An business centered on demise faces an existential disaster

For almost a century, John Dioguardi’s household has been making customized headstones and different memorial markers at Rome Monument in western Pennsylvania. Recently, he is puzzled how a lot time his enterprise has left.

Dioguardi has been making an attempt to adapt for greater than a decade because the rise in cremations has harm demand for the normal burial markers his enterprise has change into synonymous with. This yr, they have been dealt one other blow: President Donald Trump’s broad and steep tariffs, which have pushed up prices for granite coming to American graveyards from all over the world.

“I hope this all works out,” Dioguardi stated. “I have no idea if it will.”

Rome Monument is a part of a cloth of small, household run firms that make memorialization merchandise going through the twin challenges of levies and cremations. Members of the blue-collar business are in a combat to outlive the social, political and financial shifts throwing their livelihoods right into a state of disruption. 

As Dioguardi watched the White House’s commerce relationship with China fluctuate in current months, he shifted two-thirds of his provide chain out of the Asian nation. Most of it went to India, which has seen a comparatively decrease tariff charge for a lot of the yr.

Dioguardi stated bringing manufacturing to the U.S. would possible nonetheless be costlier — even with new tariffs — as a result of larger labor prices. There’s one other easy purpose to look internationally: Some sorts of granite, just like the multi-colored aurora present in India, come solely from sure areas overseas.

“God gave the different parts of the world certain yummies,” Dioguardi stated. “We have nothing like that in our country.”

Trump’s levies have altered the underside strains within the business, leaving companies fighting how one can mitigate the extra prices.

In September 2024, Milano Monuments’ Jim Milano paid round 29% customized duties and taxes on a container coming in from China to his Cleveland-based enterprise. A yr later, that charge almost doubled to 59%.

He’s talked with fellow memorial monument suppliers about including an addendum to giant orders telling consumers that the value may very well be later adjusted relying on if tariff charges transfer. For now, Milano stated he and lots of friends are masking the tariffs out of pocket. He’s taken a pay reduce in consequence.

“There’s just so many crazy things that have come up in the last several years,” stated Milano, whose enterprise has been round for half of a century. “But this tariff thing has been like a gut punch.”

In current months, Milano has discovered himself dashing to speak along with his ordering controller when he sees a headline about larger levies to make sure his containers hit the water earlier than they might take impact.

Because the monument business produces specialty merchandise, it usually runs on lead instances of a number of weeks or months. Importers can see considerably completely different levy charges if the White House adjusts its commerce coverage between when memorial merchandise are first ordered by clients and the granite is definitely shipped to the U.S.

“The uncertainty part is the hardest part we struggle with,” stated Nathan Lange, president of Monument Builders of North America, a commerce group representing tons of of enterprise with a median lifespan of greater than seven a long time.

Granite wholesalers have equally wanted to recalibrate their gross sales practices. At Kentucky-based PS Granite, operations chief Parthi Damo stated they’ve delayed printing annual advertising supplies for subsequent yr as a result of they are not certain if tariff charges might change once more, which might imply costs should be adjusted. Damo stated he could change to creating new paperwork each 60 days in case they should hold updating costs.

Trump has argued that overseas nations or, in some instances, the businesses importing their merchandise ought to eat the tariffs. Data reveals that companies have largely absorbed value will increase within the quick time period.

But memorial creators stated that their smaller margins and decrease volumes make it more durable to cowl the prices than it could be for big retailers. Because the companies work with buyers feeling feelings round demise, business members say they should be particularly delicate when deciding whether or not to move down prices to customers.

“It’s hard,” Milano stated. “We can’t go back to a grieving family and say, ‘You know what, we got to add an additional $1,000 to your family’s memorial to cover the tariffs.'”

Even earlier than the tariffs ramped up, the business was busy reorienting itself for a future with fewer conventional burials.

The U.S.’ five-year cremation charge has surged to greater than 60% in 2024, up from below 40% a decade and a half prior, in keeping with the Cremation Association of North America. The group expects greater than two out of each three our bodies might be cremated in a median yr between 2025 and 2029.

Dioguardi has thought of increasing the work radius round his Pennsylvania headquarters to buoy demand for grave web site merchandise, a broader development which he stated has prompted a wave of acquisitions inside the business. Dioguardi and his friends have emphasised options like pedestal memorials for individuals remembering a cremated liked one.

He’s additionally labored on much less standard monuments: Dioguardi just lately helped a cemetery set up a “rainbow bridge” memorial that incorporates the ashes of pets.

“Cremation has changed our business tremendously,” Dioguardi stated. “It’s created new opportunities. It has closed some other doors.”

If monument builders want to boost costs to account for tariffs, Milano worries it might push extra customers to go for cremations. Beyond granite, he stated levies on manufacturing supplies have additionally taken a chew out of income.

To make sure, Canada’s monument business is feeling the warmth extra intensely with a five-year cremation common anticipated to surpass 80%. Dioguardi stated granite producers he labored with primarily based in America’s northern neighbor have not elevated costs as a result of tariffs given the shrinking home demand.

Dioguardi stated his household operation ought to be on stable floor for an additional decade, however he questions if it may well exist in its present state past that. At the identical time, the 75-year-old is aware of that the destiny of the enterprise is married partially as to whether individuals need their family members to have any form of memorialization.

When evaluating the pyramids the Egyptians opted for to at this time’s development of getting ashes unfold someplace and not using a marker, Dioguardi is not precisely assured. Part of the problem, he and different business members say, is proving that any form of memorial product is definitely worth the funding.

“Forget about making the pyramid,” Dioguardi stated. “I don’t even know if they want a pebble.”