Massachusetts is not the target of the trade war between Washington and Ottawa. It is paying for it anyway.

In September, the U.S. imposed 50% tariffs on roughly $20 billion in Canadian goods, and Canada matched them dollar for dollar. A ban on about $1 billion in Canadian imports, from alcohol and dairy to motorcycles, followed. For a state that ships about $3.1 billion in goods and another $3 billion in services to Canada every year, that is a direct hit.

Paying twice

Riverdale Mills in Northbridge shows how it works on a factory floor. The wire-mesh maker gets about 70% of its steel rod from Canada, and steel makes up roughly two-thirds of its production costs. It also exports about 40% of what it makes. Chief executive Jim Knott says the company now pays the 50% tariff on its raw material while foreign customers face the same rate on its finished product. Its tariff bill was close to $1.5 million in 2025, up from just over $1 million in 2018. Knott says some domestic orders that once went to China have come back, but not enough to offset lost exports.

Confidence is slipping

Associated Industries of Massachusetts, which represents more than 3,000 employers, says its Business Confidence Index fell 5.2 points in a single month. About three-quarters of members it surveyed in September reported damage from tariffs. AIM chief executive Brooke Thomson points to knock-on costs for consumers, from Canadian lumber in new housing to heating oil.

Northeastern University professor Ravi Ramamurti calls the fight a lose-lose. He notes the first round covers only about 5% of U.S.-Canada trade, and that the state’s largest import from Canada, energy, is still exempt. But medical-device exporters, a Massachusetts strength, are in the line of fire.

What to watch

The next AIM confidence reading, any exemptions for steel inputs used by domestic manufacturers, and whether Canada widens its retaliation list. For Boston-area investors, the exposure is concentrated in industrial and med-tech names with heavy cross-border supply chains.

This article is for informational purposes only and is not investment advice.

Sources: GBH News. Reported and written by the Ecosystem Intelligence Desk.

The holiday labor market in Massachusetts got its biggest signal of the season this week.

Amazon says it will hire about 6,000 seasonal workers in Massachusetts, roughly 3,000 of them in the Boston area, as part of a national push for more than 300,000 holiday hires. The company puts average seasonal pay at about $20 an hour, with both part-time and full-time shifts across its fulfillment and delivery network.

What workers get

• Pay: an average of about $20 an hour, according to the company.
• Benefits: starting Jan. 1, seasonal staff working 30 or more hours a week become eligible for health coverage.
• A path in: many seasonal roles can convert to permanent positions.
• Timing: openings are posted on a rolling basis and added weekly through December.

Target is adding about 1,900 seasonal team members across Boston as well, adding to competition for warehouse and retail labor heading into November.

The read for the Massachusetts economy

Seasonal hiring is a useful early read on how retailers see consumer demand. Big headcount plans suggest companies still expect a solid holiday quarter, even as households in the state report pressure from rising costs and as tariff fights with Canada weigh on local manufacturers. For small businesses, the bigger question is wages: when the largest employers set a $20 average, hourly staffing across retail and hospitality gets more expensive for everyone.

Sources: Boston.com. Reported and written by the Ecosystem Intelligence Desk.

After a week that ended with the Dow down 650 points on AI-spending jitters and $100 oil, investors face one of the busiest stretches of the fall: a Federal Reserve decision, the first read on third-quarter growth, the Fed’s preferred inflation gauge, and earnings from some of the market’s biggest names.

The calendar

• Monday: a quiet start, with no major data scheduled.
• Tuesday: September durable goods orders, the Case-Shiller home price index, new home sales and consumer confidence. The Fed’s two-day meeting begins.
• Wednesday: the Fed’s rate decision at 2 p.m. ET, followed by the Fed chair’s press conference. Trade balance and inventory data come out in the morning.
• Thursday: the advance estimate of Q3 GDP, weekly jobless claims, and September personal income, spending and PCE inflation, including the core reading the Fed watches most closely.
• Friday: the employment cost index and the Chicago PMI.

Earnings to watch

Alphabet heads the list, and its spending plans for AI data centers will be read as a signal for the whole infrastructure trade. Also reporting this week: Eli Lilly, Novartis, Coca-Cola, Ford, FedEx, PayPal, eBay, T-Mobile, Chipotle, Coinbase, SoFi, Corning, Enphase, Twilio and Strategy.

The Massachusetts angle: Cambridge-based Biogen reports this week, one of the few Boston-area large caps on the calendar. Its results and pipeline commentary matter for the region’s biotech sector, which has been coping with a thinner pool of early-stage funding.

What we’re watching

1. The Fed’s tone on oil. With crude near $100, the question is whether policymakers see an energy shock as a reason to hold rates higher for longer.
2. Capex versus payoff. Last week’s sell-off came from doubts that AI spending will earn its return. Megacap guidance is the next test.
3. Core PCE. A hot reading Thursday, the day after the Fed decides, could undercut whatever message the Fed sends.

This article is for informational purposes only and is not investment advice. Dates are as scheduled and may change.

Sources: Schaeffer’s Investment Research · Stock Titan earnings calendar. Reported and written by the Ecosystem Intelligence Desk.