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The Nuts and Bolts of Tariffs; Dark Horse Noses Ahead in Drone Delivery By Mark R. Long

President Trump's tariffs on steel and aluminum have set off a hunt for domestic supplies of some of the smallest components used in manufacturing: screws, bolts, nails and wire.

The WSJ's Bob Tita and Ryan Felton write that this hunt has exposed how the U.S. doesn't have the plants to churn out these critical fasteners needed to displace imports . Companies that use them say their customers won't tolerate price increases, and contractors may delay projects until they learn how to blunt the effects of the new duties. About $178 billion worth of steel and aluminum products are subject to the 25% tariff, more than three times more than the imported products affected by the original 2018 tariffs on them. Aimed at closing loopholes that officials said undermined the 2018 levies, the enlarged tariff pushes up the cost of a 10-cent screw to 17 cents for an importer, companies say.

One Michigan auto-parts maker said it will take as long as six months to find U.S. suppliers to replace foreign makers of fasteners. Meanwhile, as tariffs are making imports pricier, U.S. steel-wire producers are raising their prices.

Where things stand with Trump's tariffs. (WSJ) Retaliatory tariffs could raise prices for Harley-Davidson motorcycles into six figures in some countries, with sales already under pressure in Europe. (WSJ) Mercedes-Benz's imports and U.S.-made SUVs are set to be hit by President Trump's latest levies. (WSJ) Asian and European automaker shares fell after Trump played down concerns about foreign carmakers raising prices in the U.S. in response to new tariffs. (WSJ) Shippers are snapping up air-charter capacity to rush goods into the U.S. ahead of tariff increases. (The Loadstar) CONTENT FROM: PENSKE Gain AI. Gain Ground with Penske.

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Number of the Day Air Race

A drone delivery startup called Zipline is emerging as a front-runner in the flying delivery race, nosing ahead of giant competitors such as Amazon and Google parent Alphabet.

The Journal's Christopher Mims writes that, for the moment, Walmart is the only retail operation Zipline delivers for, but it will soon be delivering for Chipotle and has signed contracts with dozens of retailers, restaurants and health systems . The director of drone technology for Walmart says it has had "tremendous success" using Zipline and Alphabet's Wing.

Americans spend about $120 billion a year on app-based food delivery, and drones could increase that total, though they could also eat into the delivery-driver labor market. Federal regulators will soon announce new rules to ease the launch of automated drone delivery services, in response to industry lobbying.

Quotable In Other News

Goldman Sachs said the probability of a U.S. recession in the next 12 months has nearly doubled to about 35%. (WSJ)

Activity in China's manufacturing sector expanded at the fastest pace in a year in March. (WSJ)

German inflation declined notably in March, laying the groundwork for a rate cut from the European Central Bank. (WSJ)

Volvo Car reappointed Hakan Samuelsson as its chief executive. (WSJ)

Norway's sovereign wealth fund is buying a 49% stake in two wind energy projects from Germany's RWE for about $1.52 billion. (WSJ)

DHL Group agreed to buy specialty courier CryoPDP from Cryoport for an undisclosed sum. (Dow Jones Newswires)

Construct Capital closed a $300 million third fund to invest in startups aiming to reshape manufacturing, logistics, infrastructure and other sectors. (WSJ)

Renault and Nissan agreed to tweak their partnership , opening the door to further share sales as Nissan works through an efficiency plan. (WSJ)

Amazon will resume theft-prevention metal-detector screening for employees leaving its warehouses and is asking workers to register their personal phones. (Bloomberg)

Contract chipmaker GlobalFoundries and Taiwan's United Microelectronics are exploring a possible merger . (Nikkei Asia)

Taiwan's Yang Ming Marine Transport will buy three 8,000-TEU, methanol-ready container ships from Japan's Shoei Kisen Kaisha for up to $360 million. (Journal of Commerce)

FedEx is acquiring 10 ATR 72-600 freighters, to be delivered between 2027 and 2029. (Supply Chain Dive)

CMA CGM is seeking millions of dollars in damages in a lawsuit against a U.S. company for allegedly supplying contaminated marine fuel to 13 ships. (Shipping Watch)

The U.S. Department of Agriculture said supply chain issues for eggs at grocery stores have greatly improved as wholesale prices have fallen. (Supply Chain Brain)

North Carolina-based shipping company IMC Pro International will pay $400,000 to settle claims it helped Chinese companies ship fentanyl into the U.S. (New York Post)

About Us

Mark R. Long is editor of WSJ Logistics Report. Reach him at [mark.long@wsj.com]. Follow the WSJ Logistics Report team on LinkedIn: Mark R. Long , Liz Young and Paul Berger .

This article is a text version of a Wall Street Journal newsletter published earlier today.

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

April 01, 2025 07:02 ET (11:02 GMT)

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