Shipping sensitive to trade tariffs

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The Federal Seto takes on a cargo of grain at the CHS grain terminal in Superior, Wisconsin. CHS announced in July that the terminal will be permanently closed later this year.

Jason Maloney/For Agri-View

American Century, a 1,000-foot laker, takes on a cargo of iron ore in Port Duluth-Superior.

Jason Maloney/For Agri-View

Pulp wood awaits loading at the Wisconsin Great Northern Railroad yard in Springbrook, Wisconsin.

Jason Maloney/For Agri-view

An Escanaba & Lake Superior Railroad locomotive idles on tracks near Pembine, Wisconsin. While rail shipping has been strong, some predict a slowdown as the overall economy slows.

Jason Maloney/For Agri-View

A combine harvests soybeans near Ino, Wisconsin. The effect of the trade war and other federal policies on shipments of U.S.-grown grain should become evident in the coming months. Demand will affect the volume of shipping at sea and river ports in Wisconsin.

Jason Maloney/For Agri-View

Train cars loaded with containers from ocean-going vessels are bound to become truckloads that carry imported goods to destinations around the nation. Tariffs and the health of the economy will influence the volume of such intermodal shipping in the coming months.

Jason Maloney/For Agri-View

A towboat pushes barges on the Mississippi River south along the Wisconsin bank at Bergen Bluffs. The ongoing effect of the trade war on demand for grain shipped via barge remains to be seen.

Jason Maloney/For Agri-View

Ocean-going vessels are docked while waiting to enter the port at Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada. Shipping patterns around the world are changing due to the trade war that began earlier this year.

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The Federal Dart unloads cement at Duluth, Minnesota. Importers in the United States are now paying a tax called a tariff on many goods from around the world. That tax is usually passed on to consumers in the form of increased prices.

Jason Maloney/For Agri-View

Train cars unload bulk commodities at a terminal in Duluth, Minnesota.

Jason Maloney/For Agri-View

Railroad cars are switched as they are arranged into a train near the Blatnik Bridge in Duluth, Minnesota. The bridge links Superior, Wisconsin, and Duluth, Minnesota, in the port of Duluth-Superior.

Jason Maloney/For Agri-View

The 1,000-foot Burns Harbor transits the narrow canal near Barkers Island in Superior, Wisconsin. The laker has a carrying capacity of 80,900 deadweight tons, depending on water depths in the Great Lakes. It often moves coal or iron ore.

Jason Maloney/For Agri-View

Jason Maloney For Agri-View

With a trade war underway between the United States and the rest of the world, the effect on shipping has been marked. International trade routes are changing. Some ports have become extremely busy while others, especially some secondary ports, have seen the number of ship visits dwindle. Much like the disruptions caused by the recent COVID pandemic, trade-war disruptions are making changes as they ripple through the world of shipping.

Jason Maloney mug — Jason Maloney and Red

Jason Maloney is an “elderly” farm boy from Marinette County, Wisconsin. He’s a retired educator, a retired soldier and a lifelong Wisconsin resident. He lives on the shore of Lake Superior with his wife, Cindy Dillenschneider, and Red, a sturdy loyal Australian Shepherd.