<div class="phx-topic abstract-wrapper">One of every five small businesses decides not to hire more employees, expand its business, introduc</div>

One of every five small businesses decides not to hire more employees, expand its business, introduc

<div>One of every five small businesses decides not to hire more employees, expand its business, introduce a new product, or improve an existing product, out of fear of lawsuits.What kind of lawsuits are we talking about? Take for example a case reported by the American Consulting Engineers Council. A drunk driver had an accident after speeding and bypassing detour signs. Eight hours after the crash, the driver still had a blood alcohol level of 0.09 - enough to be legally drunk in many states.Yet the driver sued the engineering firm that designed the road, the contractor, the subcontractor and the...

One of every five small businesses decides not to hire more employees, expand its business, introduce a new product, or improve an existing product, out of fear of lawsuits. What kind of lawsuits are we talking about? Take for example a case reported by the American Consulting Engineers Council. A drunk driver had an accident after speeding and bypassing detour signs. Eight hours after the crash, the driver still had a blood alcohol level of 0.09 - enough to be legally drunk in many states.Yet the driver sued the engineering firm that designed the road, the contractor, the subcontractor and the state highway department. Five years later, after spending exorbitant amounts on legal fees, the defendants settled the case for $35,000. The engineering firm, a small company employing 15 people, was swamped by $200,000 in legal bills. Many small companies cannot afford such legal costs, but more and more of them are being forced to do so. In fact, filers of frivolous lawsuits are becoming more bold in their attempts to extract money from companies through threats of huge legal bills. They are even charging companies with intentional misconduct worthy of punitive damages. The Washington Legal Foundation says that in San Diego superior court, to cite one example, punitive damages were requested in 41 percent of suits against small businesses. The National Federation of independent Business finds that 34 percent of Texas small businesses have been sued or threatened with court action seeking punitive damages. It is simply not reasonable to believe that 34 percent, let alone 41 percent, of small business owners engage in the kind of egregious, intentional misconduct that warrants punitive damages. Rather, an increasing number of profit seekers are using punitive damage claims as a club to force small businesses to settle frivolous lawsuits out of court. This must stop. Small business is the backbone of our economy. There are more than 20 million small businesses in America, generating 50 percent of our country's private-sector output. Americans benefit from a vast network of small business. Seventy percent of the nation's 5,500 consulting engineering firms, for example, employ 25 persons or fewer. Too many Americans depend on small business for their livelihood and the goods they need to allow these frivolous lawsuits to continue. How do we get this lawsuit abuse under control? Ideally, we would pass legislation discouraging all frivolous lawsuits. Unfortunately, while we have tried several times to enact broad-based legal reform, the president has successfully opposed it. That is why I have introduced the ''small business lawsuit abuse protection act.'' This bill stops short of reforming our entire legal system, but provides real relief to small business. For businesses with 25 employees or fewer, this legislation will limit the punitive damages that can be awarded against the company. Punitive damages would be available only if the injured party proved that the harm was caused by the small business through a conscious, flagrant indifference to the rights and safety of others. Punitive damages would be limited to the lesser of $250,000 or two times the compensatory damages awarded for the harm. The bill also would limit joint and several liability for small businesses. This doctrine, according to which a company that caused, say, 2 percent of the harm could be held liable for the full amount of damages, has forced many companies only tangentially related to an accident (for example, the engineering company in the drunk driver example above) to pay the entire amount of the settlement because others are bankrupt or otherwise not subject to being sued. Under this bill a small business would be liable for pain and suffering and any other noneconomic damages only in proportion to its responsibility for causing the harm. They would still be subject to full joint and several liability for economic damages. These provisions would protect our small businesses from frivolous lawsuits without denying injured parties their day in court. We need such measures to defend our workers, our economy and our way of life.

STOPPING NUISANCE LAWSUITS

<div class="phx-topic abstract-wrapper">The company did not disclose the identity of the potential Chinese investor in the $23 billion deal, although it is widely thought to be Cosco Shipping Holdings.</div>

The company did not disclose the identity of the potential Chinese investor in the $23 billion deal, although it is widely thought to be Cosco Shipping Holdings.

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<div class="phx-topic">CK Hutchison is in talks with a “major strategic investor from China” to join the BlackRock-Terminal Investment Limited (TiL) consortium in their planned $23 billion purchase of Hutchison’s non-China terminals, the Hong Kong conglomerate confirmed Monday. Hutchison, whose businesses include ports, telecoms, real estate and retail, did not provide details on the Chinese investor, although it is widely thought to be Cosco Shipping Holdings. Cosco’s potential involvement follows speculation the Chinese government was pushing for a Chinese shipping group to join the BlackRock-TiL group as a condition of <a href="https://www.joc.com/article/beijing-issues-warning-over-hutchisons-proposed-sale-of-panama-ports-company-5962910">Beijing giving regulatory approval to the deal</a>, announced in March. TiL is the terminals division of Gianluigi Aponte’s Mediterranean Shipping Co. (MSC). The deal would also make MSC/TiL the world’s biggest terminal operator, with throughput volumes of more than 130 million TEUs, according to Drewry. Hutchison’s comments about Chinese involvement were made in a statement to the Hong Kong stock exchange following the weekend expiry of the 145-day exclusive negotiating period Hutchison had with BlackRock-TIL. Despite the end of the exclusivity period, Hutchison said it “remains in discussions with members of the consortium with a view to inviting a major strategic investor from [China] to join as a significant member of the consortium.” “Changes to the membership of the consortium and the structure of the transaction (will be needed for the deal) to be capable of being approved by all relevant authorities,” Hutchison added in the statement. It gave no deadline for the changes to be finalized. Instead, the company said it “intends to allow such time as is required for such discussions to achieve” the alterations. <h3>Balancing act to keep Trump administration happy </h3>There were to be two agreements under terms of the initial deal, one covering the sale of Hutchison’s Panama ports and the second involving the rest of its global ports network, excluding those in China. There is speculation the restructured deal will see BlackRock-TiL buying Hutchison Port Holdings 90% stake in the Panama Port Company, with BlackRock and its Global Investment Partners as the lead investor, and no Chinese involvement. That would assuage Trump administration criticism that China influences cargo and ship movements through HPH’s ownership of Balboa and Cristobal ports at either end of the Panama Canal. The claims, made soon after Donald Trump became president in January, have been rejected by China. Instead, the Chinese investor would join BlackRock-TiL in the purchase of Hutchison’s 80% stake in HPH, which owns and operates 199 berths at terminals in 43 ports in 23 countries. The remaining 20% of HPH is owned by Singapore’s PSA International. Analysts say Chinese involvement, especially through Cosco Shipping Ports, could intensify regulatory scrutiny, particularly in Europe where Hutchison, TiL/MSC and Cosco all operate terminals in Rotterdam and Antwerp. Eleanor Hadland, lead analyst for ports and terminals at Drewry Maritime Research, <a href="https://www.joc.com/article/big-hutchison-deal-could-reshuffle-global-ports-network-drewry-5958162">previously told the Journal of Commerce</a> that TiL/MSC would likely have to sell off some terminals in Rotterdam, Le Havre, Antwerp, Hamburg and Egypt as a condition of the deal being approved by competition watchdogs. If Cosco joins the consortium there could be added scrutiny from regulators in South Korea and the Middle East due to overlapping terminal interests by HPH and Cosco in Busan, the United Arab Emirates and Egypt, one analyst told the Journal of Commerce. HPH, CK Hutchison, TiL, MSC and Cosco Shipping did not respond to the Journal of Commerce’s requests for comment Monday. <a href="mailto:keithwallis@hotmail.com">Contact Keith Wallis at keithwallis@hotmail.com.</a></div>

CK Hutchison is in talks with a “major strategic investor from China” to join the BlackRock-Terminal Investment Limited (TiL) consortium in their planned $23 billion purchase of Hutchison’s non-China terminals, the Hong Kong conglomerate confirmed Monday. Hutchison, whose businesses include ports, telecoms, real estate and retail, did not provide details on the Chinese investor, although it is widely thought to be Cosco Shipping Holdings. Cosco’s potential involvement follows speculation the Chinese government was pushing for a Chinese shipping group to join the BlackRock-TiL group as a condition of Beijing giving regulatory approval to the deal , announced in March. TiL is the terminals division of Gianluigi Aponte’s Mediterranean Shipping Co. (MSC). The deal would also make MSC/TiL the world’s biggest terminal operator, with throughput volumes of more than 130 million TEUs, according to Drewry. Hutchison’s comments about Chinese involvement were made in a statement to the Hong Kong stock exchange following the weekend expiry of the 145-day exclusive negotiating period Hutchison had with BlackRock-TIL. Despite the end of the exclusivity period, Hutchison said it “remains in discussions with members of the consortium with a view to inviting a major strategic investor from [China] to join as a significant member of the consortium.” “Changes to the membership of the consortium and the structure of the transaction (will be needed for the deal) to be capable of being approved by all relevant authorities,” Hutchison added in the statement. It gave no deadline for the changes to be finalized. Instead, the company said it “intends to allow such time as is required for such discussions to achieve” the alterations. Balancing act to keep Trump administration happy There were to be two agreements under terms of the initial deal, one covering the sale of Hutchison’s Panama ports and the second involving the rest of its global ports network, excluding those in China. There is speculation the restructured deal will see BlackRock-TiL buying Hutchison Port Holdings 90% stake in the Panama Port Company, with BlackRock and its Global Investment Partners as the lead investor, and no Chinese involvement. That would assuage Trump administration criticism that China influences cargo and ship movements through HPH’s ownership of Balboa and Cristobal ports at either end of the Panama Canal. The claims, made soon after Donald Trump became president in January, have been rejected by China. Instead, the Chinese investor would join BlackRock-TiL in the purchase of Hutchison’s 80% stake in HPH, which owns and operates 199 berths at terminals in 43 ports in 23 countries. The remaining 20% of HPH is owned by Singapore’s PSA International. Analysts say Chinese involvement, especially through Cosco Shipping Ports, could intensify regulatory scrutiny, particularly in Europe where Hutchison, TiL/MSC and Cosco all operate terminals in Rotterdam and Antwerp. Eleanor Hadland, lead analyst for ports and terminals at Drewry Maritime Research, previously told the Journal of Commerce that TiL/MSC would likely have to sell off some terminals in Rotterdam, Le Havre, Antwerp, Hamburg and Egypt as a condition of the deal being approved by competition watchdogs. If Cosco joins the consortium there could be added scrutiny from regulators in South Korea and the Middle East due to overlapping terminal interests by HPH and Cosco in Busan, the United Arab Emirates and Egypt, one analyst told the Journal of Commerce. HPH, CK Hutchison, TiL, MSC and Cosco Shipping did not respond to the Journal of Commerce’s requests for comment Monday. Contact Keith Wallis at keithwallis@hotmail.com.

Container Shipping News

Port News

Container lines

International ports

Maritime

Hutchison confirms Chinese investor interest in BlackRock-TiL ports sale

<div class="phx-topic abstract-wrapper">US Customs and Border Protection requires importers to maintain a bond for estimated duties owed, a number that has increased significantly as new tariffs take effect.</div>

US Customs and Border Protection requires importers to maintain a bond for estimated duties owed, a number that has increased significantly as new tariffs take effect.

<div class="phx-topic">US importers have been forced to significantly increase the amount of bond protection they are required to put up to cover anticipated tariffs amid the upheaval in trade policy driven by the Trump administration, trade compliance professionals say. That financial impact is huge given the rapid increase and variability of tariffs assessed over the last five months, largely because importers must predict the amount of tariffs they will pay in the future in order to calculate the bond coverage they need to maintain. In most cases, they’re also required to provide collateral that impacts their cash flow. US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) requires importers to maintain a bond amount of at least 10% of the duties they estimate they will owe over a 12-month period, with mandated minimum continuous coverage of $50,000. “The sufficient bond amount is based on a rolling period of the prior 12 months,” said Sandy Coty, director of operational development at customs broker AN Deringer. “Customs monitors sufficiency on a monthly basis. Because recent months have higher duties than 12 months ago, the sum of the past 12 months is growing, and that growth is eventually causing the current bond amount [for most importers] to be insufficient based on CBP’s 10% rule.” Coty said an importer with 0% duties on $1 million of what’s known as “entered value” of imports each month would have only needed a $50,000 bond. At 10% to 25% tariffs now, after a few months, the importer would eclipse $500,000 in duty paid, meaning its $50,000 bond would no longer be sufficient. “They must plan for the 12 months under current rates to avoid the next bond becoming insufficient,” she said. “The problem is, it’s difficult to predict where the tariff will be in the future, or what the sales volume may be. Projecting a bond amount can be difficult in these uncertain times.” To put in context the extent that increased tariffs are burdening importers, Coty said more than 90% of continuous bonds were for the minimum $50,000 amount prior to January. Jason Cook, CEO of Ardent Global Logistics, said many importers are just beginning to understand the impact of the bond requirements because they never needed to maintain more than the minimum amount required with tariffs at relatively low levels. “Sureties are asking for full letters of credit [for collateral],” he said. “This is starting to happen right now.” <h3>Rapid increase in bonds </h3>To account for increased duties owed, importers generally need to secure a new bond, which is typically done in increments of $10,000. For example, an importer that held the minimum bond amount to cover no more than $500,000 in estimated duties and tariffs owed would have to increase it to $60,000 if it estimated it now owes between $500,001 and $600,000. The bond amount is generally rounded up to the nearest $10,000 for amounts under $1 million and to the nearest $100,000 for amounts over $1 million. Larger bonds for companies with weak balance sheets or operating losses may require collateral as well, Coty said. “Importers are typically granted a 30-day grace period to bring their surety to suitable levels,” customs broker Livingston International said in a blog about the increasing bond requirements. “Bonds that are not adequately increased within the 30-day period will likely be terminated and the importer will no longer have surety to cover their customs duties. Should this occur, goods will be held at the border until the importer secures adequate surety or pays the duties in full.” For most US importers, the amount of bond they need to maintain will far surpass what was required prior to the Trump administration ratcheting up tariffs. Rob Burdette, vice president of strategy at customs broker Shapiro, said clients that previously had bonds of $100,000 or higher are having to triple the size of those bonds, with the highest increase he’s seen at 15 times the previous levels. Bond levels have increased so quickly that CBP on July 21 circulated a message to customs brokers that it was forced to update its system for collecting bonds to accommodate estimated tariff “owed” amounts with 10 digits ($1 billion or more). <h3>‘Stacking’ bonds creates new challenges </h3>The headache for importers doesn’t stop at having to merely increase the amount of their bonds. Importers cannot just increase their existing bonds; they must write new bonds for the higher value required but don’t get a refund on the existing bond. And the “stacking” of bonds creates liability complexity that can be tricky to manage, as well as collateral demands that place financial pressure on importers. For instance, if an importer secured a $100,000 bond on Nov. 1, 2024, that renews on the same date in 2025, the importer’s bond will become insufficient before that date due to higher tariffs. CBP would force the company to get a new bond through an insufficiency notice, Burdette said. “Even if the importer acts on their own accord to increase the bond before the insufficiency, it still creates the stacking,” he said. “In this case, starting with the $100,000 bond, then having to add the $300,000 bond creates an aggregate bond liability of $400,000. Typically bonds over $200,000 require financials, so now, instead of your financials being able to support $100,000, it must support $400,000.” Burdette said the stacking is leading to financial exposure where “importers get in a situation where they are funding their own risk with collateral.” The collateral required is generally equal to the bond amount when more than $100,000, usually in the form of a cash deposit or a letter of credit, said Paul Diedrich, compliance officer at Ardent Global Logistics. “Importers have always needed a bond,” he said. “In the past some brokers may have allowed the use of their bonds, but that practice is now gone. The biggest new issue is the bond amount that is required.” In terms of the premiums importers are paying to secure those bonds, the general guideline is that it costs 1% of the amount of the bond, with premiums increasing proportionally to bond amounts, sources told the Journal of Commerce. In most cases, the collateral required to support the higher bonds is the bigger financial burden. “I tell our customers that paying a little extra bond premium to get a larger bond with some wiggle room is much cheaper than the cost of paying for a [letter of credit from a bank] or having their cash tied up in bond collateral,” Burdette said. Contact Eric Johnson at <a href="mailto:eric.johnson@spglobal.com">eric.johnson@spglobal.com</a>. </div>

US importers have been forced to significantly increase the amount of bond protection they are required to put up to cover anticipated tariffs amid the upheaval in trade policy driven by the Trump administration, trade compliance professionals say. That financial impact is huge given the rapid increase and variability of tariffs assessed over the last five months, largely because importers must predict the amount of tariffs they will pay in the future in order to calculate the bond coverage they need to maintain. In most cases, they’re also required to provide collateral that impacts their cash flow. US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) requires importers to maintain a bond amount of at least 10% of the duties they estimate they will owe over a 12-month period, with mandated minimum continuous coverage of $50,000. “The sufficient bond amount is based on a rolling period of the prior 12 months,” said Sandy Coty, director of operational development at customs broker AN Deringer. “Customs monitors sufficiency on a monthly basis. Because recent months have higher duties than 12 months ago, the sum of the past 12 months is growing, and that growth is eventually causing the current bond amount [for most importers] to be insufficient based on CBP’s 10% rule.” Coty said an importer with 0% duties on $1 million of what’s known as “entered value” of imports each month would have only needed a $50,000 bond. At 10% to 25% tariffs now, after a few months, the importer would eclipse $500,000 in duty paid, meaning its $50,000 bond would no longer be sufficient. “They must plan for the 12 months under current rates to avoid the next bond becoming insufficient,” she said. “The problem is, it’s difficult to predict where the tariff will be in the future, or what the sales volume may be. Projecting a bond amount can be difficult in these uncertain times.” To put in context the extent that increased tariffs are burdening importers, Coty said more than 90% of continuous bonds were for the minimum $50,000 amount prior to January. Jason Cook, CEO of Ardent Global Logistics, said many importers are just beginning to understand the impact of the bond requirements because they never needed to maintain more than the minimum amount required with tariffs at relatively low levels. “Sureties are asking for full letters of credit [for collateral],” he said. “This is starting to happen right now.” Rapid increase in bonds To account for increased duties owed, importers generally need to secure a new bond, which is typically done in increments of $10,000. For example, an importer that held the minimum bond amount to cover no more than $500,000 in estimated duties and tariffs owed would have to increase it to $60,000 if it estimated it now owes between $500,001 and $600,000. The bond amount is generally rounded up to the nearest $10,000 for amounts under $1 million and to the nearest $100,000 for amounts over $1 million. Larger bonds for companies with weak balance sheets or operating losses may require collateral as well, Coty said. “Importers are typically granted a 30-day grace period to bring their surety to suitable levels,” customs broker Livingston International said in a blog about the increasing bond requirements. “Bonds that are not adequately increased within the 30-day period will likely be terminated and the importer will no longer have surety to cover their customs duties. Should this occur, goods will be held at the border until the importer secures adequate surety or pays the duties in full.” For most US importers, the amount of bond they need to maintain will far surpass what was required prior to the Trump administration ratcheting up tariffs. Rob Burdette, vice president of strategy at customs broker Shapiro, said clients that previously had bonds of $100,000 or higher are having to triple the size of those bonds, with the highest increase he’s seen at 15 times the previous levels. Bond levels have increased so quickly that CBP on July 21 circulated a message to customs brokers that it was forced to update its system for collecting bonds to accommodate estimated tariff “owed” amounts with 10 digits ($1 billion or more). ‘Stacking’ bonds creates new challenges The headache for importers doesn’t stop at having to merely increase the amount of their bonds. Importers cannot just increase their existing bonds; they must write new bonds for the higher value required but don’t get a refund on the existing bond. And the “stacking” of bonds creates liability complexity that can be tricky to manage, as well as collateral demands that place financial pressure on importers. For instance, if an importer secured a $100,000 bond on Nov. 1, 2024, that renews on the same date in 2025, the importer’s bond will become insufficient before that date due to higher tariffs. CBP would force the company to get a new bond through an insufficiency notice, Burdette said. “Even if the importer acts on their own accord to increase the bond before the insufficiency, it still creates the stacking,” he said. “In this case, starting with the $100,000 bond, then having to add the $300,000 bond creates an aggregate bond liability of $400,000. Typically bonds over $200,000 require financials, so now, instead of your financials being able to support $100,000, it must support $400,000.” Burdette said the stacking is leading to financial exposure where “importers get in a situation where they are funding their own risk with collateral.” The collateral required is generally equal to the bond amount when more than $100,000, usually in the form of a cash deposit or a letter of credit, said Paul Diedrich, compliance officer at Ardent Global Logistics. “Importers have always needed a bond,” he said. “In the past some brokers may have allowed the use of their bonds, but that practice is now gone. The biggest new issue is the bond amount that is required.” In terms of the premiums importers are paying to secure those bonds, the general guideline is that it costs 1% of the amount of the bond, with premiums increasing proportionally to bond amounts, sources told the Journal of Commerce. In most cases, the collateral required to support the higher bonds is the bigger financial burden. “I tell our customers that paying a little extra bond premium to get a larger bond with some wiggle room is much cheaper than the cost of paying for a [letter of credit from a bank] or having their cash tied up in bond collateral,” Burdette said. Contact Eric Johnson at eric.johnson@spglobal.com .

Supply chain

Transport, Trade and Regulation News

US importers scramble to manage huge hike in bond outlay linked to higher tariffs

<div class="phx-topic abstract-wrapper">But with many details of the framework agreement still to be thrashed out over the coming weeks, it will do little to address the uncertainty hanging over the trade lane.</div>

But with many details of the framework agreement still to be thrashed out over the coming weeks, it will do little to address the uncertainty hanging over the trade lane.

<div class="phx-topic">The 15% tariff deal agreed Sunday between President Donald Trump and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen brings an end to months of increasingly fractious negotiations between Washington and Brussels. While still a significant jump from current US tariffs of about 4.8%, the agreement averts a destructive trans-Atlantic trade war that had the EU facing 30% tariffs from Aug. 1 and preparing to launch its own wide-ranging retaliatory tariffs against the US. “We have stabilized on a single 15% tariff rate for the vast majority of EU exports,” von der Leyen said in a statement following a meeting with Trump at his Turnberry golf resort in western Scotland. “This rate applies across most sectors, including cars, semiconductors and pharmaceuticals,” she added. “This 15% is a clear ceiling. No stacking. All-inclusive.” The deal also set “zero-for-zero” tariffs on several strategic products, including all aircraft and component parts, certain chemicals, certain generics, semiconductor equipment, certain agricultural products, natural resources and critical raw materials. Many details in the framework agreement still need to be thrashed out between the two parties over the coming weeks, doing little to address the uncertainty that has hung over the trade lane for months. “All in all, this means the 15% tariff will be on most products, but importers would need to keep a close eye out for information on their specific commodities once details become known,” Lars Jensen, CEO of Vespucci Maritime and a Journal of Commerce analyst, wrote <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7355461231425503233/">in a LinkedIn post</a> Monday. <h3>‘Immediate tariff relief’ </h3>No agreement was reached on the US tariffs on steel and aluminium and related products that are currently at 50%, although von der Leyen said “to reduce barriers between us, tariffs will be cut, and a quota system will be put in place.” “This deal provides a framework from which we will further reduce tariffs on more products, address non-tariff barriers, and cooperate on economic security,” she said. “In these turbulent times, this is necessary for our companies to be able to plan and invest,” she added. “We are ensuring immediate tariff relief. This will have a clear impact on the bottom lines of our companies ... we are securing access to our largest export market. At the same time, we will give better access for American products in our market.” The US was the recipient of 20.6% of total European exports in 2024 and is the EU’s second-largest partner for the import of goods with a share of 13.7%. China is the EU’s largest import trading partner. Spot rates on the North Europe to US East Coast trade lane have remained relatively flat since Trump’s 90-day pause on the tariffs was announced on April 9 and extended to Aug. 1, with shippers on the trans-Atlantic showing little appetite for frontloading exports to the US. Rates from North Europe to the US East Coast were assessed at $1,600 per FEU at the end of last week, down $300 since May 2, according to Platts, a sister company of the Journal of Commerce within S&amp;P Global. Contact Greg Knowler at <a href="mailto:greg.knowler@spglobal.com">greg.knowler@spglobal.com</a>. </div>

The 15% tariff deal agreed Sunday between President Donald Trump and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen brings an end to months of increasingly fractious negotiations between Washington and Brussels. While still a significant jump from current US tariffs of about 4.8%, the agreement averts a destructive trans-Atlantic trade war that had the EU facing 30% tariffs from Aug. 1 and preparing to launch its own wide-ranging retaliatory tariffs against the US. “We have stabilized on a single 15% tariff rate for the vast majority of EU exports,” von der Leyen said in a statement following a meeting with Trump at his Turnberry golf resort in western Scotland. “This rate applies across most sectors, including cars, semiconductors and pharmaceuticals,” she added. “This 15% is a clear ceiling. No stacking. All-inclusive.” The deal also set “zero-for-zero” tariffs on several strategic products, including all aircraft and component parts, certain chemicals, certain generics, semiconductor equipment, certain agricultural products, natural resources and critical raw materials. Many details in the framework agreement still need to be thrashed out between the two parties over the coming weeks, doing little to address the uncertainty that has hung over the trade lane for months. “All in all, this means the 15% tariff will be on most products, but importers would need to keep a close eye out for information on their specific commodities once details become known,” Lars Jensen, CEO of Vespucci Maritime and a Journal of Commerce analyst, wrote in a LinkedIn post Monday. ‘Immediate tariff relief’ No agreement was reached on the US tariffs on steel and aluminium and related products that are currently at 50%, although von der Leyen said “to reduce barriers between us, tariffs will be cut, and a quota system will be put in place.” “This deal provides a framework from which we will further reduce tariffs on more products, address non-tariff barriers, and cooperate on economic security,” she said. “In these turbulent times, this is necessary for our companies to be able to plan and invest,” she added. “We are ensuring immediate tariff relief. This will have a clear impact on the bottom lines of our companies ... we are securing access to our largest export market. At the same time, we will give better access for American products in our market.” The US was the recipient of 20.6% of total European exports in 2024 and is the EU’s second-largest partner for the import of goods with a share of 13.7%. China is the EU’s largest import trading partner. Spot rates on the North Europe to US East Coast trade lane have remained relatively flat since Trump’s 90-day pause on the tariffs was announced on April 9 and extended to Aug. 1, with shippers on the trans-Atlantic showing little appetite for frontloading exports to the US. Rates from North Europe to the US East Coast were assessed at $1,600 per FEU at the end of last week, down $300 since May 2, according to Platts, a sister company of the Journal of Commerce within S&P Global. Contact Greg Knowler at greg.knowler@spglobal.com .

Trans-Atlantic

Trans-Atlantic trade dispute averted as US, EU reach weekend deal

<div class="phx-topic abstract-wrapper">GenLogs is offering data on shipper drayage volumes, available carriers and asset location at the Port of Miami as part of a broadening of its highway sensor-based platform. </div>

GenLogs is offering data on shipper drayage volumes, available carriers and asset location at the Port of Miami as part of a broadening of its highway sensor-based platform.

<div class="phx-topic">Transportation technology provider GenLogs is branching out from providing information on truckload capacity and carriers to doing the same in the US drayage market. GenLogs, whose primary business is helping freight brokers identify carriers they can work with on lanes where shipper-customers have volume, is looking to extend similar capability to drayage lanes from every major container port in the US through a product called “Port Intelligence.” GenLogs has established sensors at the Port of Miami and will add a second major port next month, CEO Ryan Joyce told the Journal of Commerce Friday. “We don’t need sensors right at gates to get the drayage data that unlocks all these capabilities for customers,” Joyce said. “We hope that this will help us springboard to signing all 300 ports in the United States as customers, as Port Intelligence gives them visibility into where cargo flows inland from each port, and which [beneficial cargo owners] may be better serviced by their port rather than a neighboring port.” GenLogs’ platform uses a nationwide network of its own roadside sensors that passively collect data on every passing truck and equipment pairing. Joyce said the nearly 1,000 sensors in the network collect about 10 million images of trucks each day on more than 285,000 unique for-hire truck carriers, including drayage carriers. The static sensors, on the sides of interstates, filter out private vehicles and only collect data on vehicles, not drivers. The company’s product combines data from its sensor network with other third-party datasets to track truck locations, equipment pairings and patterns. <h3>Initial users include larger customers </h3>The Port Intelligence features allow users to identify destinations where drayage volume is headed from US container gateways, a list of shippers and receivers tied to those moves, and a list of carriers operating on those lanes. GenLogs’ “Asset Locator” tools allow users to set alerts for specific containers and chassis based on an identifier. Joyce said GenLogs expects about one-third of its existing 60 customers to use Port Intelligence, mostly larger customers who also move drayage such as J.B. Hunt, CH Robinson, Ryder, Echo Global Logistics, NFI and Evans Transportation. He also said forwarders and drayage-specific third-party logistics providers have shown interest in the product since it launched Thursday. The company <a href="https://www.joc.com/article/truckload-visibility-vendor-gets-funding-to-expand-sensor-network-5936129">signaled its intent</a> to service drayage and intermodal nodes in February when it landed a $14.6 million funding round that would be directed, in part, to establish sensors at major US ports and in intermodal facilities. GenLogs’ foray into drayage is part of a broadening landscape of data in that historically overlooked segment of the container shipping industry. Along with a proliferation of tools designed to help drayage carriers operate more efficiently, a list that includes companies such as transportation management system provider PortPro, shippers and brokers can also get benchmark drayage rates on lanes nationwide using DrayRates, which launched in the first half of 2025. Contact Eric Johnson at <a href="mailto:eric.johnson@spglobal.com">eric.johnson@spglobal.com</a>. </div>

Transportation technology provider GenLogs is branching out from providing information on truckload capacity and carriers to doing the same in the US drayage market. GenLogs, whose primary business is helping freight brokers identify carriers they can work with on lanes where shipper-customers have volume, is looking to extend similar capability to drayage lanes from every major container port in the US through a product called “Port Intelligence.” GenLogs has established sensors at the Port of Miami and will add a second major port next month, CEO Ryan Joyce told the Journal of Commerce Friday. “We don’t need sensors right at gates to get the drayage data that unlocks all these capabilities for customers,” Joyce said. “We hope that this will help us springboard to signing all 300 ports in the United States as customers, as Port Intelligence gives them visibility into where cargo flows inland from each port, and which [beneficial cargo owners] may be better serviced by their port rather than a neighboring port.” GenLogs’ platform uses a nationwide network of its own roadside sensors that passively collect data on every passing truck and equipment pairing. Joyce said the nearly 1,000 sensors in the network collect about 10 million images of trucks each day on more than 285,000 unique for-hire truck carriers, including drayage carriers. The static sensors, on the sides of interstates, filter out private vehicles and only collect data on vehicles, not drivers. The company’s product combines data from its sensor network with other third-party datasets to track truck locations, equipment pairings and patterns. Initial users include larger customers The Port Intelligence features allow users to identify destinations where drayage volume is headed from US container gateways, a list of shippers and receivers tied to those moves, and a list of carriers operating on those lanes. GenLogs’ “Asset Locator” tools allow users to set alerts for specific containers and chassis based on an identifier. Joyce said GenLogs expects about one-third of its existing 60 customers to use Port Intelligence, mostly larger customers who also move drayage such as J.B. Hunt, CH Robinson, Ryder, Echo Global Logistics, NFI and Evans Transportation. He also said forwarders and drayage-specific third-party logistics providers have shown interest in the product since it launched Thursday. The company signaled its intent to service drayage and intermodal nodes in February when it landed a $14.6 million funding round that would be directed, in part, to establish sensors at major US ports and in intermodal facilities. GenLogs’ foray into drayage is part of a broadening landscape of data in that historically overlooked segment of the container shipping industry. Along with a proliferation of tools designed to help drayage carriers operate more efficiently, a list that includes companies such as transportation management system provider PortPro, shippers and brokers can also get benchmark drayage rates on lanes nationwide using DrayRates, which launched in the first half of 2025. Contact Eric Johnson at eric.johnson@spglobal.com .

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Logistics Technology News

Trucking intelligence provider expands visibility product into drayage market

<div class="phx-topic abstract-wrapper">The 90-day pause in tariffs was long enough for US importers to advance most of their cargo shipments by ocean, according to analysts.</div>

The 90-day pause in tariffs was long enough for US importers to advance most of their cargo shipments by ocean, according to analysts.

<div class="phx-topic">Frontloading from Asia to the US by ocean shippers appears to have sucked the demand out of the trans-Pacific air cargo business, with little sign of rising volume and rates before the pause on higher US tariffs expires in August. Data from air freight analyst Rotate shows capacity deployed on China and Hong Kong routes to the US is down slightly over the past four weeks at 36,000 metric tons. Frontloading of ocean freight and the sharp drop in e-commerce demand following a US clampdown on low-value Chinese imports have reduced the need for trans-Pacific air cargo. “While difficult to say exactly, we do see high levels of inventory combined with a relatively long lead up to the new tariff announcements which allowed shippers to plan ahead and choose a more cost-efficient method of transport,” said Jonathan Mellink, head of sales and marketing at Rotate. Online freight marketplace Freightos has drawn the same conclusions — with the low appetite for air freight evident in spot rates. The Freightos Air Index this week shows air cargo rates to the US from major trade partner origins were level with or slightly lower than just before an Aug. 1 extension to the 90-day tariff pause was announced in early July. A separate pause on higher tariffs on Chinese goods is due to expire Aug. 14. “For businesses shipping out of China, the 90-day tariff extension spurred a surge in ocean volumes and was likely long enough so that most frontloading ahead of August has been done by container,” said Judah Levine, head of research at online freight marketplace Freightos. “In the couple of weeks since President Donald Trump extended the reciprocal tariff deadline, we haven’t seen a surge in demand or upward pressure on inbound US air cargo rates from countries granted the extension,” Levine added. Freightos data shows rates from China to the US this week are $5.17 per kilogram, down 7% from early July and 3% lower year over year. While there may be a bump in volume and rates as the August deadline approaches, Levine said the lack of air freight demand reflected shippers’ expectations of de-escalations and deals, or possible further extensions to the tariff deadlines. <h3>Framework deals announced </h3>Mike Short, president of global forwarding at C.H. Robinson, said air freight remained an option for shippers looking to frontload before the new deadline, “but it all depends on their inventory needs and supplier readiness,” he told the Journal of Commerce. Many of the countries facing new tariff rates from Aug. 1 are manufacturing powerhouses in Asia, such as Thailand (36% tariffs), South Korea (25%) and Malaysia (25%). The levies will include air freight-friendly commodities such as pharmaceutical imports and semiconductors. Some framework deals have been made with the US. A deal reached recently with Vietnam will see tariffs set at 25% for US exports and 40% for any goods “transshipped” through the country en route to the US, while deals were reached with the Philippines and Indonesia this week setting tariffs at 19% — although no details have been revealed. While the tariffs on Asian countries might have some indirect benefit to the air cargo industry through frontloading, the loss of huge e-commerce volume still affects the trans-Pacific business directly. In 2024, e-commerce shipments accounted for close to 50% of China-to-US air freight volume, with the big Chinese platforms Temu and Shein filling dozens of freighters every day. But that spigot was turned off by President Donald Trump on May 2 with dramatic effect. The duty-free exemption for low-value imports from China valued at under $800 was eliminated, although that was followed on May 14 by a reduction of de minimis tariffs from 120% to 54%. Items sent via post from China to the US are now charged a flat fee of $100, regardless of value. China-US air cargo demand fell more than 30% in June year over year following a 28% drop in May. Data from Rotate for July shows China’s e-commerce exports to the US falling 44% year over year, even as e-commerce exports to all other countries recorded robust growth of nearly 50%. <h3>‘Precipitous fall’ in China-US e-commerce </h3>The effect of the US tariffs on China’s two main e-commerce platforms, Temu and Shein, has been significant. Market intelligence firm Sensor Tower estimates that from April to June, Temu’s US downloads fell 77% year over year and Shein’s were down 51%. Sensor Tower noted the “precipitous fall in app usage” could be tied to each company’s advertising spend in the US in June that for Temu was down 87% year over year and for Shein dropped 69%. Meanwhile, the ability to offset the e-commerce-driven drop in China-Europe air freight with growth in other markets was noted by Kuehne + Nagel CEO Stefan Paul on the forwarder’s <a href="https://www.joc.com/article/post-tariff-foreign-currency-headwinds-hit-kuehne-nagels-h1-q2-profit-6049005">first-half earnings call</a> with analysts Thursday. Paul said he was expecting a strong air cargo peak season later in the second half with “high single-digit growth” in volume in the fourth quarter driven by increasing demand for perishables, semiconductors and “hyperscalers” — IT equipment providing the cloud infrastructure that powers modern digital applications and services. Airlines are also increasing their focus on traditional cargo customers, with Cathay Pacific saying business has been booming. “We observed significant growth in tonnage from Southeast Asia and the Taiwan region to the Americas, driven by both general cargo and high-tech electronics,” Lavinia Lau, chief customer and commercial officer at the Hong Kong-based airline, said in a statement on the carrier’s June operations. Contact Greg Knowler at <a href="mailto:greg.knowler@spglobal.com">greg.knowler@spglobal.com</a>. </div>

Frontloading from Asia to the US by ocean shippers appears to have sucked the demand out of the trans-Pacific air cargo business, with little sign of rising volume and rates before the pause on higher US tariffs expires in August. Data from air freight analyst Rotate shows capacity deployed on China and Hong Kong routes to the US is down slightly over the past four weeks at 36,000 metric tons. Frontloading of ocean freight and the sharp drop in e-commerce demand following a US clampdown on low-value Chinese imports have reduced the need for trans-Pacific air cargo. “While difficult to say exactly, we do see high levels of inventory combined with a relatively long lead up to the new tariff announcements which allowed shippers to plan ahead and choose a more cost-efficient method of transport,” said Jonathan Mellink, head of sales and marketing at Rotate. Online freight marketplace Freightos has drawn the same conclusions — with the low appetite for air freight evident in spot rates. The Freightos Air Index this week shows air cargo rates to the US from major trade partner origins were level with or slightly lower than just before an Aug. 1 extension to the 90-day tariff pause was announced in early July. A separate pause on higher tariffs on Chinese goods is due to expire Aug. 14. “For businesses shipping out of China, the 90-day tariff extension spurred a surge in ocean volumes and was likely long enough so that most frontloading ahead of August has been done by container,” said Judah Levine, head of research at online freight marketplace Freightos. “In the couple of weeks since President Donald Trump extended the reciprocal tariff deadline, we haven’t seen a surge in demand or upward pressure on inbound US air cargo rates from countries granted the extension,” Levine added. Freightos data shows rates from China to the US this week are $5.17 per kilogram, down 7% from early July and 3% lower year over year. While there may be a bump in volume and rates as the August deadline approaches, Levine said the lack of air freight demand reflected shippers’ expectations of de-escalations and deals, or possible further extensions to the tariff deadlines. Framework deals announced Mike Short, president of global forwarding at C.H. Robinson, said air freight remained an option for shippers looking to frontload before the new deadline, “but it all depends on their inventory needs and supplier readiness,” he told the Journal of Commerce. Many of the countries facing new tariff rates from Aug. 1 are manufacturing powerhouses in Asia, such as Thailand (36% tariffs), South Korea (25%) and Malaysia (25%). The levies will include air freight-friendly commodities such as pharmaceutical imports and semiconductors. Some framework deals have been made with the US. A deal reached recently with Vietnam will see tariffs set at 25% for US exports and 40% for any goods “transshipped” through the country en route to the US, while deals were reached with the Philippines and Indonesia this week setting tariffs at 19% — although no details have been revealed. While the tariffs on Asian countries might have some indirect benefit to the air cargo industry through frontloading, the loss of huge e-commerce volume still affects the trans-Pacific business directly. In 2024, e-commerce shipments accounted for close to 50% of China-to-US air freight volume, with the big Chinese platforms Temu and Shein filling dozens of freighters every day. But that spigot was turned off by President Donald Trump on May 2 with dramatic effect. The duty-free exemption for low-value imports from China valued at under $800 was eliminated, although that was followed on May 14 by a reduction of de minimis tariffs from 120% to 54%. Items sent via post from China to the US are now charged a flat fee of $100, regardless of value. China-US air cargo demand fell more than 30% in June year over year following a 28% drop in May. Data from Rotate for July shows China’s e-commerce exports to the US falling 44% year over year, even as e-commerce exports to all other countries recorded robust growth of nearly 50%. ‘Precipitous fall’ in China-US e-commerce The effect of the US tariffs on China’s two main e-commerce platforms, Temu and Shein, has been significant. Market intelligence firm Sensor Tower estimates that from April to June, Temu’s US downloads fell 77% year over year and Shein’s were down 51%. Sensor Tower noted the “precipitous fall in app usage” could be tied to each company’s advertising spend in the US in June that for Temu was down 87% year over year and for Shein dropped 69%. Meanwhile, the ability to offset the e-commerce-driven drop in China-Europe air freight with growth in other markets was noted by Kuehne + Nagel CEO Stefan Paul on the forwarder’s first-half earnings call with analysts Thursday. Paul said he was expecting a strong air cargo peak season later in the second half with “high single-digit growth” in volume in the fourth quarter driven by increasing demand for perishables, semiconductors and “hyperscalers” — IT equipment providing the cloud infrastructure that powers modern digital applications and services. Airlines are also increasing their focus on traditional cargo customers, with Cathay Pacific saying business has been booming. “We observed significant growth in tonnage from Southeast Asia and the Taiwan region to the Americas, driven by both general cargo and high-tech electronics,” Lavinia Lau, chief customer and commercial officer at the Hong Kong-based airline, said in a statement on the carrier’s June operations. Contact Greg Knowler at greg.knowler@spglobal.com .

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Ocean frontloading cuts air freight demand on trans-Pacific

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The world of LTL is slow to embrace change. Business anachronisms permeate current supply chain processes. These vestiges of the way things used to work define the LTL freight transportation procurement process of many modern shippers.David Knuth, logistics specialist at IEWC, a global supplier of cable and wire based in Wisconsin, is happy to have modernized the RFP process, automating the entire LTL bidding procedure with Bid$ense, SMC³’s automated truckload and LTL freight transportation sourcing solution. But when prompted, he can still recall what once was.In his previous job, a large part of his duties were consumed by creating an intermodal bid package for carriers. In a spreadsheet, Knuth detailed the company’s volumes lane by lane, taking care to delete any errant keystrokes or misleading data. He would then email out the information to each carrier, taking time to respond to detailed technical questions about the spreadsheet data. Finally, he had to compile all the results, create an algorithm that would compare the carriers on each lane, and award the business.“It was a huge undertaking. It took about four months to do,” Knuth said of the old process. “It was almost a full-time job for that part of the year, every year.”In his new job at IEWC, he sat down with Bid$ense on day one and was amazed at the capabilities. Knuth had never before used a bid tool. SMC³’s latest versions of Bid$ense automate the process even further, taking truckload and LTL RFPs entirely online. The tool draws on RFP best-practices protocols to streamline the bidding communication process, enabling bidding carriers to respond accurately and promptly to shipper requests. The solution also does all the distribution work automatically, electronically submitting shipper bid data to carriers based on their actual service capabilities and performance records. Carriers are alerted with timely prompts for RFP deliverables, so shippers aren’t waiting by the phone for responses.Another benefit of automating the process is the data-cleansing assistance. When Knuth sent spreadsheets to carriers, data errors might cloud the bidding process; he might have to resend data or simply accept a price that did not truly reflect the costs of doing business. Data cleansing is incredibly beneficial, he said.The spreadsheet technique also made bidding analysis an onerous task. Since Bid$ense automates and streamlines the entire RFP process, intensive examination is now simple. SMC³ knows that each bid has more than one best outcome. With uniform responses from each carrier, shippers can quickly rank results and create an unlimited quantity of what-if scenarios to make the optimal procurement decision.Jesse Burnett of Central Garden &amp; Pet experiences many of the same benefits. Founded in 1980, Central Garden &amp; Pet has spent the last three decades growing from a small garden supply company to a provider of a range of products from dog chews and bird seed to soil supplements and natural insecticides. For much of its life, the company shipped these disparate goods via LTL and truckload carriers to retailers throughout the country, relying on each business unit to negotiate directly with their freight transportation providers. This arrangement worked fairly well for a small company, but as Central Garden &amp; Pet expanded, leadership decided to consolidate decision making.Burnett helped centralize the transportation decision making in 2015 with SMC³’s Bid$ense. Before Bid$ense, every business unit operated independently as far as negotiating with carriers.“There were a lot of different things just floating around,” he said. “We didn’t have master agreements in place; no national pricing at all. The pricing from carriers was just all over the place, depending on where you were.”The transformations he saw with Bid$ense were immediate. Burnett has been using the tool about every other year since its implementation at the company. Central Garden and Pet’s $19.6 million 2019 LTL bid saved the company just more than 9 percent when compared to its historical average. For Burnett, though, bid automation extends far beyond savings.“We knew that we weren’t getting the best pricing offer from our carriers just because nothing was centralized,” he continued. “We knew that if we combined everything from all these business units and paired it with one corporate offering, then it would drive some cost benefit with it.”When the company initially decided to centralize bid procurement, executives researched a number of different methodologies and technologies. In the end, though, Burnett found that Bid$ense was both widespread and well known, and that his carrier partners already knew how to use the application. Burnett also highlighted the data-cleansing process as a major benefit, saying the rigorous process ensures that carriers always return the best price.“It definitely has helped drive savings,” he said. “Any time you go out there and you drive that competitiveness with the carriers and they know they’re in a bid environment, it seems to sharpen their pencils.”Transportation procurement is an integral part of the modern supply chain. With Bid$ense, shippers can develop a strategic implementation plan that saves them time and money, but also helps them create strong relationships with their carrier partners. These carriers appreciate the solution’s data-cleansing process; when carriers receive a complete shipment history and future volume forecast, they don’t have to guess on pricing. Carriers that receive more data from shippers get a complete picture of that shipper’s freight, allowing them to accurately plan instead of simply preparing for the worst-case scenario. Clean data presented through an automated system can lead to both bigger shipment savings and a lasting partnership between carrier and customer.Whether customers are looking to streamline over-the-road transportation bidding by automating the RFP process or create an entirely new, centralized sourcing process, Bid$ense has the analytical horsepower to get the job done.SMC³ 2020 Customer Case Study

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Shippers save money, time with automated transportation bidding tools

If there’s one immutable truth in the world of logistics, it’s this: LTL is an inherently complex form of transportation. Tariffs, rates, DIM weights, transit times — it’s enough to confuse even seasoned logistics professionals. The solution to this knowledge gap has historically been on-the-job training or university supply chain education, but for a variety of reasons there is now a pressing need for third-party, remote LTL training that prepares logistics workers for transportation success. Global Scope Can Overlook Local Intricacies In the past, professionals looking to move into a supply chain career learned about the basics of supply chain from universities. However, many of these college supply chain programs are now global in scope, focusing on worldwide supply chain management instead of the intricacies of specialized domestic transportation. And even these programs, which used to be widespread, are becoming less common. LTL is not an industry of broad-brush strokes; supply chain professionals really need a pointillistic understanding of the logistics of LTL in order to excel in the industry. Accelerating Need for Dedicated LTL Education This lack of specified training put the onus on employers to prepare new hires with the LTL knowledge needed to do their jobs. Dedicated LTL study is a necessity, not a luxury. At the same time, changes in LTL and the broader supply chain world are accelerating. The reliance on e-commerce has ballooned since the start of the pandemic, and last-mile LTL shipments and related e-commerce strains on the supply chain won’t diminish once social distancing abates. That genie isn’t going back into the bottle. So supply chain employers need logistics workers that are fully versed in all aspects of the industry, ready to solve unique shipping and delivery problems based on their extensive supply chain knowledge But why care about LTL? It’s been reported that some shippers in today’s world are no longer concerned with what mode is used to ship their goods. A Multimodal Approach Ensures On-Time Delivery This mode agnosticism means supply chain stakeholders have to be well versed in all modes of transportation. As unforeseen weather events and other disruptions, such as protests, become more common, savvy logistics employees will need to be armed with familiarity of all modes, not just the most popular, to ensure that freight is delivered on time, without damage, and in the most financially expedient way possible. Offerings like SMC³’s LTL online education courses cover a wide range of topics from LTL basics and operations to more advanced concepts like pricing analytics and transportation law. The company also has plans to continually refresh content, adding new expert presenters and taking the feedback of students to make the courses even better as time goes on. Learn more about&nbsp;<a href="https://logisticstrainingcenter.com/smc3-courses/" rel="noreferrer" class="joc_admin__link">SMC³’s LTL Online Education program</a>&nbsp;and view the 2021 hybrid schedule, featuring live industry experts,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.smc3.com/onlinelearning2021/" rel="noreferrer" class="joc_admin__link">here.</a>

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