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For practically a century, John Dioguardi’s household has been making customized headstones and different memorial markers at Rome Monument in western Pennsylvania. Not too long ago, 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 grow to be 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’ll.”
Rome Monument is a part of a material of small, household run firms that make memorialization merchandise dealing with the twin challenges of levies and cremations. Members of the blue-collar business are in a combat 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 seemingly nonetheless be dearer — even with new tariffs — because of larger 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 totally different elements of the world sure yummies,” Dioguardi mentioned. “We have now nothing like that in our nation.”
Trump’s levies have altered the underside strains within the business, leaving companies combating learn how 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 practically doubled to 59%.
He is talked with fellow memorial monument suppliers about including an addendum to massive orders telling consumers that the worth could possibly be later adjusted relying on if tariff charges transfer. For now, Milano mentioned he and lots of friends are protecting the tariffs out of pocket. He is taken a pay lower because of this.
“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 along with his ordering controller when he sees a headline about larger 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 sometimes runs on lead occasions of a number of weeks or months. Importers can see considerably totally different levy charges if the White Home adjusts its commerce coverage between when memorial merchandise are first ordered by clients and the granite is definitely shipped to the U.S.
“The uncertainty half is the toughest half we battle with,” mentioned Nathan Lange, president of Monument Builders of North America, a commerce group representing a whole lot of enterprise with a median 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 and marketing 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 should be adjusted. Damo mentioned he might swap to creating new paperwork each 60 days in case they should preserve updating costs.
Trump has argued that international international locations or, in some circumstances, the firms importing their merchandise ought to eat the tariffs. Knowledge exhibits that companies have largely absorbed value will increase within the quick time period.
clean stone gravestones and grave slabs in outside 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 could be for big retailers. As a result of the companies work with customers feeling feelings round demise, business members say they should be particularly delicate when deciding whether or not to go down prices to customers.
“It is onerous,” Milano mentioned. “We will not return to a grieving household and say, ‘You already know what, we bought so as to add a further $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 below 40% a decade and a half prior, based on the Cremation Affiliation of North America. The group expects greater than two out of each three our bodies can be cremated in a median 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 pattern 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 cherished one.
He is additionally labored on much less typical monuments: Dioguardi not too long ago helped a cemetery set up a “rainbow bridge” memorial that incorporates 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 customers to go for cremations. Past granite, he mentioned levies on manufacturing supplies have additionally taken a chew out of income.
To make sure, 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 because of tariffs given the shrinking home demand.
Dioguardi mentioned his household operation ought to be on stable floor for an additional decade, however he questions if it will probably 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 partially as to if folks need their family members to have any kind of memorialization.
When evaluating the pyramids the Egyptians opted for to in the present day’s pattern of getting ashes unfold someplace with no marker, Dioguardi is not precisely assured. A part of the problem, he and different business members say, is proving that any kind 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.”
