Gold Holds Gains as Trump Tariff Concerns Reignite Haven Demand
Bullion traded near $3,395 an ounce after closing 1.4% higher in the previous session, as concerns about Trump's next trade moves reignited demand for havens. White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt on Monday said the president may issue more unilateral tariff letters before Aug. 1. The dollar had its worst day in nearly a month, making gold cheaper for most buyers.
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Shipping industry's tariff-fueled decline won't be 'short-lived'
Container volume at major US ports is falling for a second straight month, raising concerns about weaker consumer demand and higher import costs. John McCown, Center for Maritime Strategy non-resident senior fellow, joins Market Domination to explain how tariffs and shipping fees are putting pressure on trade and inflation. To watch more expert insights and analysis on the latest market action, check out more Market Domination here. Well, the 10 largest US ports are on track for a striking year-to-year change in container volume, according to McCollum report. Inbound volume fell nearly 8% in June, marking a second straight month of declines as the impact of tariffs grows. For more on the state of the shipping industry, let's get to Center for Maritime Strategy non-resident senior fellow. That would be John McCollum. John, great to see you on set. Thank you. Good to see you. So, there was this, there was this good piece I was reading in Bloomberg, John, and it was citing, I believe, your very data, sir. Knowing these kind of trends, the number of shipping containers carrying US imports, what, what are the trends, what are the themes we're seeing, John? Well, there are, there are a real downtrend since the beginning of the year. Um, containers are kind of the count of containers are a timely indicator of, of really economic activity, and, in particular, more recently, it's been the tariffs. So, containers were down 7.9%, a rather consistent downtrend, and, and this was in June, a consistent downtrend from the beginning of the year. And unfortunately, I think it's going to get, get worse, you know, as we go forward. And what's unusual about that is container, container volume has consistently grown at usually well above GDP, some years it was growing two or three times GDP. So we're really looking at the first year where we're going to have a year-over-year decline based on my analysis. And we had two-year, two times that occurred before, but they were short-lived right after the financial crisis and during the pandemic. We're now looking at a rather meaningful reduction, and And you, you don't think, John, it'll be as short-lived? I don't. But, you know, all of the indications, most particularly with the news on tariffs the last three or four weeks, they seem to be here to stay in this administration. You know, one way or another, not only the tariffs, but there's something called USTR ship fee program that'll come into place in October, and that's kind of a tax on Chinese operated ships and China built ships. And so that's going to be kind of another form of tariff. Right now, if you look at the value of all the goods coming in over our ports, it's about 2.2 trillion dollars a year. It's about 7 and a half percent of our economy. So a reduction in that volume, you know, first has a commerce effect, an effect on growth. And of course, the volume that continues to come in is going to have a much bigger tax. So it's going to have an inflation effect. I don't know where it's going to kind of land on that spectrum, but it's going to be somewhere that combination of less growth or more inflation. And, and that's going to be the initial impact, and unfortunately, there really just isn't a comfortable place on that spectrum, in my view. And as you see this decline in inbound volume, John, that means what for consumers? Well, for it's really an indication of consumers will be buying less, you know, less imported goods on their retailer shelf. You know, I think the biggest impact for consumers will be the inflation impact, which, which could be fairly material. Can you, are these, are these containers, John, is it, is it, how good a gauge is it of macroeconomic health? Meaning, is there a, is there a relationship between volumes and GDP? Yes, there, there consistently has been. It's kind of a good leading indicator, I think, of economic activity. In the early years, container shipping grew at multiples, but now we're kind of a little bit above GDP. The investor, Warren Buffett, famously said that his most favorite economic indicator is real car loadings. The notion is that, you know, goods are moved before there's commerce related to that. So it's kind of a leading indicator, the Dow theory. I think container volume is really the same thing. Worldwide container volume and, you know, is kind of a measure of worldwide growth, and it's continuing to grow, you know, even with the US declining, not as much because the US is a big part of that. But I think it's, for consumers, I think right now, I would think the inflation impact is the most impact. Also, I guess, with, with less imported goods, there's less choice. There's less, less, less choice in terms of what to buy. I, I, because I spent my career in container shipping, I'm clearly biased. I think tariffs don't make any sense, but I think there's, there's, there's economic underpinning. You know, I think the theory of comparative advantage is a beautiful thing that has, you know, I think the US has benefited immensely by trade, not only has our economy benefited, but it's, it's, it's more, provided more national security. You know, IBM famously had an early saying, you know, world peace through world trade. I really believe that. And so, I think as we're moving away from that sort of open trade, it's going to first hurt our economy, in my view. Secondarily, it's concerning in terms of raising tensions. Trump trade and terrorists, they dominate today, John. They're going to keep dominating. We appreciate your time. Thanks for joining us. Thank you. 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S&P 500, Nasdaq Extend Record Run as Wall Street Posts Weekly Gains
The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq Composite gained on Friday, extending their record-setting advance during Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
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Why Toyota Motor Rallied This Week
Key Points The U.S. and Japan struck a trade deal, resulting in a 15% tariff. The terms were much better than expected, so much so that U.S. carmakers complained. U.S. carmakers will have to pay even higher rates on imported input costs and components. 10 stocks we like better than Toyota Motor › Shares of Toyota Motor (NYSE: TM) rallied 11.8% this week, according to data from S&P Global Market Intelligence. Toyota didn't have any major company-specific news this week, as it doesn't report Q2 earnings until Aug. 7. However, there was big news on the trade front, with the Trump administration and Japan inking a trade deal that would put milder-than-expected tariffs on Japanese imports, including Toyota cars. Will recent tariffs actually give Toyota a leg up on U.S. automakers? On Tuesday, the Trump administration struck a trade deal with Japan, which would lower the threatened "Liberation Day" tariff rate from 24% to 15%. While that might not seem like that much of a decrease, cars are high-ticket items, so the new tariff duties could make thousands of dollars' difference to the end price consumers may have to pay. Even though it appears Toyota cars made abroad will face tariffs going forward, the stock went up anyway. Not only that, but U.S. carmakers complained to the administration that the lower rates now put them at a disadvantage. This is because even American automakers import some of their steel and aluminum, which will now be tariffed at 50%, while other components, even for U.S.-manufactured cars, are imported from overseas, and will also be tariffed. And while part of the Japan deal involves removing restrictions on U.S. exports to Japan, U.S. automakers don't appear to believe the deal will result in any new market share gains there. Will U.S. automakers benefit from the trade negotiations? Toyota is the second-largest carmaker in the world, both in terms of global and U.S. market share, so the all-important final tariff figure could have significant consequences for U.S. auto markets. There are a lot of moving parts with regard to tariffs, however, as Toyota makes cars all over the world, with inputs and other sub-components also coming from various places. To further grasp the total consequences of the deal, investors in either Toyota stock or the "Big Three" U.S. carmakers should keep their ears out for more clarity when Toyota reports earnings in August. Should you invest $1,000 in Toyota Motor right now? Before you buy stock in Toyota Motor, consider this: The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the for investors to buy now… and Toyota Motor wasn't one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years. Consider when Netflix made this list on December 17, 2004... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you'd have $636,774!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you'd have $1,064,942!* Now, it's worth noting Stock Advisor's total average return is 1,040% — a market-crushing outperformance compared to 182% for the S&P 500. Don't miss out on the latest top 10 list, available when you join Stock Advisor. See the 10 stocks » *Stock Advisor returns as of July 21, 2025 Billy Duberstein and/or his clients have no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. Why Toyota Motor Rallied This Week was originally published by The Motley Fool Sign in to access your portfolio
