American truckers are moving record volumes of auto parts, appliances and sports shoes after their clients were supplied before the tariffs of President Donald Trump, but a deceleration of transport is coming as these new tariffs begin to suffocate the economic activity.
The US cargo transport industry, valued at 906 billion dollars, was recovering from a recession of almost three years before Trump assumed the position on January 20. Now that Trump import tariffs are in force, the recovery that the industry expected is at risk.
This month, truckers are moving more volume than during the pandemic peak in 2021, driven by tariff evasion, said Dean Croke, main analyst at Roper Technologies.
This volume is masking the deterioration of the demand for key sectors, in particular the national manufacturing industry, which drives more than 60% of tons-miles transported by large platforms, and ocean imports.
“Things have quickly worsened with this commercial war that is emerging,” said Croke on the prospects for road transport in the United States.
“None of the signals is good when it comes to truck demand.”
Until Monday, the spot rate for a semi -trailer of merchandise, known as dry van, was $ 1.60 per mile without including fuel, a slight increase compared to $ 1.54 of the previous year, according to Croke. The year -on -year volume is expected to remain stable in 2025, with small increases in rates, if any.
The fate of American truckers is important because it affects practically all sectors of the US economy and is among the first to register changes in commercial activity.
You may be interested: Trump raised a record figure in his investiture thanks to companies and nominated for his government
Trump’s commercial war is destroying the hope of a rebound in road transport in the US in 2025
The American Truck Association (ATA) predicted in January a growth of the 1.6% industry volume by 2025. The ATA did not respond to comments requests.
Meanwhile, the vital American manufacturing sector contracted in March after growing for two consecutive months.
The construction of housing in the United States runs the risk of a slowdown, due to unexpected weakness in permits and the beginnings of construction of single -family homes until March.
In addition to that, American companies that import from China have been pausing orders after Trump imposed 145% tariffs on that country. China responded with 125% tariffs on US products, including beef and other exports that can be transported by truck.
China represented almost a third of the volume of maritime imports in the United States in March and helped boost US oceanic imports almost record so far this year.
Meteorologists and some port executives said that this trend will be reversed as of May.
In the same way, the actions of the transport sector are suffering the consequences of the commercial war, after having been among the biggest winners after Trump’s re -election.
At the close of Wednesday’s operations, the Dow Jones Transportation Average Index dropped 15.4% so far this year compared to a 8.9% drop in the S&P 500.
With Reuters information.
Follow us on Google News to always keep you informed
