Trump tariffs place trucking industry in the crosshairs

As President Donald Trump's tariffs continue to wreak uneven havoc across the global economy, one industry has emerged as a bellwether for the ripple effect of the administration's levies: trucking. While not a direct target of Trump's sweeping tariff scheme, the trucking industry is nevertheless beginning to feel the pressures that come with a global trade paradigm experiencing massive upheaval. Individual drivers and fleet operators have started linking Trump's levies to their growing industrial challenges, while trucking analysts scramble to adapt.

A 'direct and disproportionate impact'

The "shifting landscape" of Trump's tariffs has created "uncertainty in the trucking sector," said Trucking Drive, an industry website. International tariffs "not only increase costs for equipment" for truckers, but could "potentially decrease demand for freight transportation" at large, said Jana Jarvis, the president and CEO of the Oregon Trucking Association, to the outlet. There is a fear that truckers "may not have job security in the future" should tariffs "lessen the flow of goods between America and its northern neighbor," said The Hill. While some truckers have experienced "reduced hours" in the wake of Trump's initial tariff announcement, others "haven't noticed much of a difference" in their traffic patterns.

"The longer tariffs last, the greater the pain for truckers as well as the families and businesses we serve," said American Trucking Associations President & CEO Chris Spear in a March statement. Tariffs will not only "reduce cross-border freight," but "also increase operational costs." Ultimately, the "100,000 full-time hardworking truckers hauling 85% of the surface trade in goods with Mexico and 67% of the goods traded with Canada" will be left to bear the "direct and disproportionate impact" of Trump's economic policy. In New Jersey, an "epicenter of major ports, airports, railway and interstate highways," tariffs could result in a "temporary dip in freight volumes coming through" at large, which has led to a "wait-and-see situation for the trucking community," said Lisa Yakomin, who heads New Jersey's Association of Bi-State Motor Carriers trade group to NorthJersey.com.

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'We need to align production with reduced demand'

“Heavy-duty truck orders continue to be negatively affected by market uncertainty about freight rates and demand, possible regulatory changes, and the impact of tariffs," said Mack Trucks spokesperson Kimberly Pupillo to the Pennsylvania Capital-Star, after the company was forced to lay off several hundred employees at its operations center. While the company regrets "having to take this action," a representative said to CBS Philadelphia, the goal is to "align production with reduced demand for our vehicles." The Mack Trucks layoffs are "yet another consequence" of Trump's "disastrous" tariffs, said Jalopnik. And Mack isn't alone in its tariff-related troubles: the "entire industry is" affected.

That industry-wide uncertainty means that truck drivers "may slide over and try to move domestic product" rather than gamble on the future of international shipping, said Port of Los Angeles Executive Director Gene Seroka at Politico. Drivers will "have to scramble pretty quickly to keep their jobs and keep food on the table." It's "going to be disruptive."