US Toy Factories Boom as Tariffs Shift Manufacturing Home

[Social Media]

 

American toy manufacturers are experiencing an unexpected surge in demand as the industry scrambles to adjust to hefty tariffs imposed by the Trump administration on imports from China, Mexico, and Canada, The Post has learned.  

 

MGA Entertainment, the company behind Bratz and LOL Surprise dolls, also owns the well-established Little Tikes brand, which produces larger indoor and outdoor toys at its Hudson, Ohio, facility. According to MGA CEO Isaac Larian, the plant is gearing up to take on additional clients and will be expanding its workforce to accommodate the demand.  

 

“We have received many inquiries and we have the capacity,” Larian told The Post. The Ohio-based Little Tikes facility is now set to manufacture toys for other brands as well, a shift driven by the new trade policies. A 20% duty on Chinese imports and a 25% tariff on goods from Mexico and Canada have prompted a growing number of toy companies to seek domestic production alternatives. This includes utilizing 3D printing farms, which offer a way for businesses that traditionally relied on overseas manufacturing to produce items in the US.  

 

Paul Young, owner of Pye Games, a company operating 560 3D printers capable of mass-producing small toys, capitalized on the moment by promoting his American-made products at Toy Fair in New York City. He hung a banner at the Javits Center reading, “Made in the USA. No tariffs.”  

 

Among Young’s recent clients is Hey Buddy Hey Pal, an Amarillo, Texas-based company that contracted Pye Games to manufacture 20,000 miniature dragons. The dragons were then sent to China, stuffed into plastic eggs, and returned to the US as part of the company’s Eggmazing decorator kits. Despite the dragons being domestically made, the finished product still incurred tariffs upon re-entering the US. However, company founder Curtis McGill sees long-term potential in the partnership.  

 

“It’s an experiment to see if 3D printing might work for us as the technology gets better and to develop a relationship with someone who is doing this in the US,” McGill said. “I’m hopeful that we go from 20,000 units to 60,000 next year.”

 

Ohio-based Simplay3, which manufactures outdoor play equipment such as sandboxes, slides, and playhouses, is also seeing an influx of business. Brian McDonald, vice president of sales and marketing, revealed that the company is adding more workers and additional shifts to keep up with 24/7 operations.  

 

Recently, Simplay3 secured a deal to produce educational toys for a company that previously relied on overseas manufacturing. While McDonald did not disclose the client’s name, he expressed confidence that demand will continue to grow.  

 

“I think we’ll have more business as [the tariff issue] ramps up,” McDonald said.

 

Additionally, Simplay3 has partnered with Canada-based Kailani to manufacture a collapsible, high-end dog crate set to launch in the US later this year. Retailing between $350 and $650, the product will debut at the Global Pet Expo in Orlando.  

 

Sean Alexander, founder and CEO of Kailani, noted the benefits of US-based production, including eliminating the four-to-five-week shipping time from China and avoiding the need to pay a 30% deposit upfront for overseas shipping. However, he acknowledged the higher labor costs associated with American manufacturing.  

 

Simplay3’s starting pay in Ohio is $17 per hour—substantially higher than the $3 to $4 per hour typically paid to workers in China. Alexander estimates that manufacturing in the US will increase production costs by $70 to $90 per unit, nearly offsetting the savings from shipping costs.  

“It’s not a wash entirely,” he admitted. “We may have to raise the retail price by about $15.”  

 

Despite the challenges, US-based toy manufacturing is seeing renewed interest as companies explore domestic production to navigate the shifting trade landscape. With tariffs making overseas imports increasingly expensive, American factories are stepping in to fill the gap—reshaping the industry in the process.

 

Based on a report by NYP  2025-03-08

 

 

[JAG]

Existing factories taking up spare capacity.

 

 

[Chomper Higgot]

47 minutes ago, Social Media said:

“It’s not a wash entirely,” he admitted. “We may have to raise the retail price by about $15.”  

 

AKA inflation.

[mfd101]

Usofans playing with themselves as Ukraine burns.

[Snackbar]

Orange man bad

[candide]

9 hours ago, Social Media said:

“I’m hopeful that we go from 20,000 units to 60,000 next year.”

In other words, it's peanuts....

[0ffshore360]

Toys... a crucial component of social existence.

Chucky dolls with an orange head?

[Purdey]

10 hours ago, Social Media said:

We may have to raise the retail price by about $15.

Just call it Biden inflation. 

A good example of why goods get made in China.

[JonnyF]

The early signs of many Trump wins yet to come. 

 

Good times ahead.

 

Thank goodness they ran with Kamala. 

 

Unburdened.

 

 

 

 

[AndreasHG]

On 3/8/2025 at 10:13 PM, JonnyF said:

The early signs of many Trump wins yet to come. 

 

 

I appreciate your sense of humor. With regards to Trump's yet to come wins, the future is uncertain.

 

With 10,000 Optimus being employed by the end of this year in Tesla factories around the world and up for sales starting in 2026 (according to Elon Musk who probably forgot to inform Trump about what the future has in store), nothing is more uncertain today than the future of blue-collar workers, while white-collar jobs are already endangered by AI.

 

It takes years to relocate the production of high-value products which rely on complex supply chains and expensive assets (I am not talking about toys here). That means companies shall invest now to start reaping the first profits from their investments under a new administration.
American consumers are required to start paying higher prices now, with the prospect of perhaps being able to access better jobs, Optimus and AI permitting, under a new administration.
And the Trump administration will be plagued by inflation, tumbling stock prices and recession for its entire duration, to the uncertain benefit of the next one.

In the meanwhile, Musk's Optimus will progress and there is a chance it will render manual labor a thing of the past, while AI will put an end to white-collar jobs.

 

The future is uncertain, but of one thing I am absolutely certain: if Trump continues like this, the future of MAGA and of the GOP looks extremely bleak.

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