As you may already be aware, new tariffs have recently gone into effect, affecting various products within the kitchen cabinet industry. Unfortunately, these tariffs will have a direct impact on the cost of certain products that we offer. We want to be transparent with you about these changes and reassure you that we are working diligently to minimize the effects on your pricing. To keep the tariff costs visible, we will be adding a single line item to quotes labeled “Tariff Surcharge” so that when tariffs are adjusted, we can make similar adjustments quickly. While not every product we sell will be impacted, there are quite a few product categories that could be. At present, these include:

1. Specific lumber species – primarily Hard Maple, White Birch, and Red Birch. Fortunately, Conestoga sources the majority of its Hard Maple domestically, but they do import over a million board feet annually of high-quality, special sorts from Canada. Despite the tariffs, these relationships that took years to develop and cultivate will continue. By contrast, almost 100% of the White Birch and Red Birch comes from Canada as there are few sources for the grades and color we require domestically.

2. MDF – Historically, the majority of our MDF comes from a domestic source. However, the primary MDF mill we use has suffered an accident and will be out of service for several weeks more. Our secondary sources are Canadian, where we are obtaining most of our MDF at present. And, as with lumber, we absolutely intend to keep all these suppliers in play so that we have options when the need arises.

3. Cabinet Components – like many companies, all of our plywood parts are made from White Birch, and our suppliers source their cores and veneer faces from Canada. This is going to impact almost every cabinet company in the U.S. to some degree because, again, White Birch is largely sourced from Canada.

4. Drawer Boxes – again, we use imported Natural Birch and both the solid Birch components and Birch plywood drawer bottoms could be impacted significantly.

5. Decorative Laminate Veneers (DLV) and Thermally Textured Surfaces (TTS) Alternative Materials – Almost 80% of our Alternative Materials are sourced from Canada and the European Union. The components make up our Alternate Material 5-piece DLV doors and accessories and 3-piece, 5-piece, and Slab TTS door programs.

There could be exceptions to the list of products impacted by these tariffs, which potentially could include lumber, MDF, and plywood, but none of these exceptions are confirmed at time of writing. Due to the complexities involved, as well as the uncertainty of what products will be impacted, we will delay all tariff price adjustments until May 2, 2025 to reflect these increased costs. While we will do everything we can to minimize these financial impacts, please be assured that our commitment to delivering high-quality products and exceptional service remains unchanged. Our team is here to assist you with any questions you may have, and we will keep you informed of any further developments that could affect your business.

Thank you for your continued trust and partnership with The Cabinet Authority and Conestoga Wood Specialties. We value your business and look forward to continuing to serve your cabinetry needs.