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November 7, 2024

Stanley Black & Decker CEO signals price hikes, production relocations under new Trump administration

HBJ PHOTO | SKYLER FRAZER Donald Allan Jr., president and CEO of Stanley Black & Decker.
By Harriet Jones

Stanley Black & Decker says it may have to raise prices and move production to different parts of the world if the incoming Trump administration imposes tariffs on global trade.

In a recent earnings conference call prior to the election, president and CEO of the New Britain toolmaker, Donald J. Allan Jr., told analysts the company has been planning for the possibility of tariffs since the spring.

Imposing tariffs was a key part of Donald Trump’s election platform. His ideas included a 60% tariff on goods from China, far higher than the 25% imposed during his first term. Stanley has around 50 production facilities overseas.

Allan said there are still a lot of unknowns.

“It is a question of the magnitude at this point, exactly how that will be rolled out and will it be specific to industries or more broad-based?” he said. “How many countries will be covered in it?”

But he said Stanley would have to impose price increases to offset tariffs, saying the company will work through “getting those into the market in a reasonable timeframe.”

Stanley has also put in place a two-year plan to move production and aspects of the supply chain. He speculated it could involve moving operations from China to other parts of Asia and Mexico.

He said a return of production to the U.S. is unlikely. 

“It's just not cost effective to do, and there's questions about whether we even have the labor to actually do that in this country,” he said during the conference call.

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