President Trump’s announcement on Thursday that he plans stiff tariffs on steel and aluminum imports sent stocks tumbling and prompted fears of a trade war. The news has also led consumers to worry about the cost impact on cars, appliances, or anything in a can, like soup or beer.
But there’s another surprise item where the tariffs would have a significant impact: baseball bats.
More than 90% of baseball bats used in the U.S. are made of aluminum. In professional baseball, players use wood bats, but in college, high school, and at the youth level, with some exceptions, metal bats (or “non-wood”) are the default.
The vast majority of U.S. bat makers who sell metal bats import the bats fully finished. That’s what Rawlings, Easton, and Louisville Slugger do, to name a few of the biggest. If the tariff is only on raw materials, those brands won’t be affected. Only the very small portion of American bat makers who import raw aluminum and then make their metal bats in the U.S. would see their costs rise. (They mostly get their aluminum from Canada, by the way, not China; 56% of imported aluminum to the U.S. comes from Canada, according to USGS, while only 6% comes from China.)
But if the tariff is on finished goods, metal bat makers will feel major pain; it would roil the industry. And they will have to pass that cost increase on to the consumer.
Trump tariffs could make metal baseball bats more expensive
But there’s another surprise item where the tariffs would have a significant impact: baseball bats.
More than 90% of baseball bats used in the U.S. are made of aluminum. In professional baseball, players use wood bats, but in college, high school, and at the youth level, with some exceptions, metal bats (or “non-wood”) are the default.
The vast majority of U.S. bat makers who sell metal bats import the bats fully finished. That’s what Rawlings, Easton, and Louisville Slugger do, to name a few of the biggest. If the tariff is only on raw materials, those brands won’t be affected. Only the very small portion of American bat makers who import raw aluminum and then make their metal bats in the U.S. would see their costs rise. (They mostly get their aluminum from Canada, by the way, not China; 56% of imported aluminum to the U.S. comes from Canada, according to USGS, while only 6% comes from China.)
But if the tariff is on finished goods, metal bat makers will feel major pain; it would roil the industry. And they will have to pass that cost increase on to the consumer.
Trump tariffs could make metal baseball bats more expensive
