Donald Trump is losing the trade war and failing to deliver on his promises of lower prices and a robust manufacturing sector. According to a survey of the nation’s supply executives in the Institute for Supply Management’s latest ISM Manufacturing PMI Report, economic activity in the manufacturing sector contracted in August for the sixth consecutive month. Even as new order growth climbed for manufacturing firms, it was completely negated by production contracting at a rate nearly equal to the growth in new orders.
The latest report found several disturbing trends in U.S. manufacturing contradicting Trump’s lies about robust sector growth:
- Manufacturing production fell 3.6% in August, indicating that manufacturing output by U.S. producers remains in decline.
- Prices continue to remain in expansion territory at 63.7%, indicating sustained cost pressures for manufacturing firms.
- Supplier deliveries indicated slower delivery performance, reflecting supply chain pressures for manufacturing firms.
Here’s how industry leaders responded to the survey and commented on the Trump economy:
- “Orders across most product lines have decreased. Financial expectations for the rest of 2025 have been reduced. Too much uncertainty for us and our customers regarding tariffs and the U.S./global economy.” (Chemical Products)
- “Tariffs continue to be unstable, with suppliers adding surcharges ranging between 2.6 percent to 50 percent.” (Petroleum & Coal Products)
- “Tariffs continue to wreak havoc on planning/scheduling activities. New product development costs continue to increase as unexpected tariff increases are announced — for example, 50-percent duties on imports from India, and increases to all countries up from original 10 percent. Our materials/supplies are now rising in price, so our sell pricing is again being reviewed to ensure we keep a sustainable margin. Plans to bring production back into U.S. are impacted by higher material costs, making it more difficult to justify the return.” (Computer & Electronic Products)
- “Domestic sales remain flat but are down four percent from plan by unit volume [tariff pricing]. Export demand is falling as customers do not accept tariff impacts, which likely will require some production transfers out of the U.S. Supplier deliveries remain consistent with ocean shipping costs dropping significantly. Tariff costs have biggest financial impact but also costs of copper and of steel products.” (Fabricated Metal Products)
- “The trucking industry continues to contract. Our backlog continues to shrink as customers continue to hold off on buying new equipment. This current environment is much worse than the Great Recession of 2008-09. There is absolutely no activity in the transportation equipment industry. This is 100 percent attributable to current tariff policy and the uncertainty it has created. We are also in stagflation: Prices are up due to material tariffs, but volume is way off.” (Transportation Equipment)
- “Very tentative domestic market, with home building and remodeling not very active at all. Inflation, among other factors, is starting to impact consumer buying power, leading to negative signs for our order files. International markets are upended due to the unpredictability of on-again, off-again tariff activity.” (Wood Products)
- “A 50-percent tariff on imports from Brazil, combined with the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s elimination of the specialty sugar quota, means certified organic cane sugar — and everything made with it — is about to get significantly more expensive.” (Food, Beverage & Tobacco Products)
- “We’ve implemented our second price increase. ‘Made in the USA’ has become even more difficult due to tariffs on many components. Total price increases so far: 24 percent; that will only offset tariffs. No influence on margin percentage, which will actually drop. In two rounds of layoffs, we have let go of about 15 percent of our U.S. workforce. These are high-paying and high-skilled roles: engineers, marketing, design teams, finance, IT and operations. The administration wants manufacturing jobs in the U.S., but we are losing higher-skilled and higher-paying roles. With no stability in trade and economics, capital expenditures spending and hiring are frozen. It’s survival.” (Electrical Equipment, Appliances & Components)
Published: Sep 2, 2025 | Last Modified: Sep 3, 2025