J.B. Hunt plans price hikes as costs cut quarterly operating income
Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick has stalled U.S.-Mexico trade talks by opposing reductions in U.S. tariffs on Mexican autos, steel and aluminum, according to people familiar with the negotiations. The Wall Street Journal’s Gavin Bade and Santiago Pérez reported on October 16, 2026, that the U.S. and Mexico had been zeroing in on a deal that would reduce U.S. levies on steel, aluminum and automobiles in exchange for a series of Mexican concessions. The tariffs at issue are imposed on national-security grounds and administered by Lutnick’s Commerce Department, the Journal reported.
A completed deal would have paved the way for further talks on renewing the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement, the Journal reported. In recent days, however, progress slowed considerably because of disagreements over the U.S. levies on vehicles and metals, which are imposed on national-security grounds and administered by Lutnick’s department. Officials on both sides said the talks continue and denied there was any impasse.
Lutnick has opposed significant reductions in the 25% tariff on Mexican automobiles and the 50% levies on steel and aluminum, the people familiar with the talks said. He also objected to reductions in tariffs on so-called derivative products — finished products made of steel and aluminum. Domestic aluminum companies have told the administration that any reduction in these levies would undermine U.S.-based firms, according to the people.
A separate item in the same newsletter quoted Tomas Baert, a trade adviser to European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen: “Rebalancing is less about selling more to China. It’s about having China sell less to us.”
J.B. Hunt Transport Services plans to raise prices as it grapples with a steep increase in costs, the Journal’s Elias Schisgall reported. The logistics company has encountered a confluence of higher fuel costs, insurance claims and medical costs, as well as investments in new drivers to meet demand, which together reduced operating income by more than $50 million from the second quarter to the third quarter. Executives confirmed the price increases on a post-earnings call after the Lowell, Ark., company posted higher year-over-year profit in the third quarter, despite the higher expenses. Some of these costs are expected to persist in the current quarter and into next year.
The quarter’s intermodal revenue grew 20%, to $1.83 billion, with volume up 8%. Truckload revenue rose 37%, dedicated contract services revenue grew 11%, and revenue from final-mile services slid 3%, to $200 million. The producer-price index for the transportation and warehousing industries rose year-over-year in September, while the overall U.S. PPI rose 6.3% from a year earlier, according to the Labor Department.
Venture Global is aiming to build gas-fired generation to supply electricity to AI data centers, the Journal’s Jennifer Hiller and Benoît Morenne reported. The natural-gas exporter said it entered into agreements with GE Vernova and Baker Hughes Energy Services to procure equipment for on-site power plants, including turbines and transformers, which have been in high demand. The deals will allow Venture Global over time to make up to 10 gigawatts of computing capacity available at sites the company owns or controls.
The newsletter’s podcast segment reports that U.S. tariff pressure is prompting countries to tighten their forced-labor rules, changes that could prove more durable than the tariffs themselves. The same episode notes that Bank of America faces more than $1.2 billion in penalties over failures to detect financial crime.
The reporting appeared in the Wall Street Journal’s Logistics Report newsletter, edited by Mark R. Long, on October 16, 2026.