Minnesota loses manufacturing jobs as Trump’s trade war persists

Inflation rose 2.7% year-over-year in June, up from a 2.4% increase in May, according to consumer price index (CPI) data the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics released Tuesday.

The impact of tariffs on prices has taken time to show up in the data, in part because U.S. companies stockpiled merchandise as the trade war brewed.

“Inventories are one of many reasons why inflation has been relatively muted in the early stages of the ongoing tariff shock,” Bernard Yaros, lead U.S. economist at Oxford Economics, said in a statement Thursday. “As inventory buffers wear out, though, the passthrough from higher customs duties to consumer prices will become even more apparent in the price statistics.”

Twin City Die Castings manufactures metal components at factories in Minneapolis, Monticello and Watertown, S.D. It froze hiring and terminated 10 contract workers earlier this year as sales slowed and costs grew. The company has recently been able to hire again, CEO Todd Olson said, but tariff uncertainty continues to hurt.

“My No. 1 concern out there is getting clarity on tariffs,” Olson said. “People are not going to resource back to the U.S. until they know tariff rates throughout the world.”

The trade war’s stated goal is reshoring American manufacturing, a process that will likely take years. Olson said he’d like to see that happen.