Latest news with #DepartmentofEmploymentandEconomicDevelopment
Yahoo
09-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Trump's tariffs weigh heavy on truckers as overseas shipments sink
Big Blue Box trucker Freddy Lazo steps out of his rig at the truck terminal in New Brighton, Minn. in April 2025. (Photo by Max Nesterak/Minnesota Reformer) Freddy Lazo left a restaurant job for a higher paying one in trucking about two-and-a-half years ago. But the way President Trump's trade war is going, he's thinking he might have to go back to waiting tables soon. 'It's really super slow,' Lazo said, looking across the mostly empty trucking yard of shipping company Big Blue Box in New Brighton. A slump in work is to be expected in this industry every once in a while, although in normal times, it's usually brief and quickly followed by a boom in business. Looking out at the horizon though, harder times may lie ahead. Since 'Liberation Day' on April 2, when Trump announced tariffs on the whole world, many retailers have suspended orders of patio furniture, Barbie dolls, candles and everything else that arrives on rail from coastal ports in giant shipping containers, which Lazo trucks to final destinations across the Midwest. Although Trump paused the so-called reciprocal tariffs, the 145% tax on Chinese imports and a 10% tax on imports from most other countries remain, along with deep uncertainty. Lazo is an independent contractor, which means if he's not driving, he's not getting paid. It also means he's not eligible for unemployment benefits to ease the pain of lost earnings. Fortunately, he's already paid off his older rig and has been able to tap into his savings. Still, a protracted slowdown would mean he or his wife will need to get another job to support their five kids. 'If this continues… I definitely have to find a different way to make money,' Lazo said. Big Blue Box Vice President Ted Longbella said they aim to move about 120 containers a day — big blue shipping containers, as the name suggests. Toys, windows and games come in. Scrap metal, grain and dairy powder go out. He's been keeping a close eye on the number of blank sailings, when an ocean shipping company cancels a planned trip, because it tells him what demand will be like in the near future. He's like a taxi driver staring up at the airport sign listing arrivals and watching one flight after another canceled. There are passengers that still need rides home now, but pretty soon the airport will be empty. There are more than 56,000 semi-truck drivers and another 18,000 light truck drivers in Minnesota, according to the state Department of Employment and Economic Development, meaning widespread layoffs and reductions in income could ripple throughout the greater economy. Ocean carriers in the Pacific have been canceling trips at a faster rate than during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to freight forwarder Flexport. The company reports more than 25% of weekly transpacific service-loops were canceled in late April and early May compared to 24% in the same time period in 2020. Cargo at the massive Port of Los Angeles, which handled nearly 20 million containers in 2024, is down 35% in early May from the same time last year. To prepare for the coming dip, Longbella said he's put on his salesman hat to find new business to keep his 140 employees and independent contractors busy — and keep them from leaving to work for competitors. He said truckers in Minnesota will really feel the effects of the tariffs around June, when the surge of goods that were panic-ordered before Liberation Day turns into a trickle. That lines up with a timeline of turmoil from Apollo Global Management, which predicts empty shelves by the end of May and layoffs in trucking and retail in early June. A recession could follow shortly after that. The situation could be worse had companies not diversified their suppliers after the COVID-19 pandemic to be less reliant on China. Many companies have been able to switch to suppliers from other countries and are now loading up on goods before the pause on reciprocal tariffs lifts on July 9. Yet it's not just imports that are suffering. 'We're usually doing a lot of soybean pickups throughout the whole year, and those have slowed since the tariff uncertainty,' Longbella said. Trump administration officials are scheduled to meet with Chinese representatives this weekend in Switzerland, which could help lead to a deal that reduces the tariffs on China that Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent described as effectively an embargo. Even if Trump lays down arms in the trade war soon — an unlikely, best case scenario — the trucking and retail industries will still feel aftershocks. 'On the other side, demand is going to be nuts,' Longbella said. That will give shipping companies power to raise prices like they did during the pandemic. The challenge for truckers is to make it to the other side. 'Trucking companies have to pay their bills in one or two weeks,' Longbella said. 'A lot of companies will have gone out of business, unfortunately, because a lot of trucking companies are hand-to-mouth.'
Yahoo
17-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Minnesota gains 10,700 jobs in March, largest gain in a year
Minnesota added 10,700 jobs in March, the largest monthly gain in a year, and the state's unemployment rate rose to 3.1%, according to data released Thursday by the state Department of Employment and Economic Development. The state's unemployment rate was up 0.1 percentage point from last month, and compared with 4.2% nationally, DEED said. The rise in unemployment, even though state added jobs, can be attributed to more people entering the workforce. More than 2,700 Minnesotans joined the labor force last month, bring the labor force participation rate to 68.2%. This measures the percentage of Minnesotans either working or actively seeking work, and is used to calculate the headline unemployment rate. Minnesota's overall job growth last month rose 0.4%, four times faster than the national rate of 0.1%; Minnesota's private sector grew twice as fast as the U.S. overall. 'Minnesota's job market has shown impressive resilience in the face of unprecedented uncertainty from the federal government,' DEED Commissioner Matt Varilek said in a statement. 'This month we added jobs at a much faster rate than the nation as a whole as employers continue hiring, and more Minnesotans joined the labor force to look for work.' Eight of 11 state employment supersectors gained jobs in March, with particularly strong growth in construction, up 1,900 jobs, or 1.4%. Government employment was up 1,500 over the month in March, with all growth coming from local and state governments. Federal employment was steady. Recent federal mass layoff announcements are not yet reflected in this data because these estimates are based on employers' reporting of payroll jobs. Minnesota has gained 37,581 jobs over the past year, faster than the national rate of growth. The private sector gained 29,579 jobs — in line with the national average. 'Minnesota has a diverse economy, allowing us to weather shifts in broader macroeconomic trends,' said Angelina Nguyen, director of DEED's Labor Market Information Office. Of alternative measures of unemployment, the broadest, called the U-6, increased to 6.9% in March, up from 6.6% in February and 5.4% a year ago, DEED said. This measure factors in people who have voluntarily left the labor force, such as stay-at-home parents, discouraged workers who have stopped seeking jobs, and part-time or otherwise marginally employed workers. Medical device company to close Maple Grove facility, cut 101 jobs Business People: Dairy Queen appoints Domino's exec Art D'Elia as COO Working Strategies: Using AI to organize or even conduct your job search Mendota Heights med tech company to lay off 124 workers after acquisition Business People: Andersen CEO Chris Galvin named chairman
Yahoo
07-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Littlefork council to discuss 2010 budget
The Littlefork City Council will meet Wednesday at 7 p.m. in the Littlefork City Hall. On the agenda are the fire department 2009 tax levy and the 2010 budget. City administrator Mike Fairchild said that the 2010 proposed budget is larger so that money could be set aside for a new truck. The council will also discuss a request for the Northern Minnesota District Fair sponsorship and a Department of Employment and Economic Development grant program. Fairchild said that the fair sponsorship requests were for $500, $750 or $1,000. The Northern Minnesota District Fair will take place in Littlefork from Aug. 28-30. The DEED grant program would serve to upgrade and fix blighted sites in the area. The council is also scheduled to review the ambulance service organizational documents, Jackpine Savage statue and pound master position. A public comment period is scheduled for each regular city council meeting.
