Topic: Global Trade

ng off of a record-setting July, United States-bound containerized freight imports saw annual gains, albeit at a reduced pace, according to data recently issued by S&P Global Market Intelligence.

The plan also covers steel, textiles, and around 1,400 other products from countries without trade agreements.

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

August U.S.-bound container import volume—at 2,519,722 TEU (Twenty-Foot Equivalent Units)—decreased 3.9% compared to July (higher than the 3.0% decline for the same period a year ago) and were up 1.6% annually and 17.6% higher than pre-pandemic 2019.

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.  

For July, the most recent month for which data is available, U.S. imports came in at 2.36 million TEU (Twenty-Foot Equivalent Units), with the report’s authors saying that this tally excludes numbers for New York/New Jersey, Port Everglades, and Miami, marking a 20.1% gain over July, a period when importers were bringing in merchandise in advance of tariffs going into effect on August 1, while posting a 1.8% annual gain. This tally would mark the second highest-volume month on record, trailing...

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. 

The White House filed a motion, calling on the Supreme Court to expedite an appeal on its behalf, following a recent ruling by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, which stated the majority of the IEEPA (International Emergency Economic Powers Act) tariffs rolled out by the White House are illegal. Tariffs will remain temporarily in place until October 14, which will give the White House time to appeal its case to the Supreme Court.

The August LMI reading, at 59.3, eked out a 0.1% gain over July’s 59.2.

UPS has announced its 2025 peak demand surcharges, adding new costs for businesses shipping during the holiday rush. The surcharges will take effect September 28 and run through January 17, covering the busiest stretch of the year for e-commerce and retail deliveries.

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).

Late last week, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit issued a ruling, by a 7-4 margin, in which it stated the majority of the IEEPA (International Emergency Economic Powers Act) tariffs rolled out by the White House are illegal. Tariffs will remain temporarily in place until October 14, which will give the White House time to appeal its case to the Supreme Court.

Effective today, August 29, the de minimis exemption, which allows shipments under $800 sent to the United States to not be subject to tariffs, officially will be removed. That was the edict delivered in a White House executive order in late July.

Logistics Management Group News Editor Jeff Berman recently caught up with Doug Waggoner, CEO of Chicago-based 3PL Echo Global Logistics. Waggoner offered up insights on various logistics and supply chain trends and themes, including: freight economic conditions, capacity and rates, M&A, technology, and cross-border logistics, among others.

Following a late July announcement in which the United States and the 27-nation bloc comprising the European Union, which collectively represents the largest trading partner for the U.S., announced they had come to terms on the framework of a large global trade deal, the parties said earlier today that they have agreed to additional details but are not yet at the finish line.

July imports, at 3.01 million TEU (Twenty-Foot Equivalent Units), headed up 3.7% annually, topping the 2.90 million TEU in July 20214, and cracking the 3 million TEU mark for the first time.

POLA reported that total July volume, at 1,019,837 Twenty-Foot Equivalent Units (TEU), increased 8.5% annually, marking the highest-volume month in the port’s 117 years of operations. The Port of Long Beach reported that total July volume, at 944,232 TEU, rose 7% annually, setting a new July record, topping the previous high set in 2024, while posting the third-highest tally, for any month, on record for the port.

July U.S.-bound container import volume—at 2,621,910 TEU (Twenty-Foot Equivalent Units)—increased 18.2% over June and were up 2.6% annually.

Following a 90-day pause rolled out in May, which was set to expire today, the White House said yesterday, in an Executive Order, that tariffs on United States-bound imports from China will remain at current levels for another 90 days, through November 10.

With the White House’s widespread reciprocal tariffs on dozens of U.S. trading partners taking effect on August 7, the report said it expects total 2025 import cargo volume for the ports cited in the report to be 5.6% lower annually.