The 2024 presidential election is behind us, meaning we can look forward and anticipate what will happen in the next four years. The future appears murky for the construction and glass industries, with promises of rollbacks in regulations, further focus on pro-business policies, reduced worker rights, ironfisted immigration programs and increased tariffs that either benefit or harm the industries.
For some glass and glazing members, the prospect of a Republican-led Congress and Executive Branch is a welcome respite from the past four years. Others, such as VacuumGlass’ president and chief technical officer David Cooper, expect that companies might have to raise prices due to tariffs.
If that’s the case, Cooper says he’s “not sure the industry is ready for this.”
Oxford Economics officials explain in an analysis of the construction industry under Trump that they “expect each of the targeted countries will impose retaliatory tariffs on the United States, so the boost to manufacturing from the insourcing of production of goods that were previously imported may be offset of the loss of U.S. export capacity to other markets. The timing of these tariffs is important, as it could take around 11 months to complete the legislation required to raise tariffs, meaning that the impact on world trade and U.S. inflation may not be felt until 2026.”
Officials at Xinglass, a manufacturer of glass processing equipment and tempering furnaces, write in an email that they expect the higher tariffs to raise costs for glass equipment manufacturers. They add that to mitigate increased costs, Xinglass is considering investing in a manufacturing facility in the U.S. to reduce reliance on imports.
USGlass magazine polled glass and glazing company members on what Trump’s victory means for the industry, and out of 131 participants, 31% were concerned about increased costs due to tariffs. Forty-eight percent of the respondents expected the industry to experience a boost in domestic production. At the same time, 11% are uncertain how the next four years will play out, and 9% anticipate a minimal impact.
Xinglass officials do foresee some opportunities. They anticipate a continued focus on infrastructure development, which could increase demand for high-performance glass in construction projects. However, it should be noted that Trump has indicated that he intends to defund various infrastructure funding programs, including the Inflation Reduction Act, Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act and the CHIPS for America Act.
Xinglass officials also anticipate tax reductions for businesses that could lower glass manufacturers’ operational costs, encouraging investment in new, efficient equipment, such as glass tempering furnaces. Additionally, they predict further pro-business energy policies that could help glass manufacturers lower costs.
Immigration is also a key tenant of Trump’s presidency. During his first four years in office, he promised to build a wall along the country’s 2,000-mile-long southern border (only 52 miles were built), limit legal immigration, cut funding to sanctuary cities and restrict asylum. This time around, he has promised mass deportation plans that could exasperate the construction industry’s labor shortage.
The National Association of Home Building reports that immigrants comprise about a quarter of the construction workforce, with around 23% of those workers undocumented, per a 2021 report from the Center for American Progress.
According to an email following a request for feedback on what a Trump presidency might entail for the glass and glazing industry, officials from Accent Specialty in Reno say that mass deportations could hamper many glass and glazing companies, many of which are already struggling to hire workers.
“We are already experiencing a shortage in labor, and the ‘mass deportation’ and shutting off workers, especially from Mexico, is really going to make it more difficult, especially with larger corps,” say Accent Specialty officials.
They add that over the next four years, they predict that the glass and glazing industry will see a more than 15% price increase, widespread shortages of workers and construction projects that could take much longer to complete.
