April 2025 has introduced a new wave of pressure on the US construction industry.
A sweeping set of tariffs on imported steel, aluminum, machinery parts, and other key building materials has sent construction costs soaring.
Table: 2025 Tariff Rates on Imported Construction Materials by Country
Includes tariff rates, share of 2024 U.S. imports, key materials affected, and reciprocal trade responses.
For industries like construction that rely heavily on global supply chains, tariffs often translate directly into higher costs. Suppliers and equipment dealers are feeling the squeeze across every bid, every delivery, and every invoice coming due.
With inflation still elevated and election-year uncertainty compounding the problem, credit departments and operations teams alike are asking the same question:
Can we still protect our margins and get paid on time in this economy?
New Tariffs, Real Impact: What’s Happening Right Now
In commercial construction, projects are rarely reactive—they’re planned years in advance, with budgets built around stable or moderately fluctuating material costs. This year’s tariff spikes blows past what any typical contingency planning could cover.
Even the best-run projects only bake in 3–5% wiggle room on materials. Tariff-related cost jumps of 25%, 40%, or more are forcing pricing adjustments mid-contract—often without clear contractual protection.
Table: Estimated Cost Increases and Product Impact from 2025 Construction Tariffs
Suppliers are feeling the squeeze on every front:
- PO pricing locked months ago is now upside-down
- Developers and GCs are slow to approve cost revisions
- Change orders are triggering delays, pushback, or re-bids
While some escalation clauses offer protection, many contracts don’t address trade-related volatility at all. That means the cost burden often falls on the supplier. This is the case especially if materials are already in transit or committed to multiple project sites.
For suppliers and equipment dealers balancing dozens of deliveries across multi-phase commercial jobs, the compounding cost exposure is real and growing.
Payment Timelines Are Slowing Down
Even in the best of times, payment cycles in commercial construction are long. Suppliers routinely wait 60 to 90 days to get paid, navigating retainage, pay-when-paid clauses, and multi-tiered project structures. It’s not ideal, but it’s the norm.
Now, with tariffs just implemented and costs suddenly surging, those already-slow timelines are showing signs of tightening even further.
Developers are reviewing draw schedules. General contractors are asking more questions before releasing payments. Some owners are freezing orders altogether until budgets are re-evaluated. And while it’s too early to see the full impact, the slowdown is starting to show up in conversations and small delays that credit teams know to take seriously.
Most of what gets delivered—steel, copper, fixtures, engineered systems—is made to order, non-returnable, and tied to tight jobsite schedules.
Once those materials ship, the financial risk shifts entirely to the supplier.
What makes this different from a standard late payment? The combination of:
- Rising material costs
- Long lead times
- Locked-in pricing from older bids
- Payment deadlines creeping past lien windows
For Enterprise Suppliers and Dealers, This Is a Pivotal Moment
The pressure’s building. And not just on margins.
The concern isn’t just that payments are late. It’s that they’re trending later while financial exposure is trending higher. That’s a dangerous overlap, and it’s already putting pressure on internal financing, credit policy exceptions, and lien decision-making.
Overloaded Credit Teams
The reality is, projects are still moving. There’s demand. But to keep pace and avoid losing money while doing it, companies need more control. That means knowing where the risks are, tightening up waiver and lien processes, and making sure credit teams aren’t flying blind when payments stall.
Credit teams will need to act faster and with more visibility, especially on high-value orders in high-risk states. Credit teams are already overloaded: fielding more calls, tracking more deadlines, and managing higher financial risk with outdated tools. That margin for error? It’s shrinking fast.
This moment calls for adjustments. What used to work when markets were stable isn’t working now. And the longer teams wait to modernize, the harder it’ll be to stay protected while keeping jobs moving.
The market might not stabilize soon, but suppliers’ systems can.
Here’s where to focus:
- Lien Compliance: Track lien rights and send waivers only when payments clear.
- Credit Risk Visibility: Centralize account info and use real-time data to spot problem accounts early.
- Collections Efficiency: Offer secure, digital payment options that reduce friction and shorten DSO.
Suppliers can’t afford to drop the ball on compliance. Tariff-driven cost spikes and longer payment cycles are already tightening margins across the board. Delays, disputes, and disorganized systems only make it worse.
How Handle Delivers Control in a Volatile Market
Handle gives you the infrastructure to stay compliant, stay paid, and stay ahead. Even when the rest of the industry is bracing for impact.
- Automated Lien Compliance
No more tracking deadlines in spreadsheets or juggling state-specific rules by hand. Handle proactively manages lien rights, notices, and waivers across all 50 states. Handle is built specifically for construction suppliers and the rental market. - Integrated Payment & Waiver Portal
Let customers pay and request waivers in one digital flow. Handle automatically ties payments to waivers, reducing disputes, turnaround time, and back-and-forth emails. Real-time ERP reconciliation helps cut DSO and prevent errors. - ERP Integration, Custom Mapping, and Multi-Branch Support
Whether you’re a CAT dealer with 80 branches or a supplier managing hundreds of reps and A/R lines, Handle connects directly to your existing systems. From open receivables to waiver rules to deductions and short-pays. It’s all synced.
Tariffs, slow payments, tighter margins: none of that is slowing the pace of work. Projects are still moving, and demand is still there. But surviving this market isn’t about riding it out. It’s about adapting faster than the pressure can build.
Suppliers and equipment dealers who get ahead of compliance, payment delays, and documentation risk now will be the ones still standing, no matter what the next policy shift brings.
2025 is a high-risk environment for construction suppliers. But if you strengthen internal systems now, you can stay compliant, protect cash flow, and grow. Even with tariffs and delays in the mix.
Don’t wait for clarity. Build the systems that give you control now.