Manufacturers turn to AI to weather tariff storm

Manufacturers like US lawnmower maker The Toro Company are not panicking at the prospect of US President Donald Trump's global trade tariffs.

- Mark Bendeich, Reuters

Despite five years of dramatic supply disruptions, from the COVID pandemic to today's trade wars, Toro is resisting any temptation to stack its warehouses to the rafters. “We are at probably pre-pandemic inventory levels,” says its chief supply-chain manager, Kevin Carpenter, looking relaxed in front of a whiteboard at his office in Minneapolis. “I mean 2019. I think everybody will be at a 2019 level.” Among US manufacturers, inventories have roller-coasted this year as they rushed to beat Trump's deadlines for tariff hikes, only to see them repeatedly delayed. But since their post-pandemic expansion, inventories have mostly contracted, according to US Institute for Supply Management data. Instead, “just in time” inventory management - which aims to increase efficiency and reduce waste by ordering goods only as they are needed - is back. But how can firms run lean inventories even as tariffs fluctuate, export bans come out of the blue, and conflict rages?