Fazendeiro, a business attorney at Worcester law firm Bowditch & Dewey. "With the tariff and import restric- Rory Fazendeiro, attorney at Worcester-based Bowditch & Dewey Leslie Greis, owner of Worcester-based Kinefac Corp. As the global trade war wreaks havoc on their supply chains and future plans, Central Mass. manufacturers are urged to save cash and be proactive PHOTO | COURTESY OF KINEFAC Central Massachusetts manufacturers are trying to be proactive in dealing with the fallout from the Trump Admin- istration's tariffs.

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