Film prices for Canadians should not be immediately affected by the new tariffs but 2026 may get expensive for all Kodak customers.
Kodak will be raising film prices this year for its distributors (analog.cafe/comments/snzw). In addition to those manufacturer-originated price hikes, the US’ new tariff measures (nypost.com/2025/02/01/us-n…) may affect what Kodak pays for raw material imports from Canada, Mexico, and China to make its products.
Now what?
Film price at the counter typically changes long after the manufacturer’s increase announcements. This is because retailers and distributors hold stock and have varying business interests and opportunities that delay the effect of manufacturers’ price changes by 1-6 months (data: analog.cafe/app/film-price… can be correlated with Kodak’s price announcements).
Kodak’s long production chain, from raw material sourcing to packaged, shipped, and delivered products, means that the effect of the tariffs on photographic film may not be known until 2026 (also: film manufacturers have historically limited their price increase announcements to no more than 1-2 a year).
Canadians: our Kodak film prices should NOT be immediately affected by the new tariffs: canada.ca/en/department-fi… (not listed).
Dmitri Feb 2, ‘25 edit
Dmitri Feb 4, ‘25