Good morning,

The past year has been one of the most turbulent periods for global trade in recent memory. New tariffs have been introduced, challenged, paused, reinstated, and revised, leaving importers scrambling to keep up.

More than $166 billion in IEEPA tariffs was collected before the duties were struck down, and while Customs has already refunded over $86 billion, billions more are still moving through the claims process.

The challenge isn't just filing for refunds—it's knowing what you're entitled to recover before the opportunity disappears. With strict deadlines and manual processes, many importers leave money on the table.

In today's edition, we explore how companies are uncovering duty recovery opportunities, calculating true landed costs, and simplifying customs compliance with platforms like ClearDock.

Let's dive into the top news.

The U.S. logistics sector remained firmly in expansion mode in July, though momentum cooled after June's four-year high. The Logistics Managers' Index (LMI) slipped to 68.9 from 71.1 in June as inventory growth slowed sharply, particularly among retailers.

Key Details: Inventory Levels fell to 55.0, with downstream retailers swinging from expansion (66.0) to contraction (46.3), suggesting much of the tariff-driven inventory pull-forward is now sitting with wholesalers rather than store shelves

Rise and Fall: Despite slower inventory growth, logistics costs continued to surge. Inventory Costs climbed to 77.0, while Warehousing Prices rose to 75.5, their fastest pace since early 2025, as warehouse space remained scarce.

Warehousing Capacity contracted to 46.3, while Transportation Capacity plunged to 28.4, tying April for the second-tightest capacity reading in the index's history. Transportation Prices eased slightly to 86.9 but remained historically elevated.

Future Outlook: Looking ahead, logistics managers expect inflationary pressures to persist. Respondents forecast the LMI to average 70.5 over the next 12 months, with continued inventory growth running into constrained warehouse and transportation capacity.

Prologis has agreed to acquire U.K.-based warehouse owner Segro for £14 billion ($18.8 billion), expanding its logistics real estate footprint across Europe.

What’s the deal? The offer values Segro at £10.317 per share, a 39% premium to its share price before Prologis disclosed its takeover interest in late June. Segro's board has unanimously backed the deal after rejecting several earlier bids.

Next Steps: The transaction will be completed primarily through a share swap, with Segro shareholders receiving 0.092 Prologis shares for each Segro share, alongside a partial cash alternative worth up to £3.51 billion.

Following the acquisition, Prologis will also list its shares on the London Stock Exchange, while Segro investors become shareholders in the world's largest logistics REIT.

Big Picture: The acquisition restores Prologis' European footprint to levels seen before its 2022 Duke Realty acquisition and underscores growing confidence in the long-term demand for warehouses as e-commerce, manufacturing, and supply chain investments continue to drive logistics infrastructure across Europe.

Trucking and logistics stocks posted their worst monthly performance in more than a year after a court ruling heightened liability risks for freight brokers and weak earnings weighed on investor sentiment.

What’s Happening: The Russell 3000 Trucking Index fell more than 8% in July, marking its steepest monthly decline since the tariff-driven market selloff in April 2025.

Warning Signs: The selloff was led by C.H. Robinson, whose shares tumbled 21% in July—its sharpest monthly drop since 2000—following a Dallas County jury verdict tied to a Supreme Court ruling that allows certain lawsuits against freight brokers for crashes involving carriers they hire.

The decision has also pressured shares of RXO and Landstar, with analysts warning the industry could face higher insurance costs and a wave of new litigation.

The Hope: Despite the sharp decline, the sector remains up 28% year-to-date, outperforming the broader Russell 3000's 9.7% gain. Some analysts continue to see upside, arguing that improving freight fundamentals and resilient profitability could outweigh legal risks.

As global trade grows more complex, understanding the true cost of an import is no longer straightforward. Layered tariffs, shifting policies, and stricter customs rules collide with data scattered across ERPs, broker portals, and spreadsheets. Bringing that information together is now just as critical as collecting it.

ClearDock brings that data together to help companies answer the questions that matter most: Are we paying the right duties? Where can we recover money? Are we meeting customs filing deadlines? And are there compliance issues before they turn into costly penalties?

In one customer engagement, ClearDock uncovered a $95,000 customs entry error along with $29,000 in additional recoverable duty opportunities that would likely have gone unnoticed.

Instead of manually reconciling customs entries, broker filings, and ERP data, teams can quickly identify refund opportunities, understand true landed costs, model the impact of tariff changes, and monitor compliance from a single platform.

A coalition of 25 Democratic-led states has sued the Trump administration, seeking to block a new round of tariffs imposed on imports from around 60 trading partners, including the UK, China, and the European Union.

Backstory: The tariffs, ranging from 10% to 12.5%, cover 99.4% of U.S. imports and were introduced under Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974, with the administration arguing they target countries that have failed to address forced labor in their supply chains.

What’s Happening? The states argue the tariffs are "arbitrary, capricious, and contrary to law," claiming the administration used forced labor as a pretext for an overly broad trade policy. They also note that the latest Section 301 investigation lasted just two months across 60 countries, compared with the eight-month probe that preceded Trump's China tariffs in 2018.

The administration maintains the new tariffs are legally sound and says further trade measures could follow as investigations into 16 additional countries continue.

New draft restrictions at the Panama Canal are expected to reduce cargo capacity on container ships serving the U.S. East and Gulf coasts, keeping ocean freight rates elevated through the peak shipping season.

What’s Happening? The Panama Canal Authority will lower the maximum draft for Neopanamax vessels from 50 feet to 48 feet by Aug. 26 and 47.5 feet by Sept. 3 as drought conditions driven by El Niño reduce water levels in Gatun Lake.

Chain Reaction: While the number of daily transits will remain unchanged, ships will be forced to sail with lighter loads. A 10,000-TEU vessel can lose roughly 450 TEUs of capacity for every foot of draft reduction.

More than half of the Neopanamax vessels calling U.S. East and Gulf Coast ports transit the canal, with 162 of 291 such ships since May using the waterway and averaging 12,000 TEUs in capacity.

Rising Rates: Ocean carriers have already begun imposing Panama Canal surcharges, while spot freight rates from North Asia to the U.S. East Coast have climbed to around $9,900 per FEU, up 10% week over week and the highest level in more than two years. The restrictions are expected to tighten effective capacity and support elevated shipping rates through the remainder of the peak season.

The U.S. Commerce Department has proposed expanding Section 232 tariffs to cover 14 additional steel, aluminum, and copper derivative products, including tanker trailers, semi-trailers, brass wind instruments, and floor safes.

Tariff Range: Most products would face a 25% tariff, while certain agricultural and industrial equipment would be subject to 15% duties, and filled steel containers would face a 50% tariff.

What’s Next? The Commerce Department is accepting public comments until August 27 before finalizing the rule. If approved, the expanded tariffs would widen the range of manufactured goods affected by U.S. trade restrictions, adding further cost pressures across manufacturing and supply chains.

AI startup HappyRobot has raised $150 million in fresh funding, pushing its valuation above $1 billion and making it only the seventh venture-backed logistics technology company to achieve unicorn status.

Key Details: The company, whose customers include DHL, Kuehne+Nagel, CMA CGM, and Werner, builds AI agents that automate freight and logistics workflows, with revenue growing fivefold since its last funding round.

The investment highlights surging demand for agentic AI across the logistics industry as companies look to automate customer service, operations, and back-office tasks.

Automated Race: With competitors such as Vooma, Pallet, Augment, Envoy AI, CloneOps, Chain, and Drumkit also targeting the market, the race to build the dominant AI platform for freight is only beginning.

While the funding signals strong investor confidence in AI-driven logistics, industry observers remain divided over whether it marks the start of a long-term AI investment boom or the peak of another venture capital cycle.

South Korean carrier HMM will invest $135 million over the next two years to modernize Washington United Terminals (WUT) at the Port of Tacoma, increasing annual handling capacity by nearly 50%, from 590,000 TEUs to about 880,000 TEUs.

Key Details: The terminal expansion is part of a broader effort to strengthen the Seattle-Tacoma gateway, which has struggled to keep pace with rival West Coast ports. Through the first six months of 2026, container volumes from Asia through the Northwest Seaport Alliance (NWSA) fell 15% year over year, while Los Angeles grew 6.6%, Long Beach rose 2.1%, and Oakland was largely flat.

What’s Next: The modernization will be complemented by a $400 million channel-deepening project to accommodate larger vessels and improve cargo flows. Together, the investments are aimed at making Seattle-Tacoma more competitive for trans-Pacific trade and expanding its long-term capacity to handle future import growth.

North American demand for heavy-duty trucks remained resilient in July, with preliminary Class 8 truck orders reaching about 22,000 units, according to FTR and ACT Research.

Monthly Decline: While orders declined roughly 30% month over month as manufacturers ran out of 2026 production slots, they were still 68%–75% higher than a year earlier, reflecting stronger freight fundamentals and replacement demand.

Supply & Demand: FTR said year-to-date Class 8 orders are up 120%, while orders over the past 12 months totaled 344,823 units. Higher freight rates, improving fleet utilization, and a moderate pre-buy ahead of stricter EPA emissions rules have supported demand.

However, with most 2026 production already sold out, manufacturers have yet to open order books for 2027 models, limiting new bookings.