More than four in 10 North American distributors said they still don’t have a plan to respond to tariffs, according to a recent survey conducted by software developer Proton.ai.
The company on Tuesday released a “2025 Tariff Impact Report” based on the results of a survey of 93 distributors of industrial, electrical, janitorial, building materials and HVAC supplies. Of those respondents, 42% remained in a “wait and see” mode, Proton.ai officials said, despite growing pressure from rivals that have made changes.
The report also found that nearly 80% of respondents intend to protect their margins by raising prices — reflecting a “default strategy” of pass-through pricing — while more than one-third are seeking alternative suppliers outside of China. One-fifth of participating distributors, meanwhile, indicated that they planned to raise prices on products sourced from China.
“Right now, too many distributors are flying blind and reacting instead of planning,” Proton.ai CEO Benj Cohen said in a statement. “The ones who are getting ahead aren’t the ones with the perfect forecast. They’re the ones who built systems that let them move fast when the market shifts.”
