What Does ‘Made In America’ Mean?

Of the boats sold in the U.S.,” says Robyn Boerstling, senior vice president of government relations and chief advocacy officer for the National Marine Manufacturers Association, “95% are manufactured domestically.”

This is welcome news. Though, considering the number of complex parts, materials, and equipment that go into each and every one, our boats are quite multinational. They may be “built in America” using American workers and ingenuity, but it’s almost impossible for American manufacturers to use all-American products to accomplish that – for several reasons. In some cases, it’s simply far cheaper to manufacture specific components elsewhere in an effort to keep prices down for the consumer. But in other cases, the U.S. lacks the natural resources for important raw boatbuilding materials, and our workforce doesn’t currently have the technical expertise to build many of these components. These challenges are surmountable; they’ll just require more investment in infrastructure and education.

In the meantime, it’s not entirely clear how the prices of boats and components may change, but it’s almost certain they will increase – at least for a while.

How Tariff Policies Affect Prices & Supply

“The recreational boating industry contributes $230 billion annually to the U.S. economy,” says Boerstling, “and supports more than 812,000 jobs and 36,000 American businesses, the majority of which are small and family-owned.” Despite those impressive stats, she says, the marine industry isn’t insulated from international trade policy, and the current changing trade policies do affect the American boater looking to buy a new boat or upgrade the one they already have.

“Most of our direct purchasing is domestic,” says Bill Yeargin, CEO of Correct Craft, a boatbuilding company with 100-year-old American roots. “But many of our suppliers source materials and components globally. Marine engines are often impacted by trade policies, even when purchased through U.S. suppliers.”

Increased costs for vendors get passed on to his company and then have to be passed on to customers, Yeargin reports. “In some cases, U.S. producers raised prices simply because foreign prices went up.”

Imtra is one such vendor of components for both boatbuilders and end users. The American company imports complex components from international partners with unique technical expertise, such as Sleipner bow thrusters (Norway) and Zipwake stabilizers (Sweden), as well as simpler components like windshield wipers and marine light bulbs, which it sells to American boatbuilders and direct to boaters.

“Most of our relationships with the companies we work with overseas, we’ve been in for decades. They’re really a partnership,” explains Imtra CEO Eric Braitmayer, who’s been working to figure out how to navigate the new higher-tariff landscape with his import-heavy business.

“The marine industry isn’t the kind of industry that can just pick up and make all that stuff here in the United States. It’s probably not easy for a company like Apple, either, but at least they’re building a zillion of the same product over and over,” Braitmayer says. Complex marine systems tend to be highly technical, lower volume, and sometimes semi-custom, requiring highly specific and expensive infrastructure and expertise that Braitmayer says would be difficult to transfer to the U.S. within the next few years.

As things currently stand, “we might have a relationship with a company in Italy that we buy product from, but its country of origin might be six different countries,” Braitmayer explains. “When [the administration says] this country will be tariffed at 10%, this country will be 46%, this country will be 110%, we have to keep track and make sure we apply the right tariff surcharge to the right item. It’s complicated.”

The real-world implementation of those tariffs is challenging, Braitmayer reports. “We did a lot of outreach to our customer base and asked, ‘Do you want us to build the tariff into the regular cost, show the tariff as a separate line item, or show the tariff at the bottom as a separate subtotal?’” With that input, Imtra opted to transparently itemize the tariff surcharges so they’re visible to boatbuilders ordering large items like thrusters, and to individual consumers ordering items directly through Imtra’s website.

Another concern is parts availability and supply-chain disruptions. Braitmayer says that inventory is a fluctuating problem: “Some marine businesses may only have so much money to invest in inventory. So, if your inventory gets 10% or 20% more expensive, you may have to make do with less of it.” When parts inventories dwindle, or if suppliers pause imports during episodes of particularly high tariffs, parts-dependent repairs could be delayed and boating seasons disrupted. “It doesn’t do any good for me to tell someone in July that I can’t get them that part for their boat until September,” he noted.

The majority of NMMA’s members are feeling the pressure, according to Boerstling: “Over half of marine manufacturers have already increased prices or delayed investments due to tariffs, and 88% have delayed hiring.”

Where Boat Parts Are Made

1. Cabinetry & handrails

Tropical hardwoods, such as teak and mahogany, come from equatorial Central and South America, Africa, and Asia. In a marine setting, tropical hardwoods are superior to most deciduous hardwoods because their native rainforest environments make them naturally rot-resistant. There are some American woods that have historically been used aboard boats and ships, such as Georgian live oak, but these species are now in short supply and usually not allowed for commercial harvest. Marine plywood is primarily made from trees like the Douglas fir and Western larch, native to the western half of the U.S. and Canada.

2. Resins, caulks, sealants, epoxies, and gelcoat

Complex products with global supply chains. Companies like 3M and Dow Chemical source materials worldwide. There are several large U.S.-based companies in the gelcoat and epoxy business that manufacture here, but they are made from petroleum-based products sourced from the global oil trade.

3. Paint

AkzoNobel (AwlGrip, Interlux, and Sea Hawk paints) is a Dutch-headquartered multinational company with modest U.S. manufacturing in Ohio. Pettit is manufactured in New Jersey. Ingredients required to manufacture marine paints are many, complex, proprietary, and difficult to trace. Copper is a key ingredient in many antifouling paints. The U.S. produces half the copper we use and imports approximately 1 million metric tons annually, primarily from Chile, Canada, and Peru.

4. Fiberglass

The U.S. exported $742 million of silica and quartz sands in 2023 (the primary ingredient of fiberglass) and imported $30 million the same year, according to the World Bank. The U.S. manufactures fiberglass, exporting $1.44 billion worth in 2023. However, we were also the leading global importer of $1.62 billion of it, mostly from China, in the same year. It’s difficult to know how much of the fiberglass used specifically in American boats is imported, as these inflows and outflows include fiberglass for the auto, aerospace, construction, chemical, and energy industries.

5. Balsa core

Used as a light core material in many boats, balsa wood comes from the Ochroma pyramidal tree; 95% of the world’s supply comes from Ecuador. Balsa is light, stiff, and relatively inexpensive – a combination difficult to achieve with domestic lumber, which usually lacks one or more of those critical traits.

6. Engine

With the loss of Evinrude a few years ago, Mercury is the only remaining major U.S. manufacturer of outboards. Final assembly of larger, higher-horsepower outboards and sterndrives is primarily based in Wisconsin. Mercury also does much of its precision casting and machining there, avoiding much of the back-and-forth assembly process common for other kinds of engines, like cars. Smaller Mercury engines under 30 hp are primarily made in Japan using Japanese parts, and mid-range Mercury engines between 40- and 60 hp are primarily made in China, using parts imported from around the world. Yamaha, Honda, Suzuki, and Yanmar engines are primarily made in Japan, with some smaller models made in Thailand. Yanmar has a small manufacturing capacity in Georgia. Volvo Penta engines are primarily made in Sweden.

7. Metals

– Half the stainless steel and aluminum in the U.S. used for pulpits, stanchions, lifelines, sailboat rigging, cleats, biminis, shades, T-tops, hatches, and other hardware (and aluminum-hulled boats like pontoons) is imported, mostly from Canada. Approximately a quarter of all steel used in the U.S. is imported (40% from Canada and Mexico; some from Japan, South Korea, and Germany). Currently, Chinese steel accounts for only 1.8% of American steel imports. Although the U.S. was once the world’s largest manufacturer of steel and still remains the fourth largest in the world, as global steelmaking capacities have increased, the price of steel has decreased, making it harder for American steel to compete.

8. Rubbers & plastics

Acrylic, used in place of traditional glass in most windshields and hatches, is a plastic product. Other plastic pieces, from cabinet latches to zippers, can be found all around boats. Rubber, an agricultural product from trees cultivated in Southeast Asia or a synthetic product made from petrochemicals, is the primary ingredient in gaskets and hoses. Last year, the U.S. imported $109 billion worth of raw plastics and rubbers, with $21.7 billion coming from China, $17.2 billion from Canada, and $12.8 billion from Mexico. The U.S. is one of the biggest consumers of plastics and rubbers, and although we do produce plastics and plastic resins here, we consume more rubber and plastic than we produce and therefore rely on imports to bridge the gap.

9. Plumbing

Groco, a major U.S. manufacturer of traditional bronze marine plumbing components, manufactures in Maryland. Marelon, the maker of the only major alternative to metal for below-the-waterline applications, is based in New Zealand. Xylem, which owns Rule and Jabsco pumps, has a “global manufacturing and assembly footprint with production facilities in Europe, North America, Latin America, Asia, and the Middle East,” according to its website. Raritan, which makes marine hoses and heads, assembles in New Jersey, and Trident Marine Systems, which makes Shields hosing, manufactures in Philadelphia. It’s unclear what proportion of their raw materials are imported.

10. Electronics

Navigation electronics and instruments are some of the most complex components. Simrad, Lowrance, and B&G, all owned by the Navico Group, conduct research and development in Europe but primarily manufacture in Ensenada, Mexico, with some components coming from China and Malaysia. Garmin has a primary manufacturing hub in Kansas and uses manufacturing sites in Taiwan specializing in GPS and audio-related components. Raymarine, headquartered in the U.K., outsources manufacturing to facilities in China and Hungary. Standard Horizon and Icom, major manufacturers of VHF radios, are Japanese companies manufacturing in China and Japan, respectively.

11. Batteries

Many batteries found in American-made boats are made in the U.S., with raw materials sourced elsewhere. The U.S. imports some lead from Mexico, Canada, and Peru, but we also have a robust lead-recycling system that helps make the production of lead acid and AGM batteries minimally foreign-dependent. The U.S. only has one major active lithium mine (Nevada), so we import most of our lithium (key ingredient in lithium-ion batteries) from Chile, Argentina, and China. The U.S. imports almost all its cobalt, mainly from the Democratic Republic of the Congo (refined in China). Nickel and manganese are mostly imported. Legislation enacted in 2022 incentivized increased domestic production of lithium-ion batteries and the sourcing of raw materials from U.S.-allied countries.

12. Wiring & electrical components

Many companies both inside and outside the U.S. manufacture wires, fuses, panels, and the other components required to make our electrical systems. Mar-Lan, Mach, Netcom, and Blue Sea Systems are a few examples of American-made electrical brands often found in American boats. Ancor, Scanstrut, and Marinco – brands that a DIYer may be more familiar with – also manufacture in the U.S.

13. Galley appliances & grills

Domestic manufactures in the U.S., Germany, and China. Isotherm and Vitrifrigo manufacture in Italy. Force 10 is from Canada. Eno Marine products come from France. Magma manufactures in the U.S.

14. Sails

Many new sails from American-headquartered brands like North Sails and Quantum are primarily made in Sri Lanka and South Africa, although some specialized or custom sails are made in domestic lofts. Other sailmakers, such as Ullman, manufacture only domestically. Most standard, non-high-performance sails are made of Dacron, a kind of polyester that today is mostly made in Asia, where textiles are significantly cheaper to manufacture.