Trade

The Port of Los Angeles reported that total volume, at 883,053 Twenty-Foot Equivalent Units (TEU), fell 7.5% annually, and the Port of Long Beach reported that total September volume, at 797,537 TEU, was off 3.9% annually.

The firm reported that September imports, at 2.72 million TEU (Twenty-Foot Equivalent Units), fell 5.8% annually, down from August’s 2.9 million TEU July’s 3.01 million TEU (which topped the 3 million TEU mark for the first time and came on the heels of a June decline, coupled with importers looking to optimize sourcing following the White House’s reciprocal tariffs related to the International Emergency Economic Powers Act on most U.S. trading partners, which went into effect on August 7).

The impetus for this planned action, Trump said, was due to China taking what he described as an extraordinarily aggressive position on trade, in the form of imposing large scale export controls on nearly every product made in China and some not made in China, including rare earth minerals.

A session at this week’s Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals (CSCMP) EDGE conference in National Harbor, Maryland addressed various aspects related to the current state of the freight market, including the impact of various freight recessions, above-average inventory levels despite efforts to reduce them, the importance of maintaining shipper-provider relationships, as well the impact of tariffs, and other topics.

A panel of industry experts across different areas of the supply chain provided a detailed overview of market trends and themes this week in a session at the Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals (CSCMP) EDGE annual conference, which was held in National Harbor, Maryland.

At ASCM’s CHAINge Conference, leaders from government, retail, shipping, and manufacturing underscored that resilience depends on elevating supply chains into the boardroom and building trust across sectors.

A White House executive order issued yesterday announced new tariffs on imports of timber, lumber, and their derivative products (wood products), focused on an effort, to bolster American industry and protect national security.

The Association for Supply Chain Management has released its Top 10 Trends for 2026, highlighting how artificial intelligence, workforce evolution, trade dynamics, resilience, and sustainability will reshape global supply chains.

White House imposes steep tariffs on trucks, furniture, and pharmaceuticals as legal challenge to trade powers looms

POLA reported that total volume, at 958,355 Twenty-Foot Equivalent Units (TEU), saw a 6% annual increase. The Port of Long Beach reported that August volume, at 901,846 TEU, was off 1.3% from its August 2024 record, while still posting its second-best volume August on record, as well as its sixth-busiest month in port history.

The White House issued an executive order earlier this month, which it said it takes steps to modify tariff policies and also establish procedures to implement trade and security agreements with foreign partners, in regards to what it called persistent U.S. goods trade benefits that are considered a national security threat.

Wells Fargo’s 2025 Supply Chain Report reveals a sector adapting to tariffs, shifting inventory strategies, and transportation complexity.

The United States Supreme Court said yesterday that it has agreed to hear arguments in regards to the legality of tariffs implemented by the White House under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA), in the form of an expedited review set to begin in November.  

Logistics Management (LM) Group News Editor Jeff Berman recently spoke with Matt Muenster, Chief Economist for Green Bay, Wisc.-based Breakthrough, an innovator in transportation management, dedicated to creating transparent and fair strategies for the world’s leading shippers. Muenster provided Berman with an overview of trade and tariffs, the industrial economy, and Peak Season, among other topics. 

It is hard to find a period in time in which supply chains have seen so much volatility and uncertainty, in various ways as over the last five years. That is nothing new, to be sure, but, at the same time, it does speak to the significance of the industry (whether you may be a shipper, carrier, 3PL, academic, analyst, lobbyist, or anything else along those lines).