Competitive Edge
March 19th, 2025
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Market Update
Regulatory:
— In an FMC notice, they announce plans to launch a probe into seven maritime choke points: English Channel, the Malacca Strait, the Northern Sea Passage, the Singapore Strait, the Panama Canal, the Strait of Gibraltar and the Suez Canal.
The FMC will look to identify whether their might be unfavorable conditions for shipping in U.S. foreign trades, and if additional FMC action is merited.
Tariffs:
— The Canada/Mexico tariffs that went into effect March 6th have since been paused until April 2nd, under President Trump’s executive order. This applies to imports covered by the U.S.–Mexico–Canada Agreement, which accounts for approximately 50% of goods from Mexico and 38% from Canada, according to NBC News.
— Steel/Aluminum: New tariffs on steel and aluminum have gone into effect as of March 12th at 12:01am EST. Â
— ILA union members officially ratified their new 6-year master contract with USMX, on March 11th, per an ILA union press release.
Freight News: NRF Adjusts Q2 Forecast, Port Volume February Recap
NRF Q2 Forecast –
In their monthly Global Port Tracker report, the National Retail Federation is predicting Q2 to see a dip in imports as tariff challenges and high inventory levels remain. Per a Journal of Commerce article, which references NRF’s GPT, March import projections remain the same, while April volumes are forecasted at 2.18 million TEUs.
Furthermore, NRF released their February Retail Monitor report that shows retail spending in February has declined on a monthly basis, but has seen growth year-over-year.
U.S. Container Imports in February –
Last month, U.S. container imports saw a dip (10%) from January, according to Descartes data, but increased 4.7% from March of last year. Not entirely unexpected, as February is a shorter month from January, along with Chinese New Year.
Did You Know? With Johnny Cargo!
What do you think the answer is?
InterlogUSA’s chat bot Johnny Cargo sure is an inquisitive soul. However, he doesn’t just ask about industry-related trivia. Johnny also loves to ask supply chain professionals about their shipping arrangements and which areas can benefit from InterlogUSA’s assistance as an end-to-end freight forwarder.
He works around the clock and is always available for conversation.
Burned By Demurrage Charges?
Demurrage are financial penalties enforced when cargo exceeds its allotted “free time” at the port.
What happens if that free time expires and your cargo is still at the port?
If you would like to have a conversation about this further, contact us via email at: support@interlogusa.com or reply off this email and we’d be happy to talk further!
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