How are tariffs affecting the radon industry?

Trump Tariffs

In early 2026, the Trump administration began adding tariffs on imported materials from all foreign nations with specific added tariffs on several countries, including China, Canada, Mexico, Germany, and more.  Here I’ll detail how that has affected radon mitigation prices.  In general, it has caused materials increases across many verticals and manufacturers.  These tariffs ranged from 10% to upwards of 25% depending on the country and material.  Trump has also threatened higher tariffs on specific countries from time to time.

Radon fans and other components

Most reputable radon fan manufacturers assemble their fans in the USA.  RadonAway has facilities in Massachusetts, Indiana, and Colorado.  Fantech has locations all over the world, but their radon fans are all assembled by hand in Lenexa, KS.  The issue–as it pertains to tariffs–are that radon fans have components from overseas.  A vast majority of radon fans sold by PDS and other major supply houses use German motors*.  Since the motor, sometimes called an impeller, is more than 50% of the product, oftentimes “made in the USA” branding cannot be used.  This is unfortunate as all major radon fan manufacturers employ many dozens, sometimes hundreds, of US workers.   These German motors often also contain electronic parts from China or India.  Estimates range from 25-35%+ of all electronic parts are manufactured in China with certain verticals like laptops and computers reaching upwards of 90%.

At PDS, we stock over 300 radon mitigation products and accessories from dozens of vendors.  Materials for these products consist of a wide array of sources including: PVC, steel, precious metals, PETG, aluminum, copper, rubber—just about anything you can think of.  For the last two years, we’ve seen price increases from our vendor partners rise anywhere from 3% on the low end to 50% or more.

*During COVID and other supply chain disruptions, many major manufacturers have brought Chinese fan impellers to market.  The German fan motors are vastly preferred by professionals, so often the supplier switches back as soon as possible.

Historical prices for US radon-related electronics

In 2018, PDS audited our electronic components, hoping to move more of our purchasing to US soil.  During that investigation, we asked our suppliers to quote us materials from the USA.  These were for components in our Colorado-assembled KTA low-voltage fan system.  That investigation revealed that we would need to pay over $50 more to manufacture this product.  Over a 50% increase on most parts.  At PDS we strive for as many US made products as possible; however, electronics and other industries were moved overseas many, many decades ago.  We’re part of a global supply chain and often have no effect on upstream decisions.

War and Fuel Prices

This article is about tariffs; however during the first draft of this piece, the US went to war with Iran.  This caused a global shock in fuel prices.  While many of the products in our catalog are made in the USA: things like PVC, vapor barriers, sealants, and metals; fuel surcharges can disrupt these prices as well.  We’re already seeing drastic price increases on materials with fossil fuels as a major component.  One vapor barrier line went up over 60% in price overnight.  Other products made in the USA with no materials cost increase are often increasing their FFA (free freight allowed) orders or getting rid of them altogether.  This passes increased fuel prices down the chain.

Will these tariffs increase US jobs?

In my opinion, no.  Radon fans and their installation already account for thousands of US jobs.  Radon fan impellers contain myriad of small electronics from a global supply chain.  These supply chains cannot be reengineered overnight.  Many of these US electronics manufacturers went out of business decades ago.

Radon contractors, specifically mitigators, work on very thin margins.  When their costs go up, they often need to raise their prices to stay afloat.  Larger mitigation corporations may be able to absorb cost increases for a short period of time, as they often carry inventory 2-3 months out.  This leads to greater strain on “mom and pop” operations since they need to adjust their quotes in real time.  I would venture materials costs increases will more likely lead to smaller businesses going under and larger outfits remaining.  In the long term, this would lead to increased costs for the consumer/homeowner.

The tariffs were struck down, will prices go down?

On February 20th, 2026 the US Supreme Court struck down many of the sweeping tariffs imposed by the Trump Administration.  Some tariffs, like those on metals, remained in place.  This decision also began a legal battle about whether or not $160 billion dollars in refunds are due and who they are due to.

However in March of 2026 the Trump administration cited section 122 of the Trade Act of 1974 to impose another 10% global tariff.  This legal battle is far from over and the Trump administration is set on keeping or increasing tariffs.

Volatility continues with no end in sight

At PDS, our radon fan manufacturing partners have increased prices on us more than three times in the last 15 months with more increases already scheduled.  For nearly three years we did not raise our prices and we absorbed this costs.  We can no longer do that.  In April of 2026, we raised prices on Fantech fans for the first time in years.

For some of our other products, the costs have been passed down.  From my industry research, this is a common theme.  Some costs are absorbed, many more trickle down.  It’s only a matter of time before they make it to the consumer.

My customers, professional radon contractors, do not share specific prices with me, but from time to time they will share if business is slow or if they’ve been forced to raise their price.  More and more I hear that these professionals are making the tough choice to pass their materials increases on to the end customer.

If I had to guess, I would venture that radon mitigation costs as a whole are 5-15% higher than they were pre-tariff, and perhaps as much as 20-25% higher pre-covid.  The last six years has been a constant battle of cost in supply chain.  Tariffs did not lessen it; in my experience they exacerbated a trend of price hikes in a variety of product verticals.  The tariff era has been worse than the covid era for PDS products.  When these costs will level out, I cannot say.

Thank you for reading and for supporting independent, family-owned supply houses.