Custom label pricing is up — and for procurement teams managing tight budgets and tighter timelines, the reasons matter less than the options. Two converging forces are behind the recent increases: tariffs on imported raw materials and ongoing supply chain disruptions tied to the Middle East conflict. Here’s what’s driving costs up and what your team can actually do to manage them.
At a Glance: Costs Are Up, but Options Exist
Key Takeaways:
- Tariffs on imported chemicals like adhesives, coatings, and petrochemical feedstocks are raising the cost of even domestically printed labels.
- The Middle East conflict has disrupted oil exports and key shipping routes, pushing up the cost of films, adhesives, inks, and liners.
- Label manufacturers are responding with pass-through pricing, margin compression, and buffer stocking strategies.
- Buyers can offset costs by exploring alternative materials, thinner film specs, and early ordering.
- Partnering with a proactive label printer who offers VMI and SKU rationalization gives procurement teams the most control.
How Do Tariffs Impact Custom Label Printing?
Tariffs imposed by the United States have significantly reshaped the custom pressure-sensitive label (PSL) market by driving up raw material costs, forcing supply chain realignments, and accelerating a shift toward domestic production.
What Are the Direct Impacts of Tariffs on Custom Labeling Prices?
The main impact of tariffs on custom labeling prices is the increased cost of critical label components.
Even for a domestically printed label, its components are often subject to tariffs of 10% minimum, and most PSLs rely on a few key tariff-affected chemical components, like adhesives and coatings. These most common components of PSLs are currently being impacted by tariffs:
- Acrylic-based adhesives: Provide UV resistance and durability for labels, often imported from China.
- Silicone coatings or release liners: Used for nonstick surfaces on release liners. Silicone coatings are based on siloxane/silicone chemistries, which are globally traded.
- Specialty coatings and additives: Used in adhesives and topcoats, these coatings and additives can include resins, plasticizers, and stabilizers, many of which are imported to the United States.
- Rubber-based adhesives or synthetic rubber: Used in high-tack, lower-cost applications. Derived from petrochemicals like styrene-butadiene rubber, which are indirectly affected by tariffs on petrochemical feedstocks.
- Petrochemical feedstocks: Used behind films and adhesives, they are not always imported as finished chemicals, but tariffs impact the upstream materials used in these feedstocks, including:
– Ethylene and propylene derivatives, used to make PE, PP films, and some adhesives
– Acrylic monomers, key inputs for acrylic pressure-sensitive adhesives
- Manufacturing tools, which often use imported steel components, such as custom cutting dies.
How Does the Middle East Conflict Impact Label Printing?
Pressure-sensitive label printing is especially vulnerable to Middle Eastern disruptions because every layer of a typical label, from the face stock to the adhesive and the silicone release liner, relies on petrochemical derivatives that are largely exported from the region.
In a short time, the Middle East conflict has created widespread impacts on manufacturing and energy. The conflict has:
- Impacted the supply chain flowing from the Strait of Hormuz, a cargo waterway that carries much of the world’s trade, including 13% of global chemical trade and 38% of crude oil supply.
- Caused closures and shortages of key commercial infrastructure, including oil refineries and port storage warehouses.
- Stopped most crude oil exports from leaving the region — causing a 56% year-on-year increase in oil prices.
Surging Adhesive and Ink Costs
In March 2026 alone, key adhesive and ink production sites were affected by an influx of “force majeure” declarations — a legal term meaning suppliers cannot fulfill their contracts due to unforeseen circumstances. For label buyers, this translates directly to tighter supply and higher per-unit costs.
- Adhesives: During oil shocks, adhesives are typically the most volatile component of a pressure-sensitive construction.
- Petrochemical feedstocks: Major chemical suppliers have implemented immediate price increases and surcharges due to the rising cost of feedstocks such as naphtha and methanol.
Film Substrate Inflation
The disruption at the Strait of Hormuz has also directly affected pricing for film-based labels, including biaxially oriented polypropylene (BOPP), polyethylene (PE), and polyethylene terephthalate (PET):
- Resin spikes: PE and polypropylene (PP) prices have surged because 85% of these polymers derived in the Middle Eastern region move through the Strait.
- Conversion costs: Escalating energy costs are driving up extrusion expenses — the process of turning resin into label film — which flow directly into the per-unit price of film-based labels.
Release Liner and Paper Pressures
Even paper-based labels are not immune to geopolitics, as manufacturing these materials is highly energy-sensitive:
- Energy surcharges: Paper mills, which require massive amounts of heat for pulp drying, are adding energy surcharges to account for volatile natural gas and fuel oil prices.
- Siliconization: The specialty chemicals used to create the silicone release coating on liners are sensitive to the same petrochemical shortages affecting adhesives.
Compounded Logistics and Surcharges
The “landed cost” of label materials has also increased due to fluctuations in freight and insurance costs:
- Inbound freight: North American converters are facing LTL (less-than-truckload) rate pressure and increased access fees as carriers pass through diesel costs that increased by nearly $1/gallon in a single week.
- Extended lead times: Lead times for PSL components like specialized films and adhesives have increased by 10–20 days due to maritime rerouting.
How Are Label Manufacturers Responding to These Cost Pressures?
Tariffs and geopolitical disruptions introduce significant volatility into global markets, prompting label manufacturers to review their pricing strategies to protect margins. Depending on your label vendor, buyers may encounter one or more of the following:
- Pass-through pricing: Many label manufacturers are passing through double digit cost increases — particularly in food, retail, and pharmaceutical sectors — to maintain thin margins.
- Margin compression: Smaller converters that cannot easily pass on costs or renegotiate large-volume contracts are facing significant profit margin pressure.
- Inventory strategies: To avoid supply gaps, some companies are increasing their critical buffer stocks to ensure they have ample supply to meet the unpredictability of the current market.
Understanding how your supplier is managing these pressures and whether they’re being transparent about it is a meaningful indicator of how reliable they’ll be as a long-term partner.
How Can I Reduce My Label Printing Costs?
There are proven ways to reduce label printing costs without skimping on quality. Buyers have more control over their label printing costs than they might expect — the key is working proactively with a supplier who can identify the right levers for your specific program.
Look for PSL manufacturers that help mitigate cost pressures through these approaches:
- Review alternative materials: Because prices vary across raw material suppliers, even for materials in the same family, such as papers and films, testing equivalents from an alternative supplier may offer meaningful price relief.
- Consider downgrading specifications: Recommending thinner films (e.g., from 2.4-mil to 2.0-mil) and lighter paper stocks can reduce material consumption and lower the impact of raw material surcharges — without compromising label performance in most applications.
How Do Strategic Inventory and “Buffer” Stocking Help Navigate Inflation?
Manufacturers are countering inflation by:
- Vendor managed inventory (VMI): For teams focused on procurement cost control, VMI offers one of the most reliable buffers against market volatility. More reliable forecasts and commitments from customers may allow label vendors to build strategic buffer stocks of key substrates that keep operations running as normal, especially for critical sectors.
- Early ordering: Placing orders at least 60 days in advance helps mitigate logistics delays and secures material allocations before further price increases take effect.
- SKU rationalization: Standardizing label sizes across product lines allows converters to consolidate press runs, reducing setup waste and material scraps — and passing those savings back to the buyer.
In times of market stress, knowledgeable label printing experts can help you navigate procurement on-time and on-budget.
By: Lori Campbell, President
Lori Campbell is President of The Label Printers and a recognized leader in the printing industry, with more than 40 years of experience in sales leadership, operations, and strategic growth.
Since joining the company in 1982, she has advanced through roles across the organization, gaining a comprehensive understanding of customer needs, production, and business management. Appointed President in 2018, she helps oversee the company's strategic direction and long-term performance.
Lori has been a frequent speaker at industry events and served 14 years on the Board of Directors of TLMI, the leading trade association for the industry. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from Eastern Illinois University.