Welcome to the Daily 5 report for Thursday, June 5.
If President Donald Trump's ultimate goal for tariffs centers on reducing longtime U.S. trade deficits, he's off to a good start — especially with Canada.
Statistics Canada said the country posted its largest merchandise trade deficit on record in April at $7.1 billion Canadian ($5.2 billion) as exports fell sharply in the face of U.S. tariffs, the Canadian Press reported today. Overall Canadian exports fell 11 percent in April to $60.4 billion Canadian, their lowest level since June 2023, the story said. Exports of motor vehicles and parts were hardest hit, falling 17 percent.
Sign up here for the Automotive News Daily 5 report.
The global gap in U.S. goods and services trade shrank 56 percent in April from the prior month, to $61.6 billion, the smallest since 2023, according to U.S. Commerce Department data reported by Bloomberg.
The head of Canada's auto supplier trade group warned the numbers shouldn't be viewed favorably by U.S. companies and consumers.
"The North American auto sector is so intertwined that any analysis of the decline in automotive exports from Canada would reveal serious injury to U.S. car and parts makers' profits and prospects in the region as a result," Automotive Parts Manufacturers' Association President Flavio Volpe told the Canadian Press.
In related news, Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping spoke today. Among many U.S.-China trade issues, the most urgent for the U.S. auto industry appears to be rare-earth minerals vital for car production. China controls about 90 percent of rare-earth production. A shortage of rare-earths jeopardizes at least some global auto production. Trump later hinted that the issue had been addressed but didn't offer details.
Meanwhile, the growing feud between Trump and Elon Musk is blowing up in public and in real time. Here's the latest story, but it is changing by the minute this afternoon.
Finally, the financial saga at Michigan electric truck startup Bollinger Motors Inc. appears to be stabilized for now, as Kurt Nagl reported for Crain's Detroit Business. Mullen Automotive Inc. acquired an additional 21 percent of Bollinger, bringing its stake in the company to 95 percent, according to a statement. We'll have more coverage of Bollinger in the next few days.
That's it for now. If you want to view this story in your browser, click here.
— Philip Nussel, online editor
No comments:
Post a Comment