The launch of a full-blown trade war between the US and Canada, coupled with recent transatlantic talks between Canada and the EU, as well as the UK, is beginning to fundamentally change the country’s freight flows.
The US 50% tariffs on Canadian goods and the targeted response on US imports has provoked Canadian importers to begin looking at sourcing goods that previously came from the US in Europe, Steffen Manz, founder and CEO of forwarder Speed Global Logistics, told The Loadstar.
“When you look at the verticals, the immediate push is coming from industrial manufacturing, automotive components, and consumer packaged goods – essentially, any sector where the margins are razor-thin and recent 25% to 50% tariffs erase profitability.
“We aren’t seeing massive, overnight shifts in total container volumes yet, but rather trial batches. Shippers are testing the waters with a few teu, or less-than-container load (LCL) shipments, from the EU to evaluate transit times and landed costs.
“You can’t just flip a switch; you have to vet new suppliers, align technical specifications, and adjust to longer transit lead times. Moving from a two-day cross-border truckload to a 14-to-21-day ocean v...