2019 Trek prices raised this past week

[Mikej]

Originally Posted by likebikes

so kellogg uses imported ti? interesting..

Well, SEVEN makes the Ti bikes.

[Clean39T]

Well, my local Trek dealer (which is a great shop run by great people) just put this out..

[MikeD]

Originally Posted by Mark McM

The Kellogg posting didn't actually say that, although it did say that raw material for Ti tubing was also subject to the new tariffs. Since the US has little raw titanium ore, most US titanium mills are dependent on importing raw materials.

How much is the material cost of Ti in a frame that costs thousands anyway?

[Davist]

Just buy the '19s in the fall, like we always do.. '18 Madone rim brakes are ~30% off right now in common sizes around here, maybe this is a "marketing" exercise for "price quality" with a convenient lever?!

[Walter]

Lots of good comment here.

Pricing rises are due to many things. As some have observed, an overheated economy (whether real or short term artificially induced for political purposes with long term adverse consequences) puts more money in the flow and makes sellers of anything want more of the action by raising prices.

Tariffs do several things. They can raise the cost of completed goods or raw materials that in turn makes folks raise retail pricing to maintain margin.

They also are a protectionist tool to allow solely domestic sellers who are immune to tariff impact to jack up pricing due to the relative increases in other sellers' costs due to tariffs hitting them and causing price increases. The consumer just pays more and the corporations make more.

The real hit from runaway tariffs is the adverse impact on US sellers of goods overseas when retaliatory tariffs are imposed by overseas governments.

I do not see any real positive from them here...