Soup, pop and beer makers can’t seem to put a lid on the effects of the recent aluminum tariffs. The 10 per cent fees that were slapped on imports of the metal by U.S. President Donald Trump in early July are making cans more expensive and forcing food and beverage companies that rely on them for packaging to consider price increases and other ways to offset the costs.
The Campbell Company of Canada, which produces canned soup at its soon-to-close Etobicoke plant, is set to jack up prices in late August on a “broad range of products.”
The exact amount by which prices will be increased is still under consideration, but the tariffs combined with raising freight, packaging and ingredient costs are to blame, company spokesperson Alexandra Sockett told The Canadian Press in an email.
Molson Coors Brewing Company admitted on its most recent earnings call that it might be forced to make a similar move.
“We’ve made no secret about the fact that aluminum tariffs and freight and the unjustified increase in the Midwest premium (aluminum surcharge) are having a negative impact on our cost structure and they may factor into future pricing decisions,” said Molson’s president and chief executive officer Gavin Hattersley.
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