TFI International dims forecast as tariffs damage freight demand in trucking

A Canada Border Services officer looks over at a truck as it waits to be inspected at the Highway 55 Port of Entry in Stanstead, Que., Thursday, March 13, 2025. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Christinne Muschi

MONTREAL — The cross-border trade war has thrown up a big roadblock for trucking company TFI International Inc., which saw year-over-year profits plunge by a third in its latest quarter and prompted a lower-than-expected financial forecast for the rest of 2025.

The ongoing uncertainty surrounding tariffs and potential trade deals have had a “big effect” on earnings, chief executive Alain Bédard told analysts on a conference call Friday.

“The problem we have right now is that we don’t have a deal,” he said. “If you don’t know the rules, everybody sits on the sidelines.”

For the fourth quarter, TFI predicted adjusted diluted earnings will land between 80 and 90 cents per share in U.S. dollars, a far cry from the US$1.19 per share expected by analysts.

Some shippers have managed to find clients beyond the United States — but that’s of little use to a North American trucking firm, Bédard said.

“They’re shipping some of their aluminum from Canada to Europe,” he said of Rio Tinto, citing one example. “I don’t have any ships.”

The steepest decline for the country’s largest trucking firm came in its logistics segment, which brokers transportation for customers and whose clients include major semi truck manufacturers dealing with 25 per cent auto tariffs.

“We move all the trucks that are being manufactured in North America for ... Freightliner. These guys are down like 40 per cent, so that’s a huge effect on us,” Bédard said.

Turmoil in America extending beyond the trade war has also hit TFI, as the month-long government shutdown dents earnings north of the border.

“Because of the government shutdown, DOD is dead — Department of Defence,” said the CEO. One of the company’s divisions derives 30 per cent of its revenue from the rebranded Department of War, he said.

On Friday, TFI reported a profit of US$84.7 million for the third quarter versus US$125.9 million a year earlier.

The Montreal-based trucking firm said its revenue for the quarter ended Sept. 30 fell 10 per cent to US$1.97 billion compared with the prior-year quarter.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 30, 2025.

Christopher Reynolds, The Canadian Press