‘A lot of fog’: Texas businesses struggle to plan amid tariff chaos

SAN ANTONIO – The San Antonio Express-News reports that amid President Donald Trump’s chaotic trade war, this much is certain: Business is being put on hold. The question, business leaders say as they scrap profit forecasts for the rest of the year, is how deep a hole they’re sliding into. From San Antonio’s Cullen/Frost Bankers Inc. and Rush Enterprises Inc. to Tesla Inc. and Southwest Airlines, executives say there are just too many uncertainties to give investors much guidance. Though the next two or three months promise more of the same, most are hesitant to say what they anticipate beyond that.

“The runway is really short,” Rush Enterprises CEO Rusty Rush said during a recent call with investors. “There’s a lot of haze, a lot of fog … And that’s not just for me, that’s for our customers. I mean, we’re driven by what customers see, what they do, what affects them.” Right now, he said, customers aren’t buying new heavy trucks — the New Braunfels-based commercial vehicle dealer’s bread and butter. Companies aren’t growing or replacing their fleets, Rush said, just replacing vehicles as they break down. That’s happening less often as drivers are putting fewer miles on their rigs as business slows. As imports continue to drop, truckers also have less merchandise and other freight to pick up from ports to drop off at stores, distributors and manufacturers. The uncertainty is being seen this week on Wall Street, too. After breaking a nine-day winning streak Monday, its longest such run in more than 20 years, the S&P 500 fell another 0.8% Tuesday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.9% and the Nasdaq composite sank 0.9%.