Good morning,

The Treasury Department has launched a pilot Strategic Vendor Program to identify weak links in U.S. supply chains and connect foreign manufacturers with American suppliers as investment in U.S. manufacturing accelerates.

The initiative was highlighted during a visit to Hanwha Philly Shipyard, where the South Korean company plans to invest $5 billion and expand its workforce from 2,000 to 10,000 employees. Alongside the program, the SBA provided $3 billion in manufacturing funding last year, including $32 million for shipbuilders, as the administration works to strengthen domestic supply chains alongside rising foreign investment.

Let's dive into the top news.

A U.S. Court of International Trade ruling has upheld President Donald Trump's suspension of the de minimis exemption, rejecting a legal challenge to the administration's decision to end duty-free treatment for imports valued at $800 or less.

Key Details: The New York-based U.S. Court of International Trade upheld President Donald Trump's suspension of the de minimis exemption. The ruling marks a significant legal victory for Trump's trade agenda, which has faced repeated court challenges after the U.S. Supreme Court struck down his use of emergency powers to impose broad global tariffs.

Trump’s suspension of the exemption has led to more than $1 billion in duty payments by the end of 2025, according to Customs and Border Protection.

Trade Battle: The lawsuit was brought by Detroit Axle, which argued that Trump unlawfully bypassed Congress by ending the exemption. The company can still appeal the decision to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit.

The Trump administration has unveiled a new tariff regime targeting imported drones and their components, arguing the measures are necessary to strengthen U.S. national security and rebuild domestic manufacturing.

Key Details: The proclamation imposes a 100% tariff on larger drones, thermal-imaging drones, docking stations, and other critical components, while smaller commercial drones and additional parts will face a 25% tariff.

Imports from the EU, Japan, South Korea, Switzerland, Liechtenstein, and Taiwan will face 15% tariffs, while qualifying products from the UK will be subject to a 10% tariff, provided that most hardware, software, and technology originate in those countries or the U.S. The tariffs take effect 21 days after signing, with certain component categories receiving a 180-day implementation period.

Big Picture: The administration says the policy is designed to reduce U.S. dependence on foreign drone supply chains while encouraging domestic production through a new onshoring program for manufacturers investing in U.S. drone and component facilities.

The Trump administration is launching an AI-powered trade enforcement system to detect Chinese goods that evade U.S. tariffs by being routed through third countries.

Artificial Intelligence: Dubbed the "AI-enabled Detective Border," the tool will analyze global trade data, comparing shipment origins, routing patterns, and component content to identify suspicious transshipment activity that officials say is too complex to detect manually.

Big Scam: The White House estimates that illegal transshipment may have cost the U.S. around $60 billion in lost tariff revenue last year. The administration argues the practice has evolved into an industrial-scale business model since the first Section 301 tariffs were introduced in 2018.

Transshipment Hubs: Countries including Canada, the EU, India, Japan, Mexico, South Korea, and Taiwan were identified as major transshipment hubs, while Vietnam, Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, Brazil, and Turkey were listed as secondary hubs.

Landed Costs. Procurement. Tariffs.

They shape every sourcing decision. Yet the information behind them lives across ERP systems, customs data, broker portals, shipment records, and spreadsheets—making it difficult to see the complete picture.

ClearDock brings it all together.

Supply chain teams use ClearDock to calculate true landed cost, analyze procurement and supplier performance, and model tariff exposure before costs hit the business.

Supply chain customers have used ClearDock to:

U.S. shippers are increasingly abandoning annual freight contracts in favor of "mini-bids"—short-term, targeted procurement events designed to secure trucking capacity as rates rise and available trucks become harder to find.

What’s Happening? According to the Journal of Commerce, executives at Knight-Swift, Werner, and J.B. Hunt say off-cycle bidding has accelerated as existing routing guides fail to keep pace with rapidly changing market conditions.

Rather than rebidding an entire transportation network, shippers are using mini-bids to fill capacity gaps in specific regions, replace underperforming carriers, or prepare for seasonal demand spikes.

Future Outlook: Industry experts say the shift reflects a freight market that is becoming more tactical, with procurement cycles shortening as capacity tightens. Analysts expect contract trucking rates to continue rising into Q3 2027, with low double-digit increases likely if capacity remains constrained.

The race to build AI infrastructure is reshaping industrial real estate. Blackstone-owned Link Logistics said 15% of all new leases signed this year are tied to data center supply chains, a sharp increase from a year ago, as suppliers scramble for warehouse space to support the industry's rapid expansion.

What’s Happening? Rather than serving the data centers themselves, these facilities are being leased by manufacturers and distributors of critical equipment—including turbines, backup generators, switchgear, and other power infrastructure—that must be assembled, stored, and shipped to construction sites.

Close to Cities: Link, which owns 460 million square feet of warehouse space across North America, says many of these suppliers are choosing urban logistics hubs to stay close to skilled labor instead of locating near remote data center campuses.

Mexico has proposed lowering U.S. tariffs on North American-made vehicles as negotiations to renew the USMCA gather pace.

Mexican Request: Instead of the current 25% tariff on non-U.S. content, Mexico wants duties to apply only to parts sourced from outside North America, with non-compliant vehicles facing a reduced tariff of 5–10%.

Unrealistic Ask: The proposal is a response to the Trump administration's push for vehicles to contain 50% U.S.-made content to qualify for lower tariffs—a threshold Mexico and automakers argue is unrealistic. Under current USMCA rules, 75% of a vehicle's content must originate in North America to receive preferential treatment.

Big Picture: If adopted, the plan could reduce production costs and help keep affordable vehicles in the U.S. market. But negotiations remain in their early stages, with Canada pursuing a similar proposal and broader disputes over steel, aluminum, and automotive tariffs still unresolved.

Union Pacific is raising peak-season surcharges for domestic intermodal shipments originating in California as freight demand continues to surge.

Key Details: Starting Aug. 23, the railroad will charge $1,000 per container—double the previous $500 fee—in Southern California and introduce the same surcharge in Northern California for qualifying shipments.

The higher fees apply to lower-volume shippers exceeding their weekly contract allocations and to all California spot-market freight moving in Union Pacific's rail-owned EMP and UMAX containers. The railroad said it is repositioning equipment and expanding train capacity to keep pace with demand.

Big Picture: The move comes as Union Pacific's domestic intermodal volumes out of Southern California have climbed nearly 20% year over year since July 1, reaching 10,000–15,000 loads per week. Despite the increase, the railroad has maintained stronger service performance than its major US rail competitors, with intermodal train speeds rising 1.3% over the past four weeks.

Commercial shipping through the Panama Canal is becoming significantly more expensive as geopolitical tensions and climate conditions squeeze one of the world's busiest trade routes.

What’s Happening? The congestion is being driven by two major factors. The ongoing conflict in the Middle East has diverted more vessels away from the Strait of Hormuz and the Red Sea, increasing demand for the Panama Canal.

At the same time, El Niño has lowered water levels in Gatun Lake, forcing the Panama Canal Authority to reduce ship draft limits, meaning vessels must carry lighter loads to safely transit the canal.

High Fees: According to reports, one container ship paid nearly $4 million to secure a priority transit slot, allowing it to bypass a queue stretching roughly 10 days.

What’s Next: The Panama Canal Authority has already imposed draft restrictions and warned it is prepared to introduce additional measures if water levels continue to fall. While canal traffic has increased 5% since October, shippers now face rising transit costs, longer delays, and growing uncertainty

Maersk has raised its full-year 2026 guidance after reporting a strong second quarter, underscoring the resilience of global container shipping despite ongoing geopolitical and supply chain disruptions.

Key Details: Revenue climbed 20% year over year to $15.8 billion, while EBIT nearly doubled to $1.6 billion. The Ocean division remained the biggest growth driver, with loaded volumes rising 4.1% and average freight rates increasing 22%. Logistics & Services revenue grew 15%, while terminal volumes increased 2.2%.

Future Outlook: Reflecting improved market conditions, Maersk now expects underlying EBITDA of $10.5–12.5 billion and EBIT of $4.5–6.5 billion for 2026, its second guidance upgrade this year. The company expects global container volumes to grow about 4% in 2026,