Jan 31 (Reuters) - Tariffs have been top-of-mind for

corporate executives in the early days of this quarter's

earnings season as U.S. President Donald Trump threatens to hit

allies Mexico and Canada with levies on imported goods.

Those tariffs are expected to now begin on March 1, with an

announcement on Saturday, but it is possible Trump will back off

those threats or target only specific industries.

How companies navigate the issue is a key topic on

conference calls and at investor events this quarter. Nearly 200

companies that are part of the S&P 1500 - large, mid- and

small-cap stocks - have mentioned either "nearshoring,"

"tariffs," or "supply chain" through the month of January.

So far, many CEOs' remarks are similar to those of Textron ( TXT )

CEO Scott Donnelly, who said on Jan. 22 that "we're just

going to kind of hang in there and see how it plays out."

Here are some of the aspects trade executives are

discussing:

PRODUCTION LOGISTICS

Several companies over recent weeks have discussed the

challenges of moving production around. Some companies

manufacture in the United States as well as Mexico or Canada,

and may be hit by tariffs if they import components that cannot

be relocated to the U.S.

"We have available capacity in our domestic operations to

shift production as needed to minimize those tariff impacts if

they were to occur," said Brent Yeagy, CEO of transportation

logistics company Wabash National ( WNC ).

Power sports vehicle manufacturer Polaris spoke

about this on its earnings call, noting how in 2017 it moved

swiftly to get out of China, and now faces potential tariffs due

to production facilities in Mexico. In addition, it is also

dealing with higher labor costs for its U.S. operations.

"Relative to the rest of the power sports industry up and to

this point, we have been incredibly disadvantaged," Michael

Speetzen, CEO of Polaris, said on a conference call to discuss

earnings on Jan. 28. "We're the only U.S. manufacturer yet we're

the only ones paying tariffs."

MOVING SHIPMENTS AROUND

Some companies have suggested they will consider shifting

around where they send their shipments. Large global firms with

operations in numerous companies may be able to adjust shipments

from one spot to another.

For instance, Alcoa ( AA ) CEO William Oplinger said on Jan.

22 that imports would probably increase from countries with

lower duties in the Middle East and India, while Canadian

aluminum could be rerouted to Europe and other countries. That

is because a 25% tariff on Canadian aluminum exports to the

United States could "represent $1.5 billion to $2 billion of

additional annual cost for U.S. customers," he said.

ACCELERATED SALES

Numerous companies already said they were seeing customers

boost orders ahead of tariffs, both in the last quarter and

current quarter. Automakers like General Motors ( GM )

accelerated deliveries to get ahead of tariffs.

Some companies are anticipating Trump may announce a gradual

acceleration of tariffs - which could then spur pre-emptive

purchases. "I do not see heightened pre-buy activity on

products. I think most are taking the stance that if or when

they occur, there'll be some notice period to do that," said

Neil Schrimsher, CEO of Applied Industrial Technologies ( AIT )

.

INFLATION AND PRICING

Numerous executives have said that tariffs would inevitably

be passed on to consumers. Eric Cremers, CEO of forest products

company PotlatchDeltic ( PCH ), commented on the company's

earnings call that he was aware of a Canadian lumber producer

that would try to pass along 100% of tariff costs to its

customers. "Now will they be able to get all that 100% of

whatever the duty is or not? Who knows what will ultimately wind

up happening, but their plan is to pass that along to

consumers."