WED AM News: Companies adjusting to trade volatility and higher prices amid tariffs, conflict; Employee wellness programs with greater incentives have higher participation, survey finds

November 4, 2026

— Last year’s trade volatility has persisted into 2026, as Midwest businesses are trying to adjust to the uncertain environment and higher costs.

“We were insanely volatile last year, as I think everybody knows, and the tariff changes were coming fast and furious. I would say that we’re equally as volatile this year, it just looks a little different,” M.E. Dey & Co. CEO Sandi Siegel said yesterday. “To a great extent, we’ve all come to expect it, right, so even though we don’t know what’s coming, we know uncertainty is certain.”

Siegel was part of a live “Talking Trade” panel discussion recorded before an audience at Waukesha County Technical College. It was moderated by E.M. Wasylik Associates founder Ken Wasylik, who co-hosts the podcast.

Yesterday’s discussion explored the latest developments impacting international trade, from new tariffs with Canada to the war in Iran and ongoing disruption of trade through the Strait of Hormuz and elsewhere. These developments, along with higher prices, are influencing the behavior of companies shipping products in and out of Wisconsin, panelists said.

Wasylik noted the uncertainty has shortened planning windows for his client base.

“Two years ago, long-term planning was maybe five to seven years. Now it’s three years,” he said, adding “short-term planning was one to two years you could budget. Now it’s down to 30, 90 days.”

Brandon Rogers, vendor and supply chain coordinator at Verlo Mattress in Milwaukee, said his typical cost for transporting and insuring a shipping container has jumped from $6,000 to about $11,000, calling it a “pretty significant increase for us.”

The latest trade tensions with Canada in particular have had an impact on the furniture company. A potential deal with a Canadian firm for bed product components fell through when the latest 50% tariffs went into effect, he noted. Rogers called for a “u-turn” on tariffs, arguing they’re creating unnecessary barriers for his customers.

“We all end up paying for it,” he said.

At the same time, the company is facing “huge shortages” and soaring prices for polyurethane foam, one of the main products for making mattresses.

“One of the main chemical components, polyurethane, is in short supply because of all the damage done to the oil facilities in the Middle East,” he said, adding “there were huge shortages, prices were going up significantly and we haven’t really seen that come down yet.”

Siegel said higher fuel costs, also linked to the conflict in the region, are increasing freight rates for her clients as well. She noted shipping a container from Asia to Chicago, for example, has spiked from more than $2,000 to more than $11,000.

“When you’ve got, you know, attacks going on on goods transiting through that area and the re-routing of cargo because of the concerns, it disrupts the whole flow of cargo,” she said. “It’s also driven up the cost of cargo insurance, because there’s that much more disruption, pilferage, war, etcetera.”

Meanwhile, an educator with WCTC’s School of Business yesterday emphasized the importance of international trade for Wisconsin business success.

Susan Dragotta, a supply chain and global business instructor for the college, noted 96% of the global population exists outside of the United States and companies will continue to look overseas for customers and sourcing materials.

Despite the challenges posed by tariffs, conflict and uncertainty for importers and exporters, she expressed confidence in the state’s business community.

“We have thousands of Wisconsin companies that export, and we’ve got 200 markets that they export to, and decades of building relationships around the world,” Dragotta said. “I trust that they’ll find a way to make those still work, regardless of the environment, or continue to adapt to the environment.”

— Employee wellness programs that offer larger financial incentives were found to have higher participation rates, a recent survey from Green Bay-based Motion-Connected found.

The company, which provides an employee wellbeing and engagement platform to more than 300 businesses and employers, yesterday issued a report with industry survey results. It was produced in partnership with the Worksite Wellness Council of Massachusetts.

Programs like these can include a wide array of elements aimed at improving employees’ physical and mental health, ranging from health screening and risk assessments to nutrition and weight management and tobacco cessation programs, as well as financial incentives and rewards.

After surveying 218 respondents across 26 states and a range of industries, report authors found time was the largest barrier to getting employees to participate in wellness programs. While 54% of respondents said a lack of employee time is an issue, 49% said competing priorities are standing in the way.

Common themes for programs achieving greater than 50% participation include tracking participation, having dedicated ownership for the program and offering larger incentives, the report shows.

It found average participation was 43% for programs offering $100 or less in annual incentive value, while that jumped to 66% for programs offering more than $1,000.

But only 11% of respondents are actually offering that much, while the largest share at 36% is offering $100 or less. The average incentive value was $491 for the survey group.

The most common category of incentive is cash or gift cards with 68% of respondents, followed by company swag at 32%, premium discounts at 27%, health savings account contributions at 15% and lifestyle spending accounts at 7%.

Meanwhile, employers report using AI in employee wellness program administration, with 49% reporting at least one active use case for the technology. Another 36% say they’re still exploring the technology’s use in this space while 26% have no imminent plans to use it.

For those who are, 37% are using AI to communicate with employees about these programs, 23% are using it for data analysis and insights, 19% are using it for education content or learning and 16% are using it for program planning and strategy.

Responses were collected through a digital survey tool from Aug. 3-28. It was promoted by Motion Connected and partner professional networks, including social media, and included both clients and non-clients.

See the report.

— A new study led by UW-Madison’s La Follette School of Public Affairs suggests additional education can reduce the risk of dementia, with benefits for those with genetic predisposition for the disease.

The university yesterday announced the findings, which are based on how a change to British law in the 1970s impacted health decades later. While scientists had already known those with more education had lower dementia risk, this research was able to pinpoint the effect of the schooling itself.

They did so by looking at a 1972 education reform in England, Scotland and Wales that resulted in students staying in school one year longer — leaving at age 16 rather than 15. Students born on or after Sept. 1, 1957, had to remain in school for an additional year.

Scientists then tracked the outcomes for those on either side of that date through age 65, based on hospital records and other data. They found those who had to stay in school for another year were less likely to develop dementia than those who were born before the cutoff date.

Silvia Barcellos, an associate professor of population health sciences and public affairs with the school, says it’s been difficult to know if the actual schooling was responsible for the dementia differences seen among those with more education.

“By taking advantage of this school reform, we can separate the effect of education from many of the other factors that differ across people,” she said in a statement.

Leandro Carvalho, an associate professor of economics at study partner University of Southern California, says “this is a hopeful finding” even for those who know they have a higher genetic risk of dementia. That’s because researchers found the trend held even for those facing such risk.

“Genes help shape disease risk, but they do not necessarily determine the outcome,” Carvalho said. “Our results suggest that experiences and circumstances that can be changed over the course of life may influence whether inherited susceptibility ultimately translates into disease.”

See the research.

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— Renew Wisconsin is urging state residents to voice support for a proposed 100-megawatt solar project in Jefferson County.

The clean energy advocacy group yesterday issued an appeal for public comments on the Sinnissippi Solar project, which the state Public Service Commission is accepting through Nov. 9. Its message notes the project is expected to have a $69.3 million statewide economic impact, with $41.9 million of that impacting the county specifically.

Invenergy’s project, if approved, is slated to be finished in 2029, creating up to 200 temporary construction jobs along with six full-time jobs.

Along with providing $15 million in utility aid payments over 30 years to local governments, the Sinnissippi Solar project is projected to reduce emissions by about 315 million pounds of carbon dioxide within its first year of operation.

That’s equal to taking 31,000 vehicles off the road for a year, according to the advocacy group’s figures.

“Wisconsin can expect more than $690,000 in economic benefits associated with public health improvements in Sinnissippi Solar’s first year of operations alone,” Communications Director Alex Beld wrote in the appeal.

Chicago-based developer Invenergy says the solar project would have capacity to power more than 19,000 homes per year.

See project details and track its progress here.

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