Duty Bound Drama, Drive-thru Déjà Vu, & Chip Slip-up
Good morning from The Workday Dash—where the only thing escalating faster than freight rates is the U.S.–China tariff war… and maybe that Waymo robotaxi’s confusion at Chick-fil-A. 😅
Here’s what’s on the dock today:
1️⃣ Tariff Tango, Round ∞: Trump slapped up to 104% tariffs on Chinese goods. China hit back with 84%. Global supply chains? Buckle up—this one's going the distance.
2️⃣ Robotaxi Takes a Wrong Turn: A Waymo self-driving car got stuck at a Chick-fil-A drive-thru in Santa Monica. No order placed, just a side of traffic chaos.
3️⃣ Chip Trouble: TSMC might owe the U.S. over $1B for chips that allegedly ended up in Huawei’s AI processors. Let’s just say: the export police are not playing.
Grab that coffee, power up your tracking dashboard, and let’s roll.
“All humans are entrepreneurs – not because they should start companies but because the will to create is encoded in human DNA.”
Trade tensions? More like a global logistics migraine.
The U.S.–China tariff war just leveled up. After President Trump slapped Chinese imports with tariffs up to 104% (yes, really), China hit back with 84% counter-tariffs and a promise to “fight to the end.” The EU’s not sitting this one out either—they’re rolling out their own retaliation in response to U.S. metals tariffs.
What does this mean for those of us in supply chain and logistics? Higher freight costs. Customs delays. Rerouted shipments. More late nights staring at disrupted delivery timelines and scrambling to rebalance contracts.
Even with talk of negotiation, the stakes are already high—and still rising.
✅ Why It Matters:
This isn’t just a geopolitical headline. It’s a direct hit to your routing strategy, cost forecasts, and customer delivery promises.
🔥 Hot Take:
This isn’t tit-for-tat—it’s tit-for-container. And your margin might be the next casualty.
AI Meets Drive-Thru Drama: Waymo Taxi Gets Stuck at Chick-fil-A
Autonomous meets awkward. A Waymo robotaxi found itself in a bit of a jam—literally—after stalling at the entrance of a Chick-fil-A drive-thru in Santa Monica this week. The result? A 30+ minute wait, closed restaurant, and a lot of hungry (and probably confused) customers.
Videos show the AV doing its best impression of “reverse, rethink, repeat,” before freezing in place. Waymo’s team eventually recovered the vehicle and promised future updates—but let’s be honest, it’s a reminder that autonomous tech still has some seasoning to do before it’s drive-thru (or dockside) ready.
✅ Why It Matters:
If AVs can’t handle fast food lanes, imagine the chaos at a busy distribution yard. Precision, perception, and real-world unpredictability still give human drivers the edge.
🔥 Hot Take:
If it can’t fetch nuggets without a glitch, it’s not hauling freight just yet.
TSMC Faces $1B+ Penalty Over Possible Huawei Chip Link
TSMC might be facing a $1B+ penalty over claims that its chips (made for China-based Sophgo) ended up powering Huawei’s AI processors—a big no-no under U.S. export control laws. Since TSMC uses American tech in its chipmaking equipment, it’s subject to those rules—especially when it comes to blacklisted entities like Huawei.
TSMC says it stopped working with Huawei back in 2020 and is fully cooperating, but the timing’s tricky: this comes as U.S.-Taiwan trade talks heat up and TSMC plans a massive $100B investment in the States.
✅ Why It Matters:
If regulators bring the hammer down, it could shake up the global chip supply chain—especially for logistics tech, automation tools, and AI systems. Think tighter inventories, longer lead times, and more vendor risk.
🔥 Hot Take:
When semiconductors get political, your supply chain gets unpredictable.
The Workday Dash is an aggregation of articles regarding the transportation logistics, trucking, and supply chain industries for April 25, 2025, from iLevel Logistics Inc.