Dallas Fed Survey Comments Highlight Costs and Planning Uncertainty

Individual Texas manufacturers cited tariffs, fuel prices, insurance costs and difficulty obtaining some domestic raw materials in comments tied to a Dallas Fed manufacturing survey.

A transportation-equipment manufacturer said, “High interest and energy costs are a double hit. We can’t do any planning.”

Other comments described higher diesel costs affecting margins, difficulty passing expenses to customers and uncertainty surrounding trade policy. Manufacturers also cited weaker incoming orders, customer pushback and cancellations in some sectors.

The comments point to cost and policy pressures affecting planning across parts of Texas manufacturing, while individual businesses reported differing conditions, including operational expansion and strong backlogs.