The Indicator from Planet Money

Episode: Looking for love in the auto supply chain

Date: November 19, 2025
Hosts: Stephen Bisaha, Waylon Wong

Overview

This episode delves into the unexpected consequences of tariffs on the auto industry, specifically how they are sparking new relationships—or at least attempts at them—between U.S. car companies and domestic suppliers. Hosts Stephen Bisaha and Waylon Wong attend an automotive "speed dating" event in Huntsville, Alabama, where automakers and suppliers have just minutes to pitch and connect, hoping to navigate the challenges and opportunities created by rising costs due to tariffs.

Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. Tariffs Hit Car Companies Hard

• Tariff Impact: Carmakers are shouldering close to $30 billion in tariff costs this year—a burden expected to eventually trickle down to consumers through higher car prices.

  • [00:18] Waylon Wong: "That bill will likely be around $30 billion for the carmakers this year ... That will likely end up on the consumer side eventually with higher car prices."

• Buy American as Solution?

  • Automakers seek to mitigate tariffs by sourcing more parts domestically. However, transitioning to American suppliers for everything—from raw steel to finished assemblies—is far from simple.
  • [00:43] Waylon Wong: "...to avoid these costly tariffs, why not just switch to buying those parts from an American supplier? Easy, right?"

2. Inside the Auto Industry’s "Speed Dating"

• The Event: Southern Automotive Conference’s matchmaking event, running for 13 years, connects suppliers and buyers in rapid-fire five-minute meetings.

  • [02:46] Chris Miller (event organizer): "Come on in, find your buyers. Have a seat and happy selling."

• Supplier Perspective

  • Jack Grace (Landrum Workforce Solutions) on the "nerve-wracking" nature of five-minute pitches:
    • [03:22] Jack Grace: "Nerve wracking, you know, because you get five minutes to either get it right or not get it right."
  • The format is a welcome alternative to the chaos and inefficiency of traditional trade shows, even if chaotic in its own way.
    • [04:00] Jack Grace: "Having this environment where it's very distilled, albeit a little chaotic, is really interesting."

3. Real Sourcing Challenges

• Tariff Pressures for Buyers and Suppliers

  • Doug Drake (Baxter Enterprises) details skyrocketing costs for imported materials—sometimes up to 50% higher, especially for metal clips and components.
    • [04:39] Doug Drake: "I'm seeing anywhere from 15 to 50%, depending on what it is."
  • Existing tariffs: 50% on steel, 25% on auto parts.

• It's Not Just About Price

  • Doug emphasizes the importance of meeting face to face and establishing rapport:
    • [05:14] Doug Drake: "I like to be able to shake hands with them, meet them face to face, and you can get a feel for ... their personality and see if they're going to be an option."
    • [05:28] Doug Drake: "It does me." (when asked if personality matters in manufacturing)

4. Openness vs. Hesitance from Automakers

• More Willing to Listen—but Not Desperate

  • Marlena Mellentin (Mazda Toyota, Ala.) expresses openness to new suppliers but is not in a hurry:

    • [05:51] Marlena Mellentin: "We're looking for ways that we can maybe save money with tariffs being what they are now. So we're just open to whatever's out there."
    • [06:10] Marlena Mellentin: "We have sourced for most of the things that we procure, but we're always open to better services, better pricing."

  • Automotive consulting expert Amy Broglan Peterson compares supplier selection to dating strategies—never wanting to look too eager:

    • [06:30] Amy Broglan Peterson: "You never want to look like you're desperate. Like it's, it's like a strategy."

• The Real Hurdles: Long Commitments and Validation

  • Contracts with other suppliers, sunk costs in tooling, and the technical process of validating new suppliers all slow the pivot to new domestic partners.
    • [07:15] Amy Broglan Peterson: "...you have to validate suppliers. So that can be a very lengthy process, and it's certainly one you don't want to skip over or take lightly..."
    • [07:41] Amy Broglan Peterson: "...it can mean quality issues and thus higher cost, warranty cost, repair cost, degraded consumer perception..."

5. Slow Progress and Uncertain Future

• Meaningful Matches Are Rare

  • Even with these events, deals take time and most meetings don't lead immediately to business. Organizers lack hard stats on success.
    • [08:13] Stephen Bisaha: "...she does always hear from buyers that they have still found new suppliers at the event, though she doesn't have hard numbers on that."
  • The validation and ramp up for a new supplier can take a year or longer—even as companies pay tariffs while waiting.

• Tariff Policy Instability

  • If tariffs disappeared suddenly, current budding domestic supplier deals could unravel overnight—demonstrating how uncertainty undermines widespread change.

6. The Human Side of the Supply Chain

• Supplier Competition Isn’t Just International

  • Chris Miller (Olympic Steel) notes sometimes you find out your competitor is the very company with whom you’re meeting—not a foreign rival:
    • [09:01] Chris Miller: "We're under a one minute meeting. ... you can kind of get that feel pretty quick because you heard what she said. They do the same thing that we do."

• Defining Success: The Follow-Up, Not the First Date

  • Realist takeaways: The speed dating event is about making an initial connection—“getting that card,” not closing deals on the spot.
    • [09:37] Waylon Wong: "...it's about getting that card, making that connection. It's about the chance at a longer second date because when it comes to changing up supply chains, even the car world takes things slow."

Notable Quotes

• On five-minute supplier pitches:
  “[The event is] nerve wracking, you know, because you get five minutes to either get it right or not get it right.”
  — Jack Grace, [03:22]

• On openness (and limits) to new suppliers:
  “We have sourced for most of the things that we procure, but we’re always open to better services, better pricing.”
  — Marlena Mellentin, [06:10]

• On the complexity of switching suppliers:
  “...you have to validate suppliers. So that can be a very lengthy process, and it's certainly one you don't want to skip over or take lightly because it can mean quality issues and thus higher cost, warranty cost, repair cost, degraded consumer perception and things like that.”
  — Amy Broglan Peterson, [07:15]

• On the real goal of networking:
  “It’s about getting that card, making that connection. It's about the chance at a longer second date because when it comes to changing up supply chains even the car world takes things slow.”
  — Waylon Wong, [09:37]

Timestamps for Key Segments

• [00:12] – How tariffs are impacting carmakers and consumers
• [02:46] – Inside the automotive speed dating event
• [03:22] – Jack Grace on the challenge of pitching in five minutes
• [04:39] – Doug Drake on soaring materials costs
• [05:51] – Marlena Mellentin on openness to new suppliers
• [06:30] – Amy Broglan Peterson on supplier selection strategy
• [07:15] – Validation and commitment hurdles for new suppliers
• [09:01] – Chris Miller on rapid supplier meetings
• [09:37] – The realistic goal: making connections, not closing deals

Conclusion

The episode highlights how tariffs are forcing automakers and suppliers to reevaluate their partnerships, but “love” in the auto supply chain is hard-won. Fast introductions at matchmaking events seldom yield quick deals; instead, they’re just the first spark in what must be a careful and deliberate relationship-building process. Even with mounting incentives from tariffs, trust, compatibility, and the inertia of existing contracts keep true change slow—a reminder that in this business, it’s always a long courtship, not a whirlwind romance.