In an Executive order issued yesterday, President Trump again increased tariffs on United States-bound imports from China. The rationale for the increase, as noted in the Executive Order, is due to retaliatory actions taken by China in response to tariffs placed on it by the U.S. “China faces up to a 245% tariff on imports … Read more

Smartphones, computers, and other electronics will be spared from the steep tariffs President Donald Trump announced earlier this month, U.S. Customs and Border Protection said in guidance released late Friday night. The move comes after concerns from Apple and other tech companies that rely on China to manufacture their products. Trump’s 145% tariff on Chinese imports sparked fears that prices for phones and … Read more

A report recently issued by industrial real estate firm Colliers examined various factors related to how various factors are currently impacting North American big-box industrial space. The report, entitled “North American Big Box Industrial Overview,” observed that going back to 2020, the largest North American markets for big box industrial space—which includes modern distribution and … Read more

United States March rail carload and intermodal volumes saw annual gains, according to the new edition of the “Rail Industry Overview (RIO),” which was recently published by the Washington, D.C.-based Association of American Railroads (AAR). This free publication is issued monthly by the AAR and provides insights from AAR’s economists, regarding what rail traffic is … Read more

While it’s uncertain what effect geopolitical events and President Trump’s tariff scheme will have on the air cargo this year, 2024 saw the industry flying high with air cargo demand outpacing capacity worldwide. Willie Walsh, director general of the International Air Transport Association (IATA): “It was a year of profitable growth. Air cargo was the … Read more

The freight world was thrust into turmoil over President Donald Trump’s 10% tariffs on freight transportation across both the Canadian and Mexican borders and as high as 35% on China and other countries. It’s 10%, that is, except for auto parts, which got a 25% tariff. And then there are entire industries employing small armies … Read more

Growth in the services sector remained intact in March, for the ninth consecutive month, according to the new edition of the Services ISM Report on Business, which was released today by the Institute for Supply Management (ISM). The March Services PMI, at 50.8 (a reading of 50 or higher signals growth) fell 2.7% compared to … Read more

Preliminary March Class 8 truck net orders saw declines, according to data respectively issued this week by FTR and ACT Research. FTR reported that preliminary March Class 8 truck net orders, at 15,700 units, fell 14% sequentially and 22% annually, coming in well below the seven-year March average, at 24,760 net orders and also what … Read more

With President Trump set to roll out what are being described as widespread tariffs on United States trading partners later today, findings from a study published this week by the National Retail Federation and Morning Consult highlight ongoing concerns regarding tariffs and the potential subsequent economic impacts. Findings for the study, which was conducted late … Read more

A number of declining data points addressing logistics sector growth patterns, driven by ongoing tariff-driven uncertainty, was apparent in the March 2025 edition of the Logistics Manager’s Index (LMI), which was released this week. The monthly LMI is a joint project among researchers from Arizona State University, Colorado State University, University of Nevada, Reno, Florida … Read more