Sales of the heaviest category of trucks in North America collapsed in February. ACT Research reported on Wednesday that February preliminary North America Class 8 net orders were down 34% year-over-year to 18,300 units.
The odds of a U.S. recession are still low, but an increasing number of Wall Street economic models say the odds are climbing.
Two examples I’ve seen today suggest that consumers will feel the pain very soon.
Here’s a list from the New York Times of what’s been proposed by the Trump Administration that’s still pending.
President Donald Trump’s deadline passed without a deal and today 25% tariffs on U.S. imports from Canada and Mexico, and an additional 10% tariff on Chinese products–which brought the total tax on some Chinese products to 45%–went into effect. Retaliation by China and Canada was swift–Mexico opted to wait until Sunday to respond. China imposed tariffs of up to 15 percent on a raft of U.S. farm products–including soybeans, pork and chicken, and grains. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau vowed to fight and win a trade war with the United States.Canada will impose tariffs on roughly $107 billion worth of U.S. products. About $21 billion worth of those goods would be hit immediately, he said, with the rest taking effect in 21 days. Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said that her government was prepared to impose retaliatory tariffs. She told reporters that she will announce them Sunday.
I don’t see any way the escalating trade tensions between the United States and China and the now almost certain global trade war will mean anything good for BYD (BYDDF) the leading global maker of electric and hybrid cars And apparently the stock market agreed. Today’ March 3, shares of BYD dropped 11.05% in New York trading as President Donald Trump confirmed that higher tariffs on imports from Mexico, Canada, and China would go into effect tomorrow March 4. So I will be selling shares of BYD out of my Jubak Picks Portfolio tomorrow. March 4. The position was up 54% since I initiated it on December 28, 2023.
I’m selling Salesforce (CRM) out of my Jubak’s Picks Portfolio tomorrow, March 4. The position was up 22% as of the close on March 3 from my buy on June 22, 2024.I added the stock back in June because I think companies with existing product platform that can add AI to bring value to their customers is the next stage in monetizing AI. I still think that’s true but the trend is taking a bit longer to play out than a market increasingly impatient with AI profits is willing to pay up for.If we get the sell off that certainly now looks possible, I’d be more than happy to rebuy.
I see the beginning of two weeks of extraordinary volatility. Look what’s on deck.
