LONG BEACH, Calif. (NewsNation) — Some industries are starting to feel the strain from President Donald Trump’s tariffs, with truckers taking a particularly hard hit.
Layoffs have begun as United States ports experience a decline in cargo ship arrivals, resulting in less freight to transport across the country.
‘Pretty dire situations’ soon: Trucking CEO
Truckers, like others along America’s massive supply chain, fear the situation will only get worse.
“This year costs us money, this equipment costs us money, our chassis costs us money, our employees cost us money, electricity costs us money. So, after six months, I would say we would be in pretty dire situations, and that’s just us, and there are hundreds of companies like us who would most likely be in a similar situation, if not worse,” said Rudy Diaz, CEO of Hight Logistics.
At Hight Logistics in Long Beach, California, the challenges are compounded by the company’s shift to a clean fleet of more than 20 electric big rigs, each costing around $500,000.
Now, with far less freight to haul, the company started layoffs this week and cut trucker shifts in half. Similar cuts are happening across the industry, with some trucking companies reportedly shutting down altogether.
The dire times have been triggered by the nosedive in freight traffic, specifically imports from China, nearly half of which are typically handled by the ports in Southern California.
20% drop in total imports expected: Report
The outlook remains bleak. The National Retail Federation projects a 20% decline in imports overall for the rest of this year and a monstrous dive of up to 80% in Chinese goods.
Even before the trade war escalated, California had planned to phase out sales of gas-powered big rigs by 2035. However, the Trump administration is now slowing those plans as it pushes to boost domestic manufacturing.
“The industry that’s been moving towards a zero-emission fleet at great expense, and now to have this dramatic drop in volumes here, it couldn’t have come at a worse time, as we’re carrying more debt-load as an industry than we ever have before, said Gordy Reimer, president of Hight Logistics.
Even so, operators are expressing faith and optimism that U.S. trade deals will be reached soon and that there will be long-term benefits from tariffs. However, they are working to diversify operations to survive.
Consumers, too, should brace for ripple effects as the trucking slowdown begins to impact prices and product availability.
