Reginald Zeller has been in manufacturing for decades, and through CaneKast, runs foundries that produce metal castings for everything from infrastructure projects to specialized industrial components. His company started with 13 employees and now employs around 100 workers across facilities in multiple states, using automated equipment and traditional foundry techniques.

The tariff impact has created an unexpected dynamic in his business. Rather than immediate reshoring, Zeller sees something different: "We just get a ton of what I call tire kickers," he said. "A VP of sourcing tells every one of their buyers, ‘Alright, go out to all the suppliers you can find and quote out all the stuff that we buy outside the U.S.,’ just to see what it would be in case this thing happens, with no intention of actually doing it."

This phenomenon creates a distraction from Zeller’s core business. "It ties up all of our resources. We've looked at this and said, ‘Hey, if you're serious about moving, great. If not, here's a budgetary number,’ and then 95 percent of them never call us back."

The fundamental challenge, however, isn't about tariffs — it's about competing against subsidized overseas production. Zeller points to examples where he's seen customer quotes that defy basic economics. He gave an example of a 15-pound finished product.

“For us, just the raw material would be $15. They have it at $12 finished," Zeller said. "We have direct labor on top of that, overhead on top of that, bank loans on top of that. We might be charging $5 a pound for a finished good. If it's a 15-pound part, that's $75 from us, and we've seen quotes for $12 from China. How the hell are they making a product for less than I can even buy the raw material for? Something is fundamentally broken here."

The competitive disadvantage extends beyond raw materials to energy costs. Zeller estimated his energy costs at around 5 percent. "My 5 percent would become a half a percent or one percent" if he had access to the subsidized energy rates available overseas. "That extra 4 percent can help me buy more equipment."

For manufacturers like Zeller, tariffs alone won't solve the structural challenges that make domestic production difficult to sustain.

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