bigrus

Control Call: Selection specific

Harry November 6, 2024

The biggest day every four years. It’s Election Day, not the opening ceremony of the Olympics or the FIFA World Cup. U.S. citizens perform their civic duties and vote for elected officials. This year is very special because there is a presidential election.

The election is very important because the president will set policies and tariffs, enforce regulations, and do many other things that can affect the economy and supply chain. Nothing is finalized yet, but each candidate has different policies in mind that could affect the economy and subsequently the freight market.

On Friday, FreightWaves CEO Craig Fuller, Head of Freight Market Intelligence Zach Strickland and Senior Analyst Tony Mulvey broke down Policies can go in different directions.

Someone main takeaways Regardless of who wins the election, the federal policies that follow could greatly impact the transportation industry. “If you think about the transportation economy, it’s huge, huge, because about 32% of the U.S. economy is dependent on logistics-dependent industries,” Fuller said. “This means that these businesses cannot exist without logistics, and so policy has a huge impact on transportation.”

Tariffs on imported goods continue to be a huge factor as companies see the rising costs of doing business inevitably being passed on to the consumer. As policies that may make it harder for shippers to import goods from certain countries are repealed after January 20, the rise of nearshore shipping and the role of cross-border shipping with Mexico will be something to keep in mind. Establishing or leveraging operations in Mexico may be a more popular option, increasing cross-border shipping opportunities.

But the real division issue seems to be about energy production. Each candidate has wildly different plans toward the same goal of increasing U.S. energy production. The key difference is that Kamala Harris is calling for energy policies that also take into account climate change and clean energy technologies. Donald Trump says he wants to roll back regulations that hinder oil and gas drilling and coal mining.

With so many unknowns about who will be president and the impact that person will have on the shipping market, it’s a turbulent few days until the final votes are counted. We hope 2025 will be the life raft the freight market needs to get back to moving freight and making money.

TRAC Tuesday. This week’s TRAC strip takes a walk down history lane. From the home of the first presidential candidate (1789, George Washington) in New York City to the current president’s home in Washington. The District of Columbia became the nation’s capital a year after Washington was elected in 1790, but it seems appropriate to return to the roots this Election Day.

Today, that 226-mile short trip costs $3.44, almost a dollar more per mile than the National Truckload Index of $2.45. Neither major metropolitan area is typically a driver’s No. 1 destination because navigating traffic congestion can be difficult. The outbound tender rejection rate is 5% for DC and 4% for New York. Shippers in both markets should be experiencing strong contract compliance, leveraging secondary carriers to fill gaps.

Who with whom? The theme of 2024 seems to be labor disputes and strikes. While one problem is being solved, another is waiting to make headlines. In November’s version of Groundhog Day, striking port employers in Western Canada locked out foremen. The move could halt trade at key west coast transit points for Canada.

This particular dispute is about wages. It appears that both the British Columbia Maritime Employers Association (BCMEA), which represents ocean carriers, and terminal operators at the Port of Vancouver are stuck on this aspect of the negotiations. current offer According to the statement from BCMEA, a wage increase of 19.2% was achieved in four years, increasing the average wage of foremen from 246,323 Canadian dollars to 293,617 Canadian dollars.

This labor dispute isn’t just affecting Canada’s west coast, the Port of Montreal is also thrown into the mix. “To say that it is In a statement published on its website, the Maritime Employers Association (MEA) said it would suspend wage guarantees “for all shore workers who are not working” from Tuesday, adding that “they have no choice”. “Repeated strikes and declining volumes at the Port of Montreal,” said Stuart Chirls of FreightWaves.

The primary impacts of these standout ports will be felt by the Canadian trucking market, but Pacific Northwest ports on the West Coast and ports in the New England region may see a small increase in cargo as ships divert ahead of any port scrambles. However, this depends on how long a possible strike or lockout can last.