Trade war puts the brakes on TFI trucking expansion plans

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MONTREAL — Tariff angst has forced TFI International Inc. to back off big acquisitions as the trucking industry confronts lower cargo volumes, its CEO said Thursday.

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“We have one transaction that we really liked, but because of all this uncertainty on tariffs, we had to walk away from that deal,” chief executive Alain Bedard told analysts on a conference call.

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“We can’t touch that. Maybe later on, we’ll see down the road, once we have better clarity. This is why our M&A in 2025 … is going to be minimal.”

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Meanwhile, “customers are sitting on the fence” as they wait for stronger indications of where U.S. tariff targets will land, Bedard said, with freight activity beginning to dip after a surge sparked by shippers rushing to beat shifting tariff deadlines.

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He pointed to the United States’ escalating trade war with China. The standoff, which has raised tariff rates to 145 per cent for most Chinese exports to the U.S. and 125 per cent for China-bound American products, has set off ripple effects for North American truckers.

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“If you are a U.S. farmer right now, you don’t feel pretty good because your main customer, China, is saying we don’t want your products,” Bedard said, noting that TFI’s manufacturing clients include makers of tractors and agricultural equipment.

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“Those guys don’t sell a lot because their customer, the farmer, is insecure right now.”

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Closer to home, stop-and-go tariffs from U.S. President Donald Trump have left a confusing array of duties on imports to America, with Canada’s auto, steel and aluminum sectors facing 25 per cent tariffs — though broad exemptions apply to vehicles.

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Part of TFI’s specialized truckload segment, which refers to shipments ranging from hazardous material to oversized goods, took an especially hard hit in the first quarter. Bedard said flatbed trucks hauling industrial products drove between 10 and 15 per cent fewer miles, depending on the week.

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He also said “less-than-truckload” deliveries — multiple drops of cargo for different clients on a single run — have been “very disappointing” this year.

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On Wednesday, TFI reported that net income fell 40 per cent year-over-year in its latest quarter to US$56 million, while revenues rose five per cent to US$1.96 billion due to acquisitions.

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The profit dip came despite the fact that outbound loads to the U.S. from Canada across the industry rose by nearly two-thirds year-over-year in the first quarter, according to Loadlink Technologies. Inbound freight volumes increased by a third.

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However, less than five per cent of TFI’s business comes from transborder shipments, Bedard has said. The vast majority of sales flow from domestic trips within the U.S. and Canada.

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This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 24, 2025.

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Companies in this story: (TSX:TFII)

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