‘Tumult and uncertainty': Massport gets ready for potential slowdown at shipping terminals, Logan Airport

Boston Globe

10-04-2025

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'We have to be prudent but we're not panicking,' Davey said. 'We feel reasonably confident that for the first half of 2025, travel should remain reasonably strong. It remains to be seen in the back half of the year whether there will be a softening.'
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So what's keeping Davey up at night? Here are a few crucial factors.
Cargo ship fees
The Office of the United States Trade Representative
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Davey mentioned these fees first when asked at an Associated Industries of Massachusetts event on Tuesday how Trump's policies might affect freight coming into Boston. Data provided by Massport show that 21 Chinese-made vessels stopped at Conley last year, representing one-fifth of the market share, and considerably less than the industry average. But Davey's still worried, especially after the port authority
'It's entirely possible that ocean carriers might say 'Forget it, I'm not calling Boston and paying $1 million, I'll just stop in New York and pay the fee,'' Davey said in an interview.
The new fees could also drive up costs of goods to consumers, much like Trump's tariffs would do. The industry pushback has been severe, and reports have started circulating that US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer may pare back the proposal.
'Bringing back more ship and maritime manufacturing to the United States, that's good,' Davey said. 'How you're achieving it? Not so good.'
Massport CEO Rich Davey addressed the Associated Industries of Massachusetts this week about the impact that President Trump's tariffs could have on travel this year.
Jonathan Wiggs/Globe Staff
Tariffs
Unlike air travel, cargo volumes still haven't returned to pre-pandemic levels at Conley. Trump's tariffs won't help. While Trump put many of the higher tariffs on pause on Wednesday, all trading partners still face a 10 percent tariff on goods coming into the US. And for China, the minimum actually went up, to 145 percent. That's bad news for Conley because more tonnage arrives from China than any other country, by far.
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Davey seems particularly concerned about Trump's threatened tariff of 200 percent on all wine and spirits imported from Europe. It's a big business for Massport: If Trump follows through with his threat, that could affect the costs of 10 percent of products imported through Conley — another threat that could drive down shipping volumes there.
There's also the fear that opening up trade wars with other countries (or other unfriendly policies) could deter their residents from choosing to vacation in the US.
Recession
Trump's various trade battles are one reason why economists have said the
'The ones we've spoken to in the last couple of days have said they still expect a solid second quarter, April through June,' Davey said. 'Beyond that, it's hard to project. ... There's so much uncertainty. Major policy decisions are happening daily.'
Delta Air Lines, the busiest carrier at Logan, offered a somber prelude during its quarterly earnings call on Wednesday. Chief executive Ed Bastian said the airline started the year expecting strong growth. But now, he said, 'given broad economic uncertainty around global trade, growth has largely stalled.' As a result, Delta is keeping its jet capacity flat when compared to last year, with domestic main cabin seats actually declining.
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A Delta Air Lines flight arrives at Boston Logan International Airport in 2023.
Stan Grossfeld/Globe Staff
Federal funding cuts
One bright spot, if you can call it that: Massport's budget doesn't rely on federal dollars, so the massive operating cuts implemented in the federal government by Elon Musk and his ilk should only have a minimal impact on Massport operations. (The Federal Aviation Administration does support Logan with its air traffic controllers, but Davey believes the federal government might spend more to bolster those crews, not less.)
The port authority's operations are essentially self-funded, largely from fees collected at Logan Airport. Davey said its annual revenues total $1.3 billion, while operating expenses are around $680 million; the rest is used to pay down debt or make capital improvements.
But federal cuts in other areas, such as research funding, could curb travel, particularly for a local economy that's highly reliant on
'Our economy depends on students and universities and medical institutions,' Davey said. 'That drives some of the travel in and out of Logan. To the extent that the administration has been focused on education grants and HHS (Health and Human Services) grants, that could have a ripple effect on business travel.'
For now, Davey's taking a wait-and-see attitude, and remains hopeful about Massport's initial projection of 44.8 million passengers through Logan this year, up from 43.5 million in 2024. He's asked chief financial officer John Pranckevicius to put together a prudent budget for the next fiscal year, and he's prepared to delay capital projects if necessary, just like Massport did during the pandemic when air travel dropped by some 90 percent at Logan. Davey doesn't expect anything as severe to occur now.
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'The tumult and uncertainty today is not to anybody's liking,' Davey added. 'But it's not like anything we had five years ago.'
Jon Chesto can be reached at