Small U.S. town, big company. Can it weather the tariff Blizzard? (Digi-Key) (2025)

rcxdude

It's hard to overstate how screwed hardware design and prototyping would be if companies like digi-key went under. There's only a few electronics distributors like them around and most of them are centered in the US.

markus_zhang

Does North America have some supply of those electronics components, or are we totally depending on Asian producers? I assume if prices hike up it will improve local production — or it was suggested since the introduction of more tariffs.

sethops1

When I order from Mouser (a Digi-key competitor based in Dallas) they plainly charge a 10-15% tariff fee. I'm struggling to understand why this solution isn't obvious. You have to pass the cost onto the consumer, or your margins dwindle. It's trivial math. > People are also having to intervene in once-automated tasks. Thousands of orders that used to auto-flow directly to the warehouse floor for same-day shipping now often miscalculate tariff costs. Charge a blanket tariff fee like Mouser.

AlotOfReading

I've only seen a small portion of the chaos from my side of the market, but that's been chaotic enough. All of this chaos has actually slowed down our US manufacturing buildout. We'd like to build US factories, but we're having to slow them because of the uncertainty. A foreign factory only has the uncertainty on the US import/export, while a US factory has uncertainty on all imports/exports.

throwup238

Should note that this article is from April 2025. Digikey sruvives and the tariffs are supposed to be refunded.

RRWagner

It seems that no one ever mentions that every dollar given up to tariffs is that much less for growing staff, equipment, facility and R&D expansion. It's literally a drag on the entire GDP and ecomomic growth. More subtle is that every dollar saved in buying components from China is more money for all of the forementioned.

takahitoyoneda

As someone who builds apps with zero marginal distribution costs, the sheer friction of hardware logistics is terrifying. Digi-Key basically operates as a massive physical API for components, but unlike pulling a package from NPM, an arbitrary tariff can instantly invert their unit economics. It really puts indie developer complaints about Apple's platform cut into perspective when physical supply chains are this vulnerable to sudden geopolitical tax shocks.

nine-one-two

Anyone who works in the semi industry has been hearing management try to be politically correct when trying to explain how badly tariffs are screwing everyone over every quarter. Tying themselves in knots to avoid saying how idiotic the trump administration is. And here we are trying to wait him out until the us gets a president with a brain. Good luck I hope all can outlast this.

grim_io

If only the people responsible for the tariffs, who miss no chance to (miss)quote Reagan, would take the time to listen to his actual words regarding tariffs https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5t5QK03KXPc

pjdesno

I remember ordering parts from Digi-Key in 1980 or so when I was in high school. The catalog was less than 1/4 inch thick, and listed various surplus things on the back. It was cool to see them grow into a real competitor for the big distributors.