Lionel adds surcharge to diecasts due to tariffs UPDATE
Yesterday at 04:53 PM
UPDATE: Lionel Racing announced on Monday its halt on the availability of new diecasts is a "temporary measure" amid tariffs on Chinese imports, though the company is still working to produce new diecast.
"This is a temporary measure until the current tariff situation settles down," the company posted on Instagram. "We are still working with race teams to get sales sheets put together, we are still obtaining reference photos and artwork for raced-wins and standard cars, and we are still sampling and producing die-cast."
The company said "the only things on hold" are new pre-orders and shipping from its factory. Though no timeline was given, Lionel said it pre-orders and shipping would begin "as soon as can get that going again."
— Diecast Magazine —
ORIGINAL POST 3-30-2025: Lionel Racing, NASCAR‘s die-cast collectible car licensee, is implementing a surcharge to its customers related to the U.S.‘s recently implemented tariffs on China, an example of the policy trickling down to impact the sports industry. Lionel Racing is a division of Lionel LLC, the 125-year-old company known for selling toy train sets, and it has been NASCAR‘s licensee in the miniature toy car space since late 2010.
On Thursday, the company sent out notes to both retail customers as well as its wholesale business partners about implementing a new tariff surcharge as a result of the new 20% tariffs on all imports from China, which is the toy industry‘s largest manufacturing hub in the world. The note sent to fans and collectors was posted by some in the "NASCAR Collectors" Reddit page. But Lionel also sent emails with nearly identical wording to its wholesale business partners like NASCAR teams, according to a memo reviewed by SBJ.
The one sent to wholesale purchasers said that their surcharge would be 10%. The higher percentage for wholesalers is because they get charged less per unit. Starting on Thursday, the company began applying the surcharge for all purchases on LionelRacing.com, while it‘s also applying it to product that it received beginning on March 7 since that was the day when Lionel first started having to pay the tariff.
