Welcome to the Daily 5 report for Wednesday, June 4.
There are still more questions than answers, but another ship hauling hundreds of electric vehicles is on fire and abandoned in the middle of an ocean. This time it was the Morning Midas, carrying 3,000 vehicles — including 800 EVs — across the Pacific Ocean from China to Mexico. The cause of the blaze wasn't immediately clear and early reports did not identify which vehicle brands were aboard. The U.S. Coast Guard rescued all 22 crew members.
The story revived memories of the 2022 sinking of the Felicity Ace, carrying 4,000 Volkswagens, Audis, Porsches, Bentleys and Lamborghinis. The ship sank in the Atlantic Ocean before an official cause for the incident could be determined, but it wasn't a stretch to conclude a malfunctioning EV battery could have caused the fire.
Sign up here for the Automotive News Daily 5 report.
Fast-forward to today and there will likely be similar questions raised about the Morning Midas fire. Insurance coverage for EV shipping has already been an issue.
"The reality is the risk remains significant due to the size of these ships and the complexities involved in firefighting and salvage," insurer Allianz Commercial said in a Reuters story.
This latest incident — coupled with EVs losing their luster in North America and U.S. tariffs on imported vehicles — might ultimately make it a rarity to see large shipments of EVs on the high seas.
Meanwhile, the emerging shortage of rare-earth minerals is making headlines again as automakers and suppliers try to keep assembly lines operating in Europe and the U.S. Rare-earths are a bargaining chip in U.S.-China trade talks, as China controls about 90 percent of global production. Among vehicle parts at risk from the shortage are automatic transmissions, throttle bodies, alternators, various motors, sensors, seat belts, speakers, lights, power steering units and cameras, according to the Alliance for Automotive Innovation.
Speaking of trade, recent court rulings on the legality of some of President Donald Trump's tariffs give the auto industry a glimmer of hope that it will get some of the long-term trade policy certainty it's been craving, supplier executives and experts said at the June 3 Automotive News LinkedIn Live Congress Conversation. Click here for more coverage and a replay of the conversation.
That's it for now. If you want to view this story in your browser, click here.
— Philip Nussel, online editor
