IN THE NEWS: Trump Tariffs Anxiety Hits Peak in Global Economy as Chinese Freight Market Crashes to Two-Decade Low

CNBC
April 2, 2025
Lori Ann LaRocco

FROM THE ARTICLE:

• Peak freight truck traffic at the Mexico-Texas border was hit at the end of March, as US shippers prepared for increased tariffs to be implemented by the Trump administration.
• Action at US warehouses for the nation's largest retailers hit the highest levels ever recorded, according to supply chain research firm Motive.
• With a lot of trade front-loaded in the January to March period, uncertainty about the future of consumer demand has resulted in a steep drop in new freight order activity, and the worst Q1 for Chinese freight orders in two decades.

A surge in freight trucking activity, from the Texas-Mexico border to the warehouses and distribution centers of major US retailers, shows the extent to which US companies have rushed to move more imports into the country ahead of President Donald Trump's reciprocal tariffs, which Trump laid out on Wednesday afternoon from the Rose Garden, trade taxes that will hit international partners "immediately," according to the White House.

But all of that frontloading of imports into the US economy also corresponds to a more concerning trend in the trade data that is now taking shape: a steep decline in new freight order activity in every region across the US, and a steep quarterly decline in Chinese freight volumes, as uncertainty about consumer demand spreads. The tariff rates disclosed on Wednesday were much higher than expected for many nations, with an additional reciprocal tariff rate for China at 34%, sending the markets lower.

Data shared with CNBC by supply chain research firm Motive shows a significant surge in trucking activity at the Port of Laredo, the busiest land port in the US, with a 48.5% year-over-year increase that hit peak levels as of March 31.

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Similar surges in freight volumes and spot rates were seen in February and March on cross-border lanes from Canada to the US, according to Paul Brashier, Vice President of Global Supply Chain at ITS Logistics. Volumes from the Toronto market to the Chicago market were up over 50%, and rates are up around 10%, with critical expedited shipments 50% higher in some cases. Brashier added that there have been many cases of truck drivers paid to run empty from the US to get back in position to meet surging demand out of Canada into the US.

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