Oklahoma manufacturer reports higher costs from Canadian tariffs
M-D says tariffs are increasing export costs and complicating relationships with Canadian customers.
Oklahoma City-based M-D Building Products is facing higher costs to supply Canadian customers amid trade tensions between the two countries, KFOR reported.
Reed Reutlinger, the company’s senior vice president of sales and marketing, told KFOR that Canadian tariffs are increasing costs for products manufactured in the United States and exported to Canada. He also described tensions affecting relationships with Canadian retailers and hardware stores.
Meanwhile, M-D’s former president and CEO, Ryan Plotkin, is pursuing expanded domestic aluminum production. Plotkin moved into the vice chairman role earlier this year to focus on manufacturing and supply chain investments, according to M-D’s leadership announcement.
“We’ve seen the shutdowns of smelters throughout the last 50 years in the U.S.,” Plotkin told The Wall Street Journal, describing M-D’s reliance on aluminum sourced globally.
As OBV previously reported, U.S. Aluminum Company, founded by the Plotkin family and led by Ryan Plotkin, signed an agreement with Emirates Global Aluminium and Century Aluminum to explore building a fabrication plant alongside the proposed Inola smelter. The venture would use Oklahoma-produced aluminum to manufacture products for other industries.
The planned smelter would produce approximately 750,000 metric tons annually. Commerce officials project about 1,000 permanent direct jobs and roughly 4,000 construction jobs, with the project intended to strengthen domestic aluminum supply chains.
