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Automakers Under Pressure; Nikola Bankruptcy Dents Hydrogen Hopes By Paul Berger

President Trump's tariff threats are forcing foreign automakers to take a look under the hood of their global supply chains.

The WSJ's Stephen Wilmot reports that Honda and Nissan are among Asian and European car companies looking at shifting more production to the United States .

Facing intense competition in China and heavy regulation in Europe, overseas automakers were counting on the U.S. to keep their engines humming. Trump has scrambled those hopes with a raft of tariff proposals, including a 25% tax on shipments from Mexico and Canada, reciprocal tariffs based on other countries' own trade restrictions, and specific tariffs for sectors such as semiconductors and autos.

Trump has long railed against auto imports, particularly from Europe. The president this week said autos tariffs could be "in the neighborhood of 25%" and might rise even higher. He said a grace period could give companies time to bring production onshore.

For automakers, increasing U.S. production isn't an easy decision because of the time and cost required to build plants or retool assembly lines, and uncertainty about how long new tariffs would last.

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Quotable Transportation

The bankruptcy of one-time green energy darling Nikola is puncturing hopes for hydrogen in trucking. The WSJ Logistics Report writes that Nikola was the most high-profile of several startups and legacy truck makers vying to produce hydrogen fuel-cell big rigs on the promise that the zero-emissions technology had significant advantages over battery-electric vehicles. Phoenix-based Nikola filed for bankruptcy Wednesday saying it couldn't on its own provide service and support operations for its trucks past the end of March.

Early adopters of fuel-cell big rigs as well as the truckmakers themselves are facing a crisis as the Trump administration threatens to pull funding for clean-energy programs and to block or roll back regulations that force carriers to buy zero-emission trucks. Bolingbrook, Ill.-based Hyzon, another hydrogen fuel-cell truckmaker, in December cited uncertainty around government subsidies as it warned of layoffs that could begin as soon as February. Number of the Day In Other News

U.S. housing starts dropped 9.8% in January , while building permits edged up 0.1%. (MarketWatch)

U.K. inflation in January reached a 10-month high . (WSJ)

The decline of home prices in China is slowing. (WSJ)

Airbus has a new jet that's winning over some of Boeing's best customers. (WSJ)

Aerospace and defense manufacturer BAE Systems posted double-digit sales growth last year. (WSJ)

The U.K.'s antitrust regulator has paused GXO Logistics' purchase of rival Wincanton citing competition concerns . (WSJ)

Tapestry struck a deal to sell its Stuart Weitzman shoe brand to footwear seller Caleres. (WSJ)

Canadian Tire is selling outdoor-and-workwear business Helly Hansen to Kontoor Brands in a deal worth almost $900 million . (WSJ)

Miner Rio Tinto reported a 15% rise in annual net profit for 2024. (WSJ)

The founder and longtime CEO of industrial real-estate giant Prologis, Hamid Moghadam, plans to retire next year. (WSJ)

The Department of Transportation rescinded its approval for congestion pricing in New York City. (WSJ)

Online marketplace Etsy predicts it will benefit if the Trump administration eliminates a tariff exemption on low-value Chinese imports. (WSJ)

France's Louis Dreyfus Armateurs has selected China's ZPMC to build service vessels for offshore wind sites in the North Sea. (Splash 247)

A ship's crew was rescued from a burning car carrier in the English Channel. (The Maritime Executive)

About Us

Follow the WSJ Logistics Report team: @bylizyoung and @pdberger . Follow the WSJ Logistics Report on X at @WSJLogistics .

This article is a text version of a Wall Street Journal newsletter published earlier today.

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

February 20, 2025 07:03 ET (12:03 GMT)

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