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For almost a century, John Dioguardi’s household has been making customized headstones and different memorial markers at Rome Monument in western Pennsylvania. Lately, he is questioned how a lot time his enterprise has left.
Dioguardi has been attempting to adapt for greater than a decade because the rise in cremations has harm demand for the standard burial markers his enterprise has develop into synonymous with. This 12 months, 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 mentioned. “I don’t know if it can.”
Rome Monument is a part of a material 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 struggle to outlive the social, political and financial shifts throwing their livelihoods right into a state of disruption.
‘A intestine punch’
As Dioguardi watched the White Home’s commerce relationship with China fluctuate in latest 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 price for a lot of the 12 months.
Craftsman working with compressed air at tombstone.
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Dioguardi mentioned bringing manufacturing to the U.S. would possible nonetheless be dearer — even with new tariffs — as a consequence of increased labor prices. There’s one other easy cause 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 completely different components of the world sure yummies,” Dioguardi mentioned. “We’ve got nothing like that in our nation.”
Trump’s levies have altered the underside strains within the business, leaving companies scuffling with the best way to 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 12 months later, that price almost doubled to 59%.
He is talked with fellow memorial monument suppliers about including an addendum to giant orders telling patrons that the worth might be later adjusted relying on if tariff charges transfer. For now, Milano mentioned he and lots of friends are overlaying the tariffs out of pocket. He is taken a pay reduce in consequence.
“There’s simply so many loopy issues which have come up within the final a number of years,” mentioned Milano, whose enterprise has been round for half of a century. “However this tariff factor has been like a intestine punch.”
In latest months, Milano has discovered himself dashing to speak together with his ordering controller when he sees a headline about increased levies to make sure his containers hit the water earlier than they might take impact.
Milano’s showroom and a memorial made by the enterprise.
Courtesy: Jim Milano
As a result of 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 Home adjusts its commerce coverage between when memorial merchandise are first ordered by prospects and the granite is definitely shipped to the U.S.
“The uncertainty half is the toughest half we wrestle with,” mentioned Nathan Lange, president of Monument Builders of North America, a commerce group representing a whole lot of enterprise with a mean lifespan of greater than seven many years.
Granite wholesalers have equally wanted to recalibrate their gross sales practices. At Kentucky-based PS Granite, operations chief Parthi Damo mentioned they’ve delayed printing annual advertising supplies for subsequent 12 months as a result of they don’t seem to be positive if tariff charges may change once more, which might imply costs have to be adjusted. Damo mentioned he could swap to creating new paperwork each 60 days in case they should maintain updating costs.
Trump has argued that overseas nations or, in some instances, the firms importing their merchandise ought to eat the tariffs. Knowledge exhibits that companies have largely absorbed price will increase within the brief time period.
clean stone gravestones and grave slabs in out of doors rural granite workshop.
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However memorial creators mentioned that their smaller margins and decrease volumes make it harder to cowl the prices than it will be for big retailers. As a result of the companies work with customers feeling feelings round demise, business members say they have to be particularly delicate when deciding whether or not to move down prices to shoppers.
“It is onerous,” Milano mentioned. “We will not return to a grieving household and say, ‘You recognize what, we received so as to add an extra $1,000 to your loved ones’s memorial to cowl the tariffs.'”
A altering enterprise
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 price has surged to greater than 60% in 2024, up from underneath 40% a decade and a half prior, in response to the Cremation Affiliation of North America. The group expects greater than two out of each three our bodies will likely be cremated in a mean 12 months 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 mentioned has prompted a wave of acquisitions throughout the business. Dioguardi and his friends have emphasised alternate options like pedestal memorials for folks remembering a cremated liked one.
He is additionally labored on much less standard monuments: Dioguardi just lately helped a cemetery set up a “rainbow bridge” memorial that accommodates the ashes of pets.
“Cremation has modified our enterprise tremendously,” Dioguardi mentioned. “It is created new alternatives. It has closed another doorways.”
If monument builders want to lift costs to account for tariffs, Milano worries it may push extra shoppers to go for cremations. Past granite, he mentioned levies on manufacturing supplies have additionally taken a chunk out of earnings.
To make certain, Canada’s monument business is feeling the warmth extra intensely with a five-year cremation common anticipated to surpass 80%. Dioguardi mentioned granite producers he labored with based mostly in America’s northern neighbor have not elevated costs as a consequence of tariffs given the shrinking home demand.
Dioguardi mentioned his household operation must be on strong floor for an additional decade, however he questions if it may exist in its present state past that. On the similar time, the 75-year-old is aware of that the destiny of the enterprise is married partly as to if folks need their family members to have any type of memorialization.
When evaluating the pyramids the Egyptians opted for to right now’s development of getting ashes unfold someplace and not using a marker, Dioguardi is not precisely assured. A part of the problem, he and different business members say, is proving that any type of memorial product is well worth the funding.
“Neglect about making the pyramid,” Dioguardi mentioned. “I do not even know if they need a pebble.”
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Monument, headstone makers take care of tariffs and cremations
Strathroy | Istock | Getty Photos For almost a century, John Dioguardi’s household has been making customized headstones and different…