The cost of dying might be going up due to tariffs.

[backtoblue]

Steel Tariffs and the Casket Industry

March 6, 2018 1:00 am
by Funeral Director Daily
Views: 82
Last week our Commander/Businessman-in-Chief, President Donald Trump, indicated that he is willing to put a 25% tariff on steel imports from foreign countries. It is interesting to note that, at this time, we don’t know if he will follow thru with such or is using the threat to get Mexico and Canada back to the table to renegotiate the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA).

I’m also not a macro-economist, but just a well-versed businessman who has happened to be in the death care industry and will look at this tariff issue and how it might affect my mortuary.

First of all, lets do a little review and understand that, while shrinking, the casket industry in America is a $657 million industry that is still highly profitable. The market is highly concentrated with 79% of the market share going to the top three companies — and about 75% goes to the top two companies, Batesville and Aurora. I’m also assuming that these companies, based in America’s industrial heartland prefer to buy American made steel — although I do not know this for a fact. Finally, we know that about 61% of caskets sold are metal caskets.

So, with that backdrop, and assuming that the big players in America prefer buying American made steel, would a tariff on foreign steel raise prices at the consumer level? My guess, is that the answer is yes. Even though American steel would not see an increase in the price because of the tariff, my guess is that they would be able to (and want to) raise their prices to close to the level of competitor’s prices (the foreign tariff prices) and gain margin and profitability for shareholders. That would cause a price increase to the casket shell makers and would in turn be reflected in wholesale metal casket prices to funeral homes.

Snip...
Link:http://funeraldirectordaily.com/steel-tariffs-and-the-casket-industry/


An interesting side note: The funeral industry gives a lot of money to the GOP in order to ease regulations of chemicals.

[bronxiteforever]

1. Roll me up and smoke me when I die.

So says the great Willie Nelson. No steel casket for me.
Interesting article.

[backtoblue]

2. Ha me too

I'm a retired embalmer and I want either cremation, or a natural wood casket without embalming.

I've been trying to find stories about how the tariffs will affect casket manufacturers, and in turn the people. Not a lot out there yet.

On the chemical lobbying, it's interesting to note that there is a carcinogen-free embalming fluid, but the funeral homes I worked at told me it was too expensive. Five of my past colleagues have died from cancer, so this hits home.

[bronxiteforever]

3. Wow those deaths! I also didn't know

About the lobbying funds spent on rethugs to keep the chemicals flowing. Makes sense when you wrote but I had no idea. Thanks!

[backtoblue]

4. Heres open secrets page on it

http://www.opensecrets.org/industries/background.php?cycle=2018&ind=G5400

Interesting how much more money was spent lobbying when Obama was elected...

It more than trippled. Deregulation and greed suck.