Our Week 27 Top Logistics Stories

It’s week 27 and here are three stories you should be updating your customers and prospects on this week. They need your expertise!

Shippers may not be aware of what’s occurring or its importance, so offering your assistance and insights will help you build a stronger relationship with them.

Knowing what’s going on in the market is only half the battle. Your customers need to be told what to do about it and they should hear that from you.

1.      US manufacturing as well as imports are key drivers of logistics activity in the US. We’ll update on what’s happening with imports below, but manufacturing is also flat, declining for the 4th consecutive month, according to the ISM. This signals that any market improvements may be a long time coming until something changes with the fundamentals of both.

2.      Speaking of tariffs, it's going to be a few critical weeks for them. The 90-day pause on many country-specific tariffs is coming to an end, and only one deal has been agreed to since the pause began three months ago. So, either expect a flurry of new deal announcements by next week or the reinstatement of higher tariffs.

3.      The spike in ocean rates caused by the tariff pause is waning. The initial rush to ship orders caused rates to spike by up to 80% in some lanes, but the system appears to have stabilized. The bottom line is that extreme uncertainty remains for importers. However, some experts feel the marketplace at least knows the worst-case scenario for tariffs and can plan, to an extent, with that information.

Of course, these stories are just a small part of what’s going on in the supply chain space right now. Updating your clients on how this and other information is relevant to their business is a way to provide more value and strengthen your relationships.

If you need help creating more complete and customized updates for emails, blogs, and social media, we can help. Visit www.shippingbrief.com to learn more.