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A potential labor disruption at the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach could affect terminal operations, with the strike deadline for ILWU Local 26 now expected to move from November 1 to November 4.

The union, which represents port watchmen and security personnel, is negotiating with the Pacific Maritime Association (PMA), with both sides working toward a contract extension. An agreement has not yet been confirmed.

Let's dive into the top news.

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The U.S. has imposed combined antidumping and countervailing duties of 264.48% on Chinese-made cargo trailers and major components, following federal findings that subsidized and below-market imports had harmed American manufacturers.

What’s Happening: The orders, published October 28, cover enclosed and refrigerated trailers, as well as components used to assemble them. The duties comprise a 129.73% antidumping rate and a 134.75% countervailing rate.

They follow a September ruling by the U.S. International Trade Commission that Chinese imports had materially injured domestic trailer manufacturers. The measures also extend to Chinese-made components assembled into finished trailers in third countries. For example, a trailer assembled in Canada using major components manufactured in China can still face the duties.

Big Picture: The duties add to existing steel and aluminum tariffs. Wabash has said an additional 25% tariff could bring the combined rate on covered Chinese trailers to 289.48%, potentially adding about $101,300 in duties to a trailer valued at $35,000.

FedEx reported a 12% increase in third-quarter revenue to $22.9 billion, while adjusted operating income rose 16% to $1.2 billion and adjusted earnings per share climbed 28% to $3.74.

Key Details: Growth was driven by higher volumes and pricing across premium business-to-business and consumer shipping services. Higher fuel surcharges accounted for roughly a quarter of the revenue increase. The company also raised its full-year forecast, now expecting revenue growth of 12%, up from its previous estimate of 11%.

Big Picture: The results reflect FedEx's shift toward higher-margin segments such as aerospace, automotive, healthcare, and high-tech, while pulling back from lower-priced local and regional e-commerce deliveries. Business-to-business shipments now account for 60% of revenue.

This will be FedEx's first peak season operating at scale under Network 2.0, which combines its Ground and Express networks.

The global containership orderbook has crossed 15 million TEU and could approach 16 million TEU by the end of 2026, according to Alphaliner.

Order Time: The outstanding orders now represent more than 43% of the approximately 34.5 million TEU operating fleet. Carriers have placed orders for around 4.4 million TEU of new capacity so far this year, following 5.4 million TEU of orders in 2025.

Key Details: Larger vessels are driving much of the latest investment. Around 40 additional megamax ships linked to Maersk, Yang Ming, CMA CGM and MSC could push the orderbook closer to 16 million TEU.

LNG-powered ships account for approximately 56% of the current orderbook, while conventional propulsion represents just under 32% and methanol dual-fuel vessels around 12%.

Amazon's worldwide shipping costs rose 11% year over year to $28.3 billion in the third quarter, as higher fuel prices and linehaul rates put pressure on its transportation network.

Key Details: The increase came even as units shipped grew 12%. Excluding fuel and linehaul inflation, shipping costs rose 8%, four percentage points slower than unit growth.

CEO Andy Jassy said Amazon remained on track to lower its cost to serve per unit for the fourth consecutive year, helped by better inventory placement, shorter shipping distances and package consolidation.

Faster Delivery: Amazon also delivered more than 1.5 billion items same-day or overnight during the quarter, its fastest third-quarter delivery performance for Prime members. Automation is central to its efficiency drive, with more than one million robots now operating across its fulfillment network.

What’s Next: Transportation cost pressures are expected to intensify in the fourth quarter, with Jassy warning that fuel and linehaul inflation will have a greater impact than in Q3.

At least 221 trucking companies have filed for bankruptcy in 2026, as smaller carriers struggle with rising fuel prices, insurance premiums, and debt.

Key Details: A survey by Truckstop and Bloomberg Intelligence found that nearly two-thirds of small carriers reported flat or declining revenue, while almost 40% feared they could be out of business within six months.

The Downfall: The pressure follows the pandemic-era boom, when low interest rates and strong freight demand brought thousands of operators into the market. As demand weakened and freight rates fell, many were left with excess capacity and debt.

Smaller fleets have also been hit by expensive equipment financing, rising insurance costs, and freight fraud, which the Highway Freight Fraud Index estimates costs the industry $18 million a day.

Scan Global Logistics (SGL) has signed an agreement to acquire OIA Global, a Portland, Oregon-based logistics provider, in what will be the largest investment in SGL's history. The deal will place SGL among the world's top 20 freight forwarders and strengthen its presence in the U.S. and other key markets.

Key Details: The acquisition will expand SGL's capabilities beyond traditional freight forwarding. OIA offers customs brokerage, contract logistics, project logistics, fourth-party logistics (4PL), packaging design and materials management, alongside air, ocean, and road transportation.

These services will complement SGL's existing global freight network and give customers access to a broader range of supply chain solutions, particularly as companies look for providers that can manage more than the movement of goods.

OIA generated approximately $780 million in revenue in 2025 and operates more than 60 offices across 30-plus countries, with a workforce of over 1,200.

UPS raised its full-year revenue forecast to $92.6 billion from $91.2 billion, signaling confidence in demand and pricing ahead of the holiday shipping season.

Key Details: The revised outlook is above the $91.8 billion analysts had expected. The company also raised its adjusted earnings guidance after reporting third-quarter revenue of $22.9 billion and adjusted earnings of $1.69 per share, both ahead of Wall Street estimates.

The stronger outlook comes as UPS enters peak season after spending much of the past two years reshaping its delivery network. The company has deliberately reduced its reliance on Amazon, which accounted for 12% of its revenue in 2024, cutting roughly half of that volume because the low-value packages were not generating returns proportionate to their delivery costs.

What’s Next: UPS is preparing to handle the holiday surge by hiring around 100,000 seasonal workers and expects to use demand surcharges during the period.

The U.S. is considering extending its suspension of port fees on Chinese-linked vessels by two months, giving shipping companies a reprieve from charges that threatened to add millions of dollars to port calls.

What’s Happening: The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative has proposed extending the existing agreement, which was due to expire in early November, until January 9, 2027. The pause covers reciprocal charges imposed by Washington and Beijing in 2025 on each other's ships calling at their ports.

Backstory: The original measures had disrupted shipping operations, forcing carriers to rethink vessel deployments and adjust global networks to avoid additional costs. The charges also raised freight costs and triggered retaliation from Beijing, including sanctions against the U.S. units of a major South Korean shipbuilder.

What’s Next: The proposed extension follows a broader trade truce announced last month, as both governments continue negotiations over the disputes behind the port fees.

C.H. Robinson is extending its Lean AI platform beyond trucking into ocean shipping, air freight and customs brokerage, deploying fleets of AI agents to automate tasks that have traditionally required extensive manual coordination.

Key Details: The freight forwarder says its AI has already generated more than 80,000 price quotes for over 3,600 customers. Tasks that previously took a day for air freight and two to three days for ocean shipments can now be completed in two to three minutes. The company is also using AI agents to manage the thousands of ocean booking requests it receives each week.

C.H. Robinson says its agents can work together to assess shipping requirements, monitor port and terminal charges, recommend routes and identify missing customs documents. Its customs automation has reduced processing time by 23%, letting brokers focus on validation and compliance.

Big Picture: The rollout builds on a wider AI strategy that C.H. Robinson has been developing across its operations.