FreightWaves Editorial | Global Tariffs, Clean Trucks, and the Cost of Complexity

Following the regulatory changes that led to a 30% drop in express volumes from China/Hong Kong, DHL surges customs agent hiring as new tariffs confuse importers. Despite sourcing diversification driving double-digit growth from countries like Vietnam and Mexico, DHL Express is forecasting an unusually muted peak season lift of just 20% to 25%, down significantly from the typical 40% to 50% jump.

Domestically, we dive into the contentious legal battle over California’s Advanced Clean Trucks Rule (ACT) as the Federal goverment fires back in court over California waiver cancellation. Owner-operators, who face astronomical repair costs like $21,000 for emissions equipment on a $30,000 truck, argue that these standards dramatically drive up operating expenses, leading major associations to back regulatory rollbacks, as noted in Truckers back Trump’s emissions rollback at EPA.

The soft freight market highlights the intense need for financial agility, illustrated by a recent small carrier filing for Chapter 11, where their lawyer stressed that the cash needed for operations “doesn’t generate itself”. This scenario emphasizes why the reliance on factoring services is now a critical lifeline for many smaller outfits struggling in the current economic environment, as detailed in Small carrier’s bankruptcy spells out need for factoring.

We examine how the annual corn harvest creates a short but lucrative peak season for Midwestern carriers, relying heavily on the FMCSA agricultural commodity exemption to maximize hours and earnings, as explored in How the corn harvest season changes freight networks across the Midwest. Finally, we analyze the structural shifts impacting the rails following the Union Pacific/Norfolk Southern proposed merger, where a union job guarantee meant to secure support is being widely warned against by former executives, as heard in Rail merger: Lifetime job is great “until you are stuck in it”.

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