THE HOLMAN NEWSLETTER – Q1 2025

Holman Core Values Help Us in Changing Situations

This year has been an interesting one so far, especially with all the confusing news surrounding international trade and tariffs. You may be wondering why tariffs are such a big deal and whether they might affect you and the rest of the Team at Holman.

The United States is pursuing tariffs because the current administration feels the American worker got a raw deal over the last 30+ years of free trade around the world – manufacturing jobs in the Midwest have been shipped off to places like Mexico, Vietnam, and China, which has taken jobs away from folks in towns like Flint, Michigan, and Dayton, Ohio. By placing tariffs on products coming from these countries, the thought is that it will make it relatively more expensive for companies to produce their goods overseas, and relatively cheaper to produce here in the United States. This change in costs may encourage companies to bring back manufacturing (and thus jobs) to the US, particularly in the American heartland.

Will the tariffs work? It’s too early to tell. But Holman has been around for a long time, and our company has seen plenty of changes in economic policy over the years. Holman has survived and thrived in the Reconstruction era after the Civil War, the Great Depression of the 1930s, and both World Wars.

We have several great customers with strong businesses and dedicated operations who aren’t going anywhere. In addition, our public warehousing business is strategically located near the Ports of Seattle and Tacoma, and even if global trade reshuffles a bit, we’re still going to have a global economy moving forward. We also just opened what’s called a “Foreign Trade Zone” in one of our public warehouses. Foreign Trade Zones can help customers delay the financial impact of tariffs and duties, making it easier to manage rapidly changing import regulations.

We are a strong company with solid core values. We keep each other safe and help each other be better. We show each other respect and go the extra mile to serve others, both our teammates and our customers. When we deliver on those four values, we’ll survive and thrive, creating an Extraordinary Service experience for our customers that will keep them coming back for years to come.