) on Friday, amid worries that new U.S. import tariffs threatened by the Trump administration could also herald weakening demand for goods movers, including truckers, container companies and package carriers.
Tariffs have already affected the company’s bottom line. In the first quarter, overall freight volume fell, hurt by a 7% reduction in grain carloads driven by reduced exports to China. Road and rail stocks have handily outperformed the broader market since Trump fired the trade war’s opening salvo in January 2018.
This was followed by a weak first quarter, when container volume plummeted as businesses drew down their bloated inventories and freight demand softened. ACT Research’s index of truck carrier volumes has been in contraction territory since February, and the latest data shows May volumes hitting the lowest level in nearly three years.