Vanessa Miller Assesses Automotive Tariff Impact on Trucking Industry
Foley & Lardner LLP partner Vanessa Miller discussed how tariffs are affecting the automotive carrying industry in the Trucking Dive article, “Tariffs swing volumes up and down for auto haulers.”
Miller, chair of Foley’s national Automotive Team, shared that automakers and suppliers raced to stockpile vehicles and components before the administration implemented 25% tariffs on vehicles and parts manufactured outside the United States in May.
“That drove more trucking and transportation requirements,” Miller explained, highlighting how OEMs operating on just-in-time supply chains ordered buffer stuck to fill up warehouses.
She described how manufactures worked quickly to reduce repeated border crossings, which impacted trucking demand, adding that some automakers even turned to air freight because “to fly it over was cheaper than to pay the tariffs.”
“There was a real push to get product here before certain tariffs went into effect,” Miller added, noting that as many automakers expect a heightened tariff environment is here to stay, manufacturers are critically thinking about what they will produce and where.
