Trade

A new ASCM report outlines how AI, automation, geopolitics, workforce evolution, and circularity will reshape supply chains in 2026 and what leaders must do to prepare.

Representing the National Electric Manufacturers Association (NEMA) at the USTR hearing, Patrick Lozada, NEMA Senior Director of Global Policy, made the case for the USTR to move forward with what he called a swift review and renewal of the USMCA.

Hacebaga currently serves as POLB Chief Operating Officer. He has been at POLB for the last 15 years in various senior management roles, and in his current position he oversees daily operations, including commercial services, engineering, finance and administration, planning and environmental affairs, and strategic advocacy.  

Logistics Management Group News Editor Jeff Berman recently interviewed Ali Faghri Chief Strategy Officer at Greenwich, Conn.-based national less-than-truckload (LTL) carrier XPO. Faghri provided Berman with a detailed overview of the LTL market, economic conditions, and how XPO is leveraging AI, among other topics, in the interview below.

Companies are responding by diversifying sourcing and looking for new trade routes.

October imports, at 2.71 million TEU (Twenty-Foot Equivalent Units) fell 3.4% annually, again seeing a sequential decline compared to September’s 2.72 million TEU, August’s 2.9 million TEU, and July’s 3.01 million TEU.

Greenwich, Conn.-based global contract logistics services provider GXO Logistics Inc. reported a company record for quarterly revenue, in its third quarter earnings announcement earlier this week. Revenue, at $3.4 billion, saw an 8% annual gain, with organic revenue up 4%, and net income, at $60 million, rose 42% annually. Adjusted earnings per share, at $0.79, was flat, topping Wall Street expectations, at $0.77.

For 2025, NRF said it is calling for total holiday season spending to come increase between 3.7%-to-4.2% annually, coming in between $1.01 trillion-to-$1.02 trillion. In 2024, holiday sales saw a 4.3% annual gain, to $976.1 billion.

The report’s benchmark reading, the PMI, at 48.7 (a reading of 50 or higher indicates growth), was off 0.4% compared to September, contracting, at a faster rate, for the eighth consecutive month, with the overall economy growing, at a slower rate, for the 66th consecutive month.

With expedited review underway, businesses brace for possible refunds, new trade measures, and prolonged market volatility.

The Federal Reserve said yesterday that it lowered the target rate, for the federal funds rate, which comes from its Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) for the second consecutive month, dropping it by 0.25%, to 3.75%-to-4.0%, its lowest rate level since 2022.

DHL Global Forwarding, a subsidiary of global logistics and express delivery provider Deutsche Post DHL focused on air and ocean freight, announced it has rolled out a new consolidated clearance service, which it said is geared towards U.S. imports to support retailers as they deal with trade shifts and tariff complexity.

Following a social media message issued by President Trump late last week, which said that the United States would halt trade talks with its second-largest trading partner, Canada, another social media post by Trump indicated that the U.S. plans to raise tariffs on Canada by 10%.

LM Group News Editor Jeff Berman recently interviewed Chris Butler, CEO, at Cranford, N.J.-based National Tree Company. Butler provided Berman with an overview of how National Tree is handling tariff policy, supply chain uncertainty, seasonal issues, and sourcing, among other topics.

With the federal government shutdown now into its third week—and no clear indication of how long it could last—its impact on supply chains appears to somewhat still be coming into focus, noted various industry observers.