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Hess Corp. (NYSE:HES), the oil producer behind the iconic green-and-white toy trucks, just hit pause on its 2025 Miniature Collection launch. The company emailed customers saying the planned June 2nd release is now delayed, citing shifts in U.S. trade policy. A new date hasn't been confirmed. While the toys are a nostalgic side hustle, they're also a symbol of Hess' long-standing consumer connectionand this disruption drops right as retailers start locking in year-end holiday inventory.
The timing isn't random. About 80% of U.S. toy imports come from China, which was recently slapped with a 145% tariff under Trump's new trade measures. That rate was walked back to 30% for a 90-day window to allow negotiation, but the whiplash is real. For companies like Hess, that uncertainty is now baked into global logistics planning. Even if tariff talks improve, ripple effects could linger through the rest of the yearespecially for consumer-facing brands navigating overseas supply chains.
Meanwhile, Chevron's (NYSE:CVX) pending takeover of Hessfirst announced in 2023remains in motion. Hess has said the toy truck tradition will continue post-merger, but with supply shocks now in play, investors watching the energy sector's M&A wave may be asking new questions. Will operational delays bleed into strategic timelines? Could near-term consumer disruption signal deeper friction in cross-border execution? For now, the trucks are parked. But the broader impact may still be unfolding.
This article first appeared on GuruFocus.