The dust has barely settled on the President’s latest tariff announcements, and already we’re seeing the casualties pile up. North American Builders Supply, a modest building materials supplier operating out of Yorkville, Illinois, just became the latest victim of an increasingly hostile economic landscape. On December 3, 2025, the company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in the Northern District of Illinois, joining a growing list of small retailers crushed between rising costs and competition from giants like Home Depot and Lowe’s.
While the headlines might call them a “rival” to these retail behemoths, the reality tells a different story—one about the precarious existence of small businesses trying to survive in an industry dominated by corporations with billion-dollar inventories and the pricing power to weather any storm.
Numbers That Tell The Real Story
Here’s where things get interesting. North American Builders Supply reported assets and liabilities both ranging between $500,001 and $1 million, according to court filings. To put that in perspective, Lowe’s reported inventory alone of $17.2 billion in their most recent quarterly earnings call. The bankruptcy filing, assigned case number 25–18572, reveals a company drowning in debt to its suppliers and lenders. The biggest creditor on the books is Bluetape, Inc., owed over $503,000, followed by Kapitus Servicing at nearly $150,000, and Central Bank Illinois holding an unsecured claim of about $94,000.
What makes this bankruptcy particularly telling is that North American Builders Supply had been doing what small businesses do best—providing personalized service to local contractors and builders. They specialized in quality building materials like lumber, windows, siding, and cabinetry, operating with a team of just 11 to 50 employees according to their LinkedIn profile. They weren’t trying to be Home Depot. They were serving a niche market of professional contractors and DIY customers who valued expertise over endless aisle options.
The Tariff Tsunami Hitting Home Builders
The elephant in the room—or rather, the Canadian lumber truck at the border—is tariffs. Rob Dietz, chief economist at the National Association of Home Builders, dropped a sobering statistic in an interview with CNBC: the new tariffs could increase builder costs anywhere from $7,500 to $10,000 per home. Let that sink in for a moment.
Canadian lumber prices have jumped 14.5 percent. Concrete has surged 8 percent. Household appliances are expected to rise by as much as 20 percent. And here’s the kicker from the National Association of Home Builders: every $1,000 increase in the median price of a new home prices out approximately 106,000 potential buyers. Do the math on a $7,500 increase, and you’re looking at over 750,000 Americans suddenly unable to afford homeownership.
Small suppliers like North American Builders Supply can’t absorb these costs the way giants can. When Home Depot’s Executive Vice President of Merchandising, William Bastek, discussed tariffs during their earnings call, he casually mentioned that over 50 percent of their inventory isn’t subject to tariffs because it’s sourced domestically.
What Happens Next For The Little Guys
North American Builders Supply plans to reorganize rather than liquidate, which means they’re not throwing in the towel just yet. Chapter 11 bankruptcy allows a company to continue operating while restructuring its debts under court supervision. But reorganization in this climate feels like rearranging deck chairs on the Titanic. The structural disadvantages haven’t changed.
