US vehicle tariffs weigh on Norwegian RoRo operators

Hoegh Autoliners ASA

27/03/2025 11:03

** Shares in roll-on/roll-off (RoRo) shipping companies Wallenius Wilhelmsen WAWI.OL and Höegh Autoliners HAUTO.OL fall on Thursday, after the U.S. President unveiled a 25% tariff on all imported vehicles and foreign auto parts from April 2

** Wallenius Wilhelmsen and Höegh Autoliners shares slide 9% and 7%, respectively

** The tariffs could lead to a decrease in the volume of vehicles being shipped, as the cost for importing cars increases, DNB analysts say in a note

** SEB analysts view this as negative for the RoRo operators, potentially weakening the market balance and holding risk to the companies' contract backlogs

** In DNB's opinion Wallenius Wilhelmsen might be more sensitive to substantial sell-off, while Höegh Autoliners would be more affected by the higher spot exposure and secondary effects

** Wallenius is on track for its worst week in five years, if losses hold

** At 1045 GMT STOXX 600 autos & parts index .SXAP is down around 1.8% to its lowest since early December

 (Reporting by Agnieszka Olenska)

 ((Agnieszka.Olenska@thomsonreuters.com;))