— Tariffs: On February 10th, China implemented a 15% retaliatory tariff impacting U.S. coal and liquefied gas imports, along with a 10% tariff on crude oil, agricultural machinery and large-engine cars, per AP News. This comes after the U.S. enacted 10% additional tariffs on Chinese imports as of February 4th.
The President has revealed plans to impose new tariffs on steel and aluminum, as well as possibly other reciprocal tariffs, to “align the tax rates that other countries impose on American imports,” according to Freightwaves. However, these tariffs have yet to be implemented.
— CMA CGM has begun to roll out peak season surcharges on Northern Europe to U.S., Canada and Mexico trade lanes, effective March 1st – per a CMA CGM advisory. The surcharge rates look like they will be on the steeper side – if they stick. Please reach out to us at: support@interlogusa.com if you have any questions.
— Out in Europe some ports (Antwerp, Rotterdam, etc) have experienced congestion issues, which has led to a crunch in capacity.
— On February 25th, ILA union members will vote on the new tentative contract that was reached back in early January. The tentative contract includes a 62% pay raise over six years, among other details.