A Beautiful Friendship: How A Hard Brexit Will Benefit U.S. Freight Forwarders
The decision to leave the E.U. by the U.K. in 2016 was initially a nightmare for U.S. freight forwarders and logistics companies. Those in the supply chain ecosystem suddenly confronted huge business risk based on the uncertainty of trade negotiation outcomes. The panic was palpable and, in New York, shares of XPO Logistics dropped 14.9%, FedEx fell 3.8%, and United Parcel Service declined 2.2 % the day after the Brexit vote.
Logistics companies set aside resources to develop contingency plans against the unknown to manage their risk exposure. Andrew Clarke, chief financial officer at Minneapolis-based C.H. Robinson Worldwide (NASDAQ: CHRW), stated that the company was reviewing its growth plans in Europe in the wake of Brexit, "I would expect you would see a pause in companies doing acquisitions in Europe and the U.K. during this period," he said. But things were to get worse with the prospect of a hard Brexit.
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Source Fool.com
