.png)
Want these insights in your inbox each Monday? Subscribe here.
Parcel Logistics
- FedEx-led investor group agrees to acquire InPost for 7.8B euros (~ $9.2B), giving FedEx a fast path into Europe’s rapidly growing out-of-home parcel market while InPost gains capital and access to FedEx’s global air and ground network as locker-based B2C delivery scales across major European markets.
- FedEx submits plans for a 1.6M-square-foot, five-story automated sort facility at its Memphis World Hub as part of “Project Hercules,” extending its e-commerce capacity buildout following the opening of the Secondary 25 automated sort building in 2024.
- Veho launches FlexSave, an AI-driven delivery option that lets e-commerce sellers lower shipping costs by accepting wider delivery windows as the carrier dynamically batches and routes parcels to improve asset utilization while maintaining service reliability.
- UPS expands RFID labeling to all 5,500 UPS Store locations, processing 1.3M packages per day with enhanced visibility as part of its Smart Package Smart Facility initiative to reduce defects, cut manual scans and win more commercial shipper volume.
- USPS reports a $1.3B quarterly loss as parcel volumes fall 12%, accelerating its push to monetize last-mile delivery through shipper bidding programs aimed at improving asset utilization amid rising costs and intensifying e-commerce competition.
Air Cargo
- Amazon-driven flying lifts Sun Country Airlines to record Q4 cargo revenue, with freighter fleet set to reach 22 aircraft by mid-summer as the airline deepens its role in Amazon Air’s U.S. network and opens a new operations base near the Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky hub.
- Solid January demand tempers expectations for a sharp Lunar New Year air freight surge, with steady China–Europe and Southeast Asia–U.S. volumes, AI-related cargo supporting rates and global air freight growth forecast at a moderate 2.4% for 2026.
Trucking & Intermodal
- FMCSA’s foreign-domiciled CDL rule moves into final OMB review, bringing the agency closer to enforcing stricter immigration verification requirements that could sideline a significant number of non-domiciled drivers.
- FMCSA defines English-proficiency enforcement “safe zones” near U.S. borders, allowing inspectors to cite but not shut down drivers within designated commercial border areas while hardcoding out-of-service violations elsewhere.
- Winter storms trigger sharp gains in U.S. spot truckload rates as reduced excess capacity amplifies disruption, pushing dry-van and reefer pricing higher and raising questions about whether regulatory pressures could intensify volatility during produce season.
- Early signs of a freight market turn are stressing brokers, not relieving them, with RXO highlighting margin compression and working-capital strain while C.H. Robinson’s restructuring and automation investments position it to better absorb rising rate volatility.
- Intermodal delivered record Q4 savings of more than 25% versus truckload as spot truck rates spiked, though major providers remain cautious on pricing until a clearer, sustained truckload recovery emerges.
- Carrier bankruptcies and facility closures continue to mount as prolonged freight weakness forces exits, including Robert Bearden Trucking, Quickway Transportation and affiliates, and a number of cuts among freight-dependent industries.
Trade & Tariffs
- Shippers increasingly turn to inland waterways for oversized and project cargo as energy, mining and infrastructure demand grows, using rivers and canals in Europe, South America, the U.S. and Asia to bypass road constraints, cut costs and lower emissions while governments expand inland shipping corridors.
- Commerce imposes steep antidumping and countervailing duties on molded fiber products from China and Vietnam, with some producers facing tariffs of up to 540% as U.S. officials target unfair pricing in foodservice packaging imports.
- The U.S. and India reach a framework deal to cut tariffs on a broad range of goods to 18%, including textiles, chemicals and machinery, while removing duties on select products pending final implementation.
- The U.S. formalizes trade framework agreements with Argentina, El Salvador and Guatemala, locking in tariff exemptions for qualifying goods and setting a 10% reciprocal duty for non-exempt imports once country-level procedures are completed.
- The EU resumes work on its U.S. tariff framework after Trump walks back Greenland-related tariff threats, extending the suspension of retaliatory duties while lawmakers evaluate implementation safeguards.
- Trump orders agencies to develop a process for potential tariffs on countries trading with Iran, signaling possible secondary duties justified on national security and foreign policy grounds.
- Global carriers and infrastructure investors circle a potential $3B-plus sale of Maher Terminals at the Port of New York and New Jersey, the last major container terminal at the port not controlled by an ocean carrier, underscoring strategic competition for gateway infrastructure.
AI & Technology
- Retailers increasingly reposition inventory closer to consumers as AI-driven shopping fuels last-minute purchasing and heightens speed expectations, giving regional distribution models an edge while transportation costs remain relatively subdued.
- Startup Clarity deploys X-ray and AI screening to detect counterfeit and fraudulent returns inside distribution centers, helping merchants identify fake goods, missing components and repeat offenders amid rising returns fraud.
- Upskilling employees to work alongside AI could add $4.8T–$6.6T to the U.S. economy by 2034, according to a Pearson report that argues most companies are missing ROI by focusing on automation rather than workforce training.
