Well Capt. Canada, I did see a train or trains filled with coal and noticed and asked the question about increased coal exports to Asia. I saw a whole bunch more trains filled with coal this year than last and looked it up on Mr. Google. 2017 Jan to March quarter had 6 .4 million short tons (whatever that is) and 2018 Jan-March had 11.2 million short tons going to Asian destinations. Since most of the coal going West rolls thru Montana and the tonnage was almost doubled over last year, it would seem like a reasonable chance of seeing about twice as many trains while you are riding close to the tracks. Thirty some trains a day going thru Missoula all hauling open cars full of coal just seems like a lot of cars . If you open your eyes while you ride sometimes you see subtle changes in the scenery.

Like last week I was riding along and noticed a whole shitpile of motorcycles heading East in singles doubles or packs. Not being a fan of big bikes, I thought OK Sturgis must be this week. Now we see a bunch going the other way, so it is game over in the Dakotas. I wouldn't have had any thought about Sturgis or the cause and effect of the income for the drive thru states for a big gathering like that, but the road side diners, gas stations, hotels and bars had a pretty good week. Thanks Alvin for the web information on coal shipping.

So Element Electronics in S.C. is seeking an exemption to Trump's tariffs on Chinese imports. This is the company that announced layoffs due to the tariffs. Two senior WH officials are lobbying for the exemption. Maybe winning trade wars isn't so easy after all.

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How does Danny Hart sit down with balls that big?

j

Well, when your Budget Director was a congressman from SC, you would think they may have a lifeline.

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In hearings last week, about 7 out of 8 witnesses from businesses were complaining about the existing and proposed tariffs on Chinese goods. If they go ahead with the 25% tariffs on $200bn worth of goods, it will cause a significant amount of pain for US businesses.

I predict the administration will blink and find a way to avoid imposing them, but there is no sign of negotiations moving forward very well, so I could be wrong.

More here:

https://www.ft.com/...e8-8ecf-a7ae1beff35b

Angst about the impact of Mr Trump’s protectionism has been steadily rising across the entire fabric of the US economy, where a wide range of businesses have come to rely on global supply chains — particularly involving China — to keep prices low and profits high, and are worried that era could soon come to an end.

In the first stage of the US-China trade dispute earlier this year, some small businesses hoped they might avoid any big blow, as the early tariffs worth $50bn (of which $16bn took effect this week) were more limited in scope. But once Washington went a step further and said it was prepared to set a further $200bn in tariffs of up to 25 per cent, hardly any sector would be immune to the resulting combination of lower sales, job losses and rising prices.

At the hearing, many executives asked administration officials to remove their preferred Chinese import from the dreaded list, but it was far from clear how much leeway there could be.

“The administration made a conscious decision at the beginning to target products which would not have a consumer impact,” said Bill Reinsch of the Center for Strategic and International Studies, a think-tank in Washington. “But once you get to $200bn you cannot avoid that because it really does reach far,” he said.