Trucking News · Wisconsin · October 26, 2026

Port Milwaukee Says Steel Imports Are Down About 30% as Truckers Haul What Still Arrives

A flatbed semi truck loaded with steel beams at a Great Lakes port with cranes and a cargo ship behind it — Illustration for this story. Not a photo of a specific location.

Wisconsin's Port Milwaukee is feeling tariff whiplash, and a lot of what crosses its docks ends up on trucks. Port director Benji Timm told NPR that steel coming into the port "is down approximately 30%, and that's kind of systemwide."

NPR's report aired Saturday, Oct. 24, on All Things Considered. It noted a 50% tariff on foreign steel imports.

From ship to truck

Some steel still arrives. Timm pointed to steel beams from Luxembourg that were unloaded at the port and "trucked over to Minnesota" for a hospital project, NPR reported.

Salt is the biggest import

Salt is the port's biggest import commodity, according to NPR. After last year's harsh winter, Timm said, states "as far away as Kentucky, Minnesota, Iowa, were coming here to get salt."

A lot of Milwaukee's salt comes from Canada. NPR reported that the administration removed salt from its tariff list after lobbying from Congress.

Wanting a steady plan

Timm said Canada is Wisconsin's largest trading partner, and that what shippers want most is to know what comes next.

"Everyone wants predictability," Timm said. "They want to be able to plan for the future."

What it means for haulers

For truckers who pull flatbeds out of Great Lakes ports, fewer steel imports can mean fewer of those loads, while road salt season brings its own demand each winter. Rates and lanes vary, so the load rate checker can help test whether a port load covers costs, and the trucking pay per mile calculator shows what a run pays by the mile.

Truckers who work port lanes may want to ask their brokers and shippers how tariff changes are affecting freight before counting on regular loads.