As a company, Harley-Davidson Motorcycles of Milwaukee, Wisconsin is larger than life. It’s a 114-year-old American symbol that’s turned out over five million bikes, enabling hundreds of thousands of Americans to enjoy the open road and rebel from society in ways that may not always have been palatable to all the nation’s citizens.
But from a struggling provider of motordrome racing contraptions at the turn of the 20th century, Harley has transformed itself into a stable manufacturer of smooth-riding speed machines that are now standard issue for police forces, fire departments and rescue teams around the country.
The company has long, checkered history, with periods of poor economic health and lax product quality. It’s suffered from stock drops, striking workers and stiff foreign competition. Nonetheless, since roughly 2010, Harley’s stock and workforce had been relatively stable, until late last year, when the firm announced its global sales were down by almost 5 percent.
Some analysts blamed a lack of disposable income amongst potential buyers, while others said consumers were focusing more on cars than motorcycles.
Overall, Harley’s customer demographic has aged, with just 15 percent of buyers currently under the age of 35, versus 50 percent in 1987. As of 2005, Harley’s customers’ median age was 46.7. At the same time, between 1987 and 1997, the median household income of the company’s customers more than doubled to $83,000. Essentially, Harley’s customers are better able to afford its products, but they may be less eager to go out on the road.
In February, Harley executives met with President Trump and Vice President Mike Pence at the White House and showed off a line of their bikes in what was more or less a glorified photo opportunity. Trump and Pence briefly discussed trade policy with them over lunch and said they hoped to be enabling more advantages for American companies in the coming months. Afterward, the president spoke to the press.
“Harley-Davidson is a true American icon,” Trump said. “The sound of a Harley is a little different, I have to tell you. It’s really good, so thank you, Harley-Davidson, for building things in America. I think you’re going to expand… there’s a lot of spirit right now in the country that you weren’t having so much in the last number of months that you have right now.”
But by mid-April, Harley announced that it would be laying off 118 workers at the company’s York, Pennsylvania plant. Company executives said some jobs may be shifted to another Harley plant in Kansas City, Missouri, but it’s unclear at this point how many will be transferred. Concurrently, Harley announced a 25 percent drop in quarterly profits, mostly precipitated by falling product shipments.
Amidst President Trump’s drive for companies to “buy American,” “hire American,” and keep industrial production in the U.S., there had been talk Trump would visit the beleaguered motorcycle maker’s factory in Milwaukee and sign executive orders related to manufacturing while onsite.
But according to CNN, scheduled protests outside the Harley plant convinced company management to scuttle the appearance, despite the fact that Trump administration officials had already flown out to the plant to coordinate the event. CNN explained the protests were not related to American manufacturing or Harley motorcycles, but to Trump’s recent travel ban to Muslim countries, which has drawn extreme condemnation from progressive demonstrators. Presidential aide Stephanie Grisham indicated Trump would not be traveling to Wisconsin.
On its behalf, Harley downplayed the news and attempted to claim the president had never been scheduled to tour its factory.
“[We] don’t have, nor did we ever have, a scheduled visit from the president this week at any of our facilities,” stated a Harley representative. “We’re proud to have hosted presidential visits at our facilities. Three of the last five presidents — Ronald Reagan, George W. Bush and Bill Clinton — have visited us at our facilities. These visits are a testament to the pride and passion of our employees and their great work building Harley-Davidson motorcycles. We look forward to hosting the president in the future.”
In the meantime, Democrats immediately pounced on the news, with Democratic National Committee (DNC) advisor Zac Petkanas telling the New York Times, “Donald Trump is a real tough guy when it comes to locking up a scared [immigrant] 5-year-old boy trying to find his mother. But as soon as he has to face the American people to defend his illegal anti-Muslim ban, he chickens out. What a profile in courage.”
White House spokesman Sean Spicer stated that Harley management may once again visit the White House, this time for lengthier and more serious discussions about American manufacturing.
“We looked at different options, and ultimately the easiest thing to do in accordance with the president’s schedule was to invite them here, to Washington, to talk about some of the stuff we’ve been doing,” said Spicer at a press briefing.
In retrospect, it’s too bad the president didn’t force the issue with Harley; demonstrating protesters haven’t really interfered with his schedule much thus far. But to be certain, there will be further episodes in the story with Harley-Davidson unfolding in the months to come.
President Trump isn’t in a position to force Americans to buy more motorcycles, but he is in an office where he’s able to keep foreign bikes from entering the country at the same high rates they’ve been admitted at for the last several decades.
Regards,
Ethan Warrick
Editor
Wealth Authority
